Keeping Judi Safe!

I’m sure as a Maker yourself, you’ve seen this funny saying before….

Well I said this exact thing to my friend the other day during a coffee date because, well, I’m doing exactly this probably lol!

You all know how much I love my sewing machine, Judi Juki, since I go on and on about it lol, so I’m sure you won’t be surprised to know that when I take her on a road trip, I seatbelt her into my car…safety first, right lol! But still, the whole time I’m moving her, even carrying her, I’m always freaking out that something is going to happen to her! I’ve envisioned the handle breaking off and her smashing to the ground more times than I care to admit! My husband knows how freaked out I am so he normally carries her up the stairs and out to the car for me lol! Also, have I mentioned that she’s a tank lol, she weighs just over 25 lbs and I’m wimpy lol!

So the other day I’m skimming through one of my Juki Facebook groups and I see someone ask what kind of tote bags everyone uses to transport their machines to retreats and such and it was like I was slapped in the face….why the heck have I never thought about getting a bag for Judi?!? It seems so silly but I honestly never thought about that solution! Anyways, lots of people replied with, “you have to get a Tutto, they’re the best”, so I immediately googled that and sure, I hope they’re “the best” cause the basic one I found was $278 lol!!!!!!

Ummm….nope lol, that’s now happening any time soon lol! Ok, now in all fairness I should say that if I was taking my machine to lots of retreats and on vacation with me, etc., then Ok, maaaaayyyyybbeeeeee but I’m only taking it to the odd craft night so no, I won’t be spending $300 on a tote bag! But this got my brain whirling…..how can I, a self-proclaimed BAG MAKER, not make a tote bag, there has to be a pattern for such a thing….and after one quick google inquiry, there it was lol, that was hard work lol!

This is the Sewing Machine Travel Bag pattern by Sew Sweetness, exactly what I need, heck, probably more than what I need but here’s another saying I enjoy, “go big or go home” lol! Sara of Sew Sweetness, has seriously thought of everything when designing this bag! There are so many pockets, there’s so much protection for the machine and she even designed it to be used with a folding luggage cart if you want the option of wheeling it….seriously, an amazing pattern! Without hesitation, I purchased the pattern and the journey began lol!

If you’re familiar with Sew Sweetness, then you know that Sara gives you 3 options when purchasing the pattern at 3 different price points. You can purchase the PDF pattern, or the Video and PDF Pattern or just the Video if you already have the pattern and have decided you now need the video! I went back and forth on the decision, not sure I needed/wanted the video, I mean, I would have used it for sure but the increased price seemed too much for me! Since it’s $15 USD for the combo, when converted, that’s over $20 and in my opinion, that’s more than I’m willing to spend on a pattern that, let’s be honest, I’ll probably never use again, so I ultimately decided to just purchase the PDF Pattern.

I already knew exactly what fabric I’d be using from my stash, thanks to some inspiration from the above picture! I, too, purchased some of the Tula Pink Handmade prints when they first came out in 2020 and they’ve sat pretty much untouched since then lol! I knew that one day the perfect project would present itself, and, finally it did! I ended up needing a couple more coordinating fabrics so I chose one of the new Tula Pink prints that we now carry, the Oopsie Daisy Dusk because it incorporates all the same colours as the prints I was already using, as well as Kona Bright Peri. So here’s all the fabrics I’m using…

And, after 3 evenings of prep work, here’s my completed pile of fabrics/interfacings ready to go!

Almost 4″ of goodness right there, 88 pieces in total lol!!!!

So, in case you haven’t guessed yet, this is going to be a multiple Blog entry project lol! I’ve started the actual sewing and am loving it all so much! There’s lots of little steps in doing all those pockets but I love that stuff, it makes me giddy lol!

I have sewed a couple of Sew Sweetness patterns before, many years ago, so it’s not like I’m completely unfamiliar with Sara’s patterns but I’ve already done some things in this pattern that I’ve never done before in any bag or project, which is so exciting! I read through the pattern completely before starting but I always find there’s things that just don’t make sense to me until I’m actually doing them…..and that definitely was the way with this one! I read a few steps, then re-read them and then re-re-read them because I was so confused by what the heck was happening, but once you’re doing it with the materials in front of you and then you understand the “why”, and the lovely “ohhhhhhhhh now I get it” moment happens lol! I’m telling you, these pattern designers are brilliant!!!

I shall leave you now with one final picture of my completed front side of this already awesome bag, which, following Sara’s advice, is where I’m leaving off for now! We’re coming to a pretty detailed intensive part of the bag so she says this in the pattern, “If you have been working on the pattern for a few hours, now would be a good time to stop for the day. This next step requires measuring and cutting slits through your fabric, and I find that starting fresh with a clear head is recommended.”! Well ok then Sara, I shall take your advice and leave off here till next time, and that goes for the Blog post too lol! Have an amazing week everyone, until next time my friends, stay safe and happy!

Shawna