Michael Miller / Madrona Road Challenge

Michael Miller has hosted a challenge for their Madrona Road fabrics and it is now coming to a close.  Modern Quilt Guild posted some wonderful photos of a few of the projects submitted.  You should check it out here.  There is also a Flickr group for the final projects and there are some really beautiful quilts there.

(It’s funny the things you think of in the middle of the night!…I forgot to credit the designer of this fabric line, Violet Craft.  Can’t have that!  You should see her post which contains the story in the text fabrics.  Such a beautifully written story.)

Today is actually the deadline for submissions, so I’m pushing in just under the deadline!  I knew before I received the fabric I wanted to create a quilted bag to take to QuiltCon, but I waffled on the style.

I have really wanted to try Amy Butler’s Weekender Travel Bag, and Anna Horner’s Art Student Tote, but I couldn’t commit.

 

I recently traveled for business training and received this bag from Raymond James.  It’s a great size and it’s fast becoming one of my favorite bags.  I drew out the dimensions and recreated it for the Madrona Road fabrics.

I seem to always find things I don’t like or could do better, but I’m determined not complain or whine my way through this post.  So, while it may be a bit scrappier than I intended and there were a couple places in construction where I could  definitely improve, the bag turned out pretty well.  Since I drafted the pattern from scratch, I was surprised it went together so well and was really pleased.

Thanks to Michael Miller for hosting this challenge and for providing fabric to get started.  Once I had the fabric in my hands, I had to purchase more.  There are some great fabrics in this line.  There’s still plenty left over for a quilt.  Yay!

And thanks to Modern Quilt Guild for spreading the word and making this interesting.