Pattern Review: Grab 'n' Go Wristlet by The Plaid Scottie

Have you met my buddy Kaelin at The Plaid Scottie? If not, you should pop on over and say hello. She's a bit of a firecracker (my kind of gal), makes amazing stuff, and is always one for a funny story. Can't wait to meet her in person at Sewing Summit for some good drink-out-my-nose laughs!

Anyways, when Kaelin asked if I would give her new Grab 'n' Go Wristlet pattern a test run, you better believe I jumped at the chance. These pretty little bags have a sweet pleated panel across the front and a button accent...y'all know how I feel about buttons, right? The pattern includes wristlets in two sizes, a generous purse size and a smaller size she lists as a coin purse but I think makes a lovely small bag. Being the delicate flower I am (snort!), I opted to make the smaller purse.

For my fabrics, I used some chocolate brown suiting that I had bought eons ago. It has a bit of a heavier weight to it and I love the color for fall. I paired it with some gorgeous Anna Maria Horner Little Folks Voile...yes, Friends, I cut into it again! Therapy must be working ;) For the lining I used a pretty Rowan shot cotton that perfectly compliments the violet tones in the voile.

The pattern was very clear and well written. Good photos and illustrations to help with each step. The only mods I made (I never truly follow a pattern) were to omit the lobster clasp for the wrist strap....simply because I didn't have one on hand and was too lazy to go out and buy one. I did some extra top stitching on the pleats to secure the slippery voile. I also used the brown fabric for the button band instead of the pleat fabric as suggested; in my opinion, it helps to make it pop. I also didn't put the interfacing in the button band, and I wish I had used a lighter one for my wrist strap...I went with the full fleecy type and it was a bit bulky. But comfy on the wrist! It's all good.

Anyways, I love the pattern and am very happy with how my wristlet came out. It is meant to be a gift, but I think I see one for me in my future.....If you would like to get your own Grab 'n' Go pattern, it is available in Kaelin's shop. AND, Kaelin will be one of the contributors to my upcoming Bag Lady Week, where she will be doing a free tutorial for a quilted hexie coin purse, along with a Grab 'n' Go pattern giveaway for a lucky reader!! Looking forward to more fun with Kaelin :)

Feelin' Hunky Dory

Well, it was not the best day...started at 4 a.m., involved brattier-than-normal kids and house cleaning. Then I was sour because I was out and missed my highly anticipated delivery of Anna Maria Horner Little Folks fabric (a present to me from me for Mother's Day) and the delivery slip indicated that I owe over $50 (!!!) in duty charges! Stupid Canada Customs. Anyways, I needed a pick-me-up, so I grabbed some left over chocolate cake from last night's baby shower (yum) and headed to the computer and the Noodleheads blog, where I found the gathered clutch tutorial. I was envying Kathy's clutch the other night, and she told me about the tutorial....anyways, I had to have one. And, now I do!

I plan to take it out on the town tonight for date night with hubby (yikes! The sitter is due in 6 minutes, so I better wrap this up!). Anyways, I made it out of a beautiful linen, and some scraps of Moda Hunky Dory fabric left over from my next quilting project. It is lined with the pink dot fabric from the same line (not shown here). My one modification was a wrist strap- again, I have to credit Kathy with this bright idea, although I did it slightly differently than she had (I just cut a 14 inch by 2 inch piece of Hunky Dory, added some interfacing, sewed it wrong sides facing along the length, inverted, pressed and topstitched along each length). I am so pleased with the end result! If you want one, too, check out Anna's Noddlehead blog- you won't be disappointed.