EPT progress

I'm tired...of that depressing post below!

I've been sewing away on the 14 Embryonic Pod Things, also known as Box/Project Bags (linking to the best of many tutorials). The initial infrastructure steps are done and I'm installing zippers at the moment.

The "infrastructure" consists of sewing down the iron-on interfacing to the main fabrics and the lining fabrics (4 pieces per bag, the way I make them). I like to sew a few length-wise lines along what will be the top of the bag, and several vertical lines along what will be the sides. This secures the interfacing (which doesn't really stick very well to heavy upholstery or even light denim fabrics) and adds interest.

In the past, for bags I've made as gifts, I've used a very analog technique of spacing the sewing lines, but since I'm putting these bags up for sale I want them to be a little more polished in appearance. That necessitated not only marking up the bed of my little Janome Jem, but finding an extension "table" I could mark up as well. She's a little machine (but a hard worker!) with rounded edges, and the best solution I found was the soft binder I keep patterns and inspirations in.

The softness of the binder allowed it to snug right up to the edge of the machine. I didn't try to line up exactly with any of the lines, but rather used them for guidance. For spacing I simply ran 7 stitches between each line.

Now that I'm sewing on the zippers, there are a lot of opportunities for Leader-and-Endering,

but it's the Wonky Stars that are growing in number (not Bonnie Hunter's Shoo-Fly blocks):

Because I'm using the zipper foot, I have to be content with eyeballing a seam. Wonky Star (points) are the perfect blocks for that.

And finally, the view behind me as I sit and sew:

Fortunately, I won't be needing the ironing board for several weeks. This is the only place where I can stash these as I work on them, but at least they're easy to reach!

By the way, this time I bought all the zippers online through "ZipperShipper" which, even with shipping, cost far less than purchasing them through JoAnn Fabrics as I've done before ($1.29 vs $4.99-7.99? Yes please!) The color selection was much greater as well. I wasn't thrilled with what they called "Gold" (see that bright yellow in the picture above?), but all the rest of the colors matched quite well with the little color rectangles on their site. (Not an affiliate, just a satisfied customer.)