Mini Tulip Tote Winner

Hello there! I'm just checking in to announce our Mini Tulip Tote Winner from the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day.
And the winner is LeeAnna Paylor!! I'm sending your pattern today!! Thank you to all who entered the giveaway.  If you aren't a winner the PDF Pattern is still available in the Etsy Shop along with 1 more sample bag that's still up for grabs.

Also I received a lovely email recently from Melinda Burch showing off this lovely Mini Tulip Tote she sewed. You can find her at Sew Good To Be Home on Facebook.


She got creative and figured out how to insert a zipper into the top. Way to go Melinda!

That's all for now. Back to Christmas shopping and prep. Happy Holidays!

Giveaway Day!!!

Hello everyone! Today is Giveaway Day! Not just here on our blog but on lots of others too.  SewMamaSew is hosting this fun event where everyone with a shop or a blog can link up an item that they would like to giveaway. Which means there are A LOT of other things you can win around blogland.  The giveaways are open for one full week so you can take your time browsing around and getting to know other fun blogs too. Want to see what we're giving away today??  The Mini Tulip tote PDF Pattern!

This stylish little tote is the size of a small handbag. It is perfect for when you just want to carry the essentials.  It has a wide base so it stands up by itself. The top opens up wide and stays closed snugly with 2 magnetic snaps. There are 2 pockets on the inside to organize your small items. It's quite roomy despite it's small size. The handles are sized to hang on your forearm, but you can lengthen them if you’d like. My favorite thing about the tulip tote is the ruching on the sides. I just love the texture it creates.


This pattern features 18 pages of instructions with step by step photos, as well as 2 pattern sheets with printing instructions. Finished Dimensions are 7” tall X 14'' wide X 4'' deep with 16’’ handles. For more details about this pattern, check out my full Mini Tulip Tote post.

Want to win the Pattern?  Just leave a comment telling me your favorite thing to do with your free time.  I'd love it if you'd follow me or "Like" me on Facebook too, but it's not required to enter. Make sure your email address is linked in your profile or leave it in the comment so I can find you. U.S. only. 

If you are new to Blue Susan Makes, Welcome to our little corner of the sewing world!  You'll find me sewing handmade gifts, stuff for my kids and home, and lots of handbags. I'd love it if you'd check out my Blue Susan Etsy Shop and our sister shop, Beyond the Bead Jewelry. Let's keep in touch!

More Handmade gifts in the Etsy Shop

Rachel has been sewing up a storm and filling up our Etsy Shop.  Woohoo!! She's been working so hard I thought I'd show off some of her stuff. But before I get to that I just want to let you know that I get to be the curator for the Handmade Holiday on Sew Mama Sew today. Click over to their website to see my list of must sew Handbag tutorials for everyone on your gift list this year.  


Okay now for some Handbag goodness.


This bag is called the Vinca Zip Top bag. It has a pretty piecing on the front and back.





 The inside has a zipper pocket and slip pockets and the top stays closed nicely with another lovely zipper.



The piecing on this Vinca is a little different than the first.  I just love the way it turned out with the zippered top. 

She also sewed up some coordination Girlfriend Clutches.



This is the Pleated Shoulder Bag in Purple Zebra.  I love it's simple design and I think the zebra pattern on that purple fabric is cool.


The inside of this one has a zipper pocket and some slip pockets as well.

And one more  Pleated Shoulder Bag.
 

She also listed a bunch of Painter's Clutches. You can find more info about the Painter's Clutch in this post.

The inside of all of them has an invisible snap and a divider like pocket so you can keep your keys and phone separate

You can find more details on all of these bags in the Shop.

Happy Browsing!

Behind the Scenes

I've pulled out my Garden Tiles Bag pattern to work on lately.  It's been dusted off and is getting ready for a good polishing. Which means pretty new step by step photos. I've purchased a whole stack of beautiful Wild and Free fabric this week that I can use.

My mission of the day is to start cutting it up. I'll keep you posted on my progress on my Instagram feed. I will likely be looking for pattern testers for the Garden Tiles bag soon so let me know if you are interested.

Until next time.. Happy Sewing !

Newest Etsy Listings - Handbags!

Take a look at our newest shop listings! I'm clearing out my closet full of sample items that I sewed for my book "Just for You".  I had to sew a bunch of partially made items for the publisher to photograph and show all the steps in the pattern. Instead of hoarding all those partially made items I finished sewing them up am giving you all a chance to get your hands on them.  You know, for those times you look at a pattern and say "I would really like to just buy that instead of make it"... well here's your chance.  Check them out!

Here we have the Venna Tote.  Read more about the makings of this in THIS post

This is the Crafty Stachel designed by Sara Lawson

Here's another Crafty Satchel that I sewed up for Purse palooza. SOLD OUT!

The sweet little Mini Dresden Coin pouch designed by Amy Friend

 This is the Bella Pouch designed by Bonnie Rosales. This is not in the same fabrics from the book. It was one of the pouches I sewed up to test the pattern.

And this last one I listed in the Kate Handbag. It's not in the book but it's from a design I came up with and sewed up a couple years ago.  (like I said I'm clearing out the closet) It even has my "vintage" Blue Susan tag inside, lol! I love this bag! It's even the Pantone color of the year...Marsala!

Now if you actually want to sew one of these pretty bags you can find the patterns (except the Kate Handbag) in my book Just for You:Selfish Sewing which you can find signed for you in the shop as well.

Thanks for looking!!

Summer Sewing

Summer! I will miss lazy days of heading to the beach, visiting cousins, and no schedule. My kids go back to school this week. It's a little bittersweet for me. The "sweet" will definitely having a little more down time to sit and sew I hope. I thought I would show you some of the sewing I did this summer. I officially finished Thomas' blanket. 

I used some of a jellyroll of Cotton + Steel basics and loosely based this quilt off of one in the book Little Things To Sew by Oliver + S

I just love how it turned out. Maybe most though I love the backing where I improv pieced his name. 


I also tried out a little zig zag meandering stitching pattern.

He started growing out of his pjs and so I took an old sleeper apart and used it to make a pattern for a new one that's just a little bigger.  I used some jersey with spandex scraps that I had in my stash.  I LOVED the challenge of making this.   I missed a slightly crucial step though, I forgot to reinforce the snap and now there is a nice hole where it's supposed to be. live and learn! 

I've been running the Facebook page for the Just for You Sewlebrity Sewalong in my spare time. Have you joined us over there yet? Here are a couple of skirts I've made for it.
This one is the Night Circus Skirt. It's a 6 gore skirt that is soooooo comfortable.  I sewed it up in this woven dot fabric I picked up from the clearance rack at Joann a couple of years ago.
Next up is the Knit Faux wrap skirt. I sewed this in a Ponte de Roma that I bought from Girl Charlee.  You might recognize it, I used it for Meredith's dress mash up as well.

I've also been playing around with some new pattern designs. I made myself a little card wallet. Just a simple card holder with a little zipper pouch for coins. My sister is sewing some of these up for our Etsy Shop. I'll give you a heads up when they are listed.


And I made my sis a new handbag. I don't have a finished shot of it but I here's a little glimpse. It turned out really cute and I will be patterning it one day. For now you can enjoy a little taste of Anna Maria Horner's Folksong.


Okay that's all for now. Happy Sewing!!

Mini Tulip Tote - 2 chances to win!

So as you know I released my first PDF pattern a couple of weeks ago. If you didn't get a chance to see it you can find it in my Etsy Shop. It's called the Mini Tulip Tote. Let me just say that it's been so fun and exciting to get feedback from you all. And I'm so grateful to my fellow bloggers who have helped me get the word out about it. 
 Caroline showed off her tote on SewCanShe last week. I actually gave this one to Caroline on her birthday a couple of years ago. At the time, we were in the thick of  writing our book Just for You.  She's giving a Mini Tulip Tote pattern away on her site and her giveaway is open until Wednesday so go click on over and enter.  Thanks Caroline!


Next up, Michelle from Falafel and the Bee posted her sweet blue Tie Dye version today. Head over to Falafel and the Bee to get the whole story and for another chance to win a free pattern. I just love her photography and her cute model. She is always sewing up something fantastic so you may want to take a minute and browse while you're there. Thanks Michelle! 


And last but not least, I got a sweet email from Maryann from Picperfic's Blog last week showing me the Mini Tulip Tote that she made after purchasing the pattern. You can read more about it on her blog.  Thanks for sharing Maryann, you made my day!!