‘Hope’ Messenger

I’m sure many of us have fabrics in our stash that we are saving for just the right project! I have finally used some of mine……

A few years ago I bought a couple of fabrics from Moda fabrics designed by Howard Marcus Dunn as part of the ‘Collection for a cause’ series. Proceeds from these collections are given to support various charities and causes.

These fabrics are from the ‘Hope’ collection supporting research into Motor Neurone Disease.

The fabrics are reproduced from antique quilts that are part of the Howard Marcus Dunn Collection. The ‘Hope’ fabrics are from a quilt circa 1830-1840 from New York that included fabric from the dress worn by the maker the day she met her future husband. I love this story and the beautiful colours in the main fabric.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve taken these fabrics out to use them for a project then decided to save them for something more special but that day never comes does it? So it was time to take the fabric out and make a decision!

The result

Messenger bag made using Moda fabrics designed by Howard Marcus Dunn as part of the ‘Collection for a cause’ series. This fabric is from the ‘Hope’ range

I decided to make an across the body messenger bag using a pattern from ‘The Bag Making Bible’ by Lisa Lam. The pattern is designed to carry a laptop so I made some slight adjustments; I left out the laptop harness, added extra zipped pockets and reduced the over all size a little. I have inserted zipped pockets into the front and rear panels of the lining and some pen holders.

 

I have inserted a further zipped pocket into the back of the bag – I chose a red zip to pick out the colour of the flowers.

 

 

 

 

 

I chose antique brass metal work to compliment the vintage style of the fabrics; it is the first time that I have used the twist turn clasps, they are a bit fiddly but the finish they give to the bag is well worth the effort.

Inspired to quilt

I wanted to show you the other fabrics from the ‘Hope’ collection and searched for some images without success, however I did discover a fellow fan of the ‘collections for a cause’ fabrics – Jennifer of ‘Seams Crazy’ blog – http://seamscrazyquilts.com/

There are many wonderful quilters websites out there and I have been left in awe of their skilful piecing. I’m not a quilter, I’m more of a fabric junkie, so I think it was the beautiful fabrics chosen for her ‘reach for the stars’ blocks that inspired me (see it here)  http://seamscrazyquilts.com/2014/04/08/sherris-progress-and-my-block-9/block-5/#main I look forward to watching how Jennifer’s quilt progresses and, who knows, I may even try a quilt myself some day!

Do you have treasured fabrics in your stash waiting for the perfect project? I would love to hear about them.