Not so Lazy Girl

I work faster under a deadline because I know that what I am working on must be finished. Unlike the garments for my kids that I have moved around for years. I missed the deadline for the first child and thought well, I'll finish them for the next. The youngest passes the size and I just don't have the heart to throw them out so I keep them, half finished, in a box with all my other half finished garments. I keep hoping that someday the sewing fairy will come along and finish the hem, or sew on the buttons, or find the other sleeve that I have strategically placed somewhere. Is it against the rules to give partially finished garments to Goodwill? Half the fun of a sewing project is getting started right? Choosing fabrics and a pattern, cutting and sewing enough that you can see what the finished product would like if perhaps it actually got finished. So on to my current deadline at hand. .. Lazy Girl purses, totes, and wallets (oh my)! How bad can they be with a name like Lazy Girl?

I started with the Sassy Bag. A bag that I have made half a dozen times so it should be easy. What I love about the Lazy Girl patterns...no pattern. What I hate about Lazy Girl patterns...no patterns. It's easy enough rotary cutting out rectangles but you have to be really on the ball to know which way to turn the fabric to get your directional prints right side up. So that said, Poodles were marching the wrong way across my flap and pocket. Shooooooot, re-cut. The only instruction I changed was to make the flap with no cut to turn it. I just left part of the seam open and turned it and then stitched up the seam. Looks better in my opinion.

I'd gotten myself warmed up so on to something new and exciting! With the temps warming up, the Summer Tote seemed like a winner. Armed with several yards of coordinates and a whole lot of Wonder Under, I set to work. I wasn't quite sure how the Wonder Under would work as the instructions call for Steam A Seam 2. I had some but not in a large pieces. For those that have not made Lazy Girl patterns, the instructions are something to behold. The pictures are great but the wording is a little odd at best! Step one, fuse these two pieces together. Ok, how hard can that be? Well, for starters, they are 20 x 16 and don't quite fit on my ironing board. I pressed onward (get it!). Half an hour and an ironing board full of Wonder Under, an iron coated in gooooo, and my fabric firmly fused in spots to my ironing board, my pieces were perfect. Did you know that you are supposed to let Wonder Under cool before removing the paper backing? Let me just say, read and follow the directions.

Honestly, I loved the weight the fused fabrics gave to the tote. But let me say a few things about cutlets and notches. Lazy Girl decided to name the little squares and rectangles that are cut out to make this tote such a wonderful shape. The squares are cutlets and the rectangles are notches. I decided to just name them Harry and Annie after my daughter's twin Bitty Babies. Of course you could also call them squares and rectangles. Conveniently there is a template included in the instructions for the rectangles. I guess true Lazy Girls cannot make anything other than a square because those pieces are left out even though you will use them later. Bag construction went together beautifully and I spent more time reading the instructions and calling all my friends and quoting them, than actually sewing. I

sewed everything as is except the handles to which I added some batting and upholstery cording for stability. This is a BIG bag and if it were full, it would need that stability! Let me just say there is nothing "Lazy" about the instructions. They include LOTS of words. I love the patterns though so it's off to my sewing room to giggle through another pattern. After all, I am on a deadline! ~Rena