Rush Hour! Aka: The Caught In Construction/My Car Broke Down/Waiting In The Carpool Line Project

I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to join this hop!  Thank you so much to Studio E for letting me play with your fabrics.....they were rich in color and a great quality as well.  Red, black and gray - what's not to love about that?  There were several of the fabrics I had the hardest time cutting into because I knew I'd be wishing for more when I used them all up, and I confess there was one I kept just smidgen of for "later".  I literally used every scrap of the rest of the bundle!  I did add a small bit of gingham because it was perfect with these fabrics.

And thank you to Carol of Just Let Me Quilt for hostessing us and to Madame Samm of Sew We Quilt - without these people we wouldn't have all this inspiration.

The name of this fabric line, Rush Hour, made me think of all the times I've sat in traffic, waiting for one more car length to move.  And unfortunately the few times when I've had car trouble and been stuck by the side of the road waiting for the tow truck.  And way too often for my sanity waiting in the carpool line or in some parking lot waiting for children or grandchildren to finish whatever activity they were involved in.  Wouldn't it be nice if I had a bag of goodies/necessities in my car all the time for "just such a time as this."  (Esther 4:14)   And so my Rush Hour Bag was born.  I cut 2 1/2" strips from all the fat quarters to form what reminds me of the lanes on the highway.  :)  I used black webbing for the straps and made them long enough that they will hang around the head rest in my car so the bag won't go tumbling into the floor when I have to stop suddenly and long enough that the bag will rest on the seat and not give undue strain to the straps.

Is that not the cutest bag?  I added a bit of rick rack to the top edge....just because.  And I put in lots of pockets so that if I don't want to take my purse I can put my change purse, my credit card holder, my checkbook, etc. in and find them easily.

The lining is white because it's soooo much easier to find things and I boxed the bottom a bit and added a piece of foam board on the bottom to stabilize it a little.  Then I decided I should have a few zipper bags to organize things a little.  I wanted to take my stitching, some handiwipes, a snack, a water bottle, a notepad and pen, some sunglasses, even a few of my favorite tea bags because I could always stop and get a cup of hot water if I'm traveling.  You'd be surprised how much fits into this bag!

When I finished this one I thought it needed a little something so I added a button zipper pull.

It's my "everything but the kitchen sink" bag.

Wipes, granola bars, ear buds, sunglasses....it holds it all.

And the cup fabric - how perfect was that for my favorite tea bags?

This time I stacked several buttons that were alike - they are really gray and not blue like they are showing in this picture.

Thinking cap on....what else would I need if I were stranded on the road?  Once upon a time I had a Toyota that kept breaking down.  Toyota you said?  One of the most reliable cars in the world?  Yep.  Four times it quit on me going to work an hours drive away.  And then I would have to wait an hour or two for the tow truck.  Only me.  Many times I wished I could get out of the car and sit under a shade tree but I had nothing to sit on.  Or it would be cold and I didn't have anything to cover up with.  So...a quilt it needed to be.  I cut the rest of the fat quarters into the same 2 1/2" strips, with some gingham added, and made a strip quilt to go into my bag.

I cut all the strips, threw them into a sack and pulled them out blind.  I sewed them end to end until I had one long strip and then put the two ends of the strip together and sewed those together, over and over until it became this size.

The quilting is straight line...a quarter inch on either side of the seams and the binding is the gingham because I had NOTHING left of the fabric.  :)  And ya'll are lucky to get these pictures because I had to maneuver around this guy to get them!

And the complete project....bag and quilt together!  It's ready for me to pick up as I head out the door - packed and ready for any emergency.

I am so in love with this bag and quilt!  And the fabric....just wonderful.  Thanks so much for stopping by.  Be sure and visit the rest of the blogs on this hop; you're sure to be inspired!

Wednesday, September 24

Stitchin’ By The Lake

Buzzing and Bumbling

Lixie Makes It

Everyone Deserves a Quilt

Living With Purpose

Madly Mid Mod

Coral Canyon Quilting

Thursday, September 25

Sew Incredibly Crazy

Kwilty Pleasures

Selina Quilts

A Stitch in Time

It Seams To Be Sew

Pig Tales and Quilts

Lakeshore Stiches

Tea Time Creations

Friday, September 26

The Quilting Queen Online

Quilting Quietly

Vicky Myers Creations

Grammie Q’s

From This to That

Quilted Delights

Coeur d’Alene

Sew at Home Mummy

Monday, September 29

Grandmama’s Stories

Kris Loves Fabric

Jane’s Quilting

Life, Quilts, and Cats, too

Thimblemouse and Spouse

Creatin’ in the sticks

Bquiltin Studio

Tuesday, September 30

Lily Patch

MooseStash Quilting

Words & Stitches

Karma Willow Designs

Kwilt Krazy

How arT you?

Sew We Quilt