The Saskatoon MQG met on February 20th at the Home Inn and Suites for another sew day. The icebreaker was “what do we like most about quilting?” This was followed by Linda walking us through a zipper activity. It was so fun to learn from a pro. I learned to leave an overhang instead of lining up the edge of the fabric exactly with the edge of the zipper, just in case the fabric frays. And now I want to go and buy zipper tape and pulls because there are so many cool colours and styles to play with. The zippers from Sallie Tomato looked like metal but were actually nylon. And if you buy the tape, you can add 2 pulls so the bag can unzip in 2 directions.

We started with fabric and zippers, and soon after we had the 5 bags shown in the 2nd photo. Jean fabric is so much fun as a background for testing all of the decorative stitches on our machines. Linda has donated the bag she made for a prize at our retreat next month! Bag patterns discussed included the L.A. Pouch by Elle Puls which can be purchased on makerist.com. Also, Shari has been busy over the past couple of months making several bags (photo right) and patterns she has used are by Blue Calla, Sew Sweetness, and Bagstock Designs.

Finally, Linda also got us thinking about hostess gifts. See the YouTube video by Notches Sewing for an hanging tea towel tutorial. She added the snowflakes with her embroidery machine.