Ooookay, so this is a testament to how long I can hold on to my favorite fabrics. Does that happen to you? I love hanging on to a favorite and waiting for when inspiration strikes and the fabric gets used. This is what happened with this fabric! I remember I bought it thinking I would make shorts with it??? Not sure how that would have turned out, eeeek!, but I’m glad I waited! This is the Cheater Print (a cheater print is a single fabric designed to look like patchwork) from Ellen Luckett Baker‘s first(?) collection with Kokka from 2012, called Stamped. I, of course, had bought and used a lot of the designs from that collection: Scallops, triangles, circle flowers and now this cheater print. Yep, guess I liked it!

Runaround Bag – Circle Flowers print || Tablet Case from my book, Handmade Style – Scallop print || Gingham Tote with rounded pocket option from my book, Handmade Style – Triangle print (Gingham Tote photo credit Holly DeGroot)

So I was digging through my fabric trying to get it a bit more organized (and cleaning out a bit for my annual sewing retreat with my friends) and came across this beauty and knew that I had to put it to use. Summer time sewing is a bit more limited and so a project like this Wool + Wax Tote is quite rewarding to make. With the scraps I made a coordinating zippered pouch which is always fun. I think I might be satisfied only making these totes with pouches for the rest of my sewing life. hahaha.

I used my Natural leather handles and attached them with rivets. If you’re curious about rivets I have a post here that explains a bit more and has links to sources. The contrast bottom is a waxed denim from AL Frances Textiles on Etsy. To keep things really simple I used Big Sur Canvas in Natural for the lining. For me I think I could use this for lining every bag. No need to add extra interfacing which is always a plus. And it coordinates so well with so many fabrics (plus it comes in a ton of other colors, too).

Pattern: Wool + Wax Tote (available as a stand alone PDF or as part of a collection in my Everyday Essentials booklet) and improv zippered pouch.
Fabric: Cheater Print (from Stamped collection) by Ellen Luckett Baker, (see Ellen’s latest collection here, looking forward to it later this summer/early fall!!!), Waxed Denim by AL Frances Textiles, lining is Big Sur canvas in Natural by Robert Kaufman Fabrics
Natural Leather Handles in my shop, Brass rivets from Minkus Margo on Etsy

How’s your summer going so far? I feel like I need to acknowledge that it’s passing very quickly, but my family and I have been having fun and jumping at pretty much every fun opportunity that comes our way. We even have a real vacation planned to Chincoteague later this summer. Looking forward to some time at the ocean, it’s been too long! I haven’t mentioned it here on the blog yet, but on my Instagram you may have seen that my next fabric collection, Driftless, with Robert Kaufman Fabrics was just released (that means that shops are now seeing it and are able to order). I’m so honored to have been able to work with Robert Kaufman Fabrics once again.

Driftless fabric collection by Anna Graham for Robert Kaufman Fabrics

Driftless is a collection of 26 prints overprinted on Essex and Essex Yarn Dye, and Essex Yarn Dye Homespun (yesssss! eeek!) all printed in the USA. I’m so thrilled with how the fabric turned out. Don’t you love a good fat quarter stack like this? Here’s the super important part – it’ll be shipping to stores in December! Yep, I fully know it’s a ways away, but I think it’ll be worth the wait for you! If you’re interested in these fabrics, please share this with your local quilt shop and ask if they’ve ordered. That way they can be sure to get some! I hope this small peek of the collection will provide a little bit of inspiration and get you excited about sewing with it.

Annnnnd, I’m bursting at the seams excited to show you the projects I made using it! Also, I can hardly wait to talk to you about things that inspired me while designing the prints. Here’s a little hint. I’ll be saving the projects to share for when it gets closer to the release date (so maybe sometime starting in November?!) as I know it can be so hard to be inspired to make something yet not have the fabric available. So please hang in there!

Thanks so much for your constant support and encouragement over the years! This is truly a dream come true! I’m so excited for Driftless!

I really don’t love wearing shorts. Maybe it’s a comfort thing, maybe it’s a not wanting to feel too exposed kind of thing. Either way, I went on a spree of trying on shorts at various stores. It’s too hot and humid to wear pants, and a dress or skirt isn’t something I want to live in all summer. So I made shorts! They fit way better than any store-bought option and the fabric and finishes are much higher quality. Thank you sewing!

I’m always happy to make something instead of buying it at the store. It actually feels like a fault half of the time because I see something and tell myself “oh, you can just make that.” and then never actually make it. My closet looks pretty sparse lately and I’m ready to commit a little bit more time sewing a few things that I know I’ll wear. It’s hard to squeeze the time in, but it really is something I enjoy and I love sharing about what I make, even if it isn’t something from one of my own patterns. I hope you might find some of the stuff I write about helpful.

I had been seeing a few friends make the Spring Shorts pattern from Peppermint Magazine (pattern created by Pattern Runway for the magazine). They happen to be a free pattern, which is never a deciding factor for me. However, I thought it would be helpful to let you know that it appears to be somewhat limited sizing, which I’m guessing is part of the reason that they can offer it for free. I chose a size 10 and I think the fit is excellent. I did french seams for the side and crotch seams. I didn’t feel like changing my serger thread, so there you go! I think they’ll also be quite durable, too. I used some twill tape and a couple wood beads from my little pile of trinkets, and I really love how they came together.

The fabric is a linen from Indiesew last summer. I love it but at first had the hardest time deciding what project to use it for. At one point it ended up being, gasp, a table cloth! Which was perfect for the time (I didn’t even hem anything), but also was perfect from when I found it the other day and figured I’d give it a shot with these shorts! I think it’s the perfect shorts fabric for this humid summer.

I’ve already cut out a second pair (from chambray) that I’m equally as excited about. So hopefully those will get sewn up even quicker now that I’m familiar with the pattern, maybe I’ll add some patch pockets on the back!

Pattern: Spring Shorts by Pattern Runway for Peppermint Magazine
Fabric: Striped Linen from Indiesew, last summer (she has some cute options in her shop) also, Harts Fabric has a bunch of nice options here