Not Your Ordinary Goody Bag

In the previous post I told you about the trip I took this spring on the Patchwork Express.  On this trip we loaded the bus early Saturday morning and visited 5 quilt shops during the day.  We spent the night in the town of our first quilt shop visit on Sunday.  We visited 3 shops on Sunday before returning to Fort Worth.  I always love going to different quilt shops and seeing the beautiful fabric, notions and of course the sample quilts.  I get so inspired all I want to do is sew and quilt for the next month.

Our group traveled on the bus sponsored by a shop where my friend works. Some of the ladies from my regular quilt group attended so it was a fun time.  One of the ways my friend wanted to make our bus the best was by giving every single person a door prize.  So in order to help her meet her goal of giving over 50 people a door prize I made some Just Because Goody Bags.

A Just Because Goody Bag is not your ordinary goody bag.  It is a bag filled with 5 or more handmade items.  My idea is that a goody bag should be something unique and fun.  Not just a few store bought items thrown in a bag and tied with a cute ribbon.  I have tailored these Just Because bags with a quilter in mind.  Each bag contains the following handmade items: a set of gift tags, a small sign, hand stamped note pad, set of lettered quilting pins, zipper pull and a scissor fob.

All the items in each bag.  There were different colors schemes.

The zipper pull was two yo-yos stacked with a button in the middle.

The lettered pins will make keeping track of rows 

easier when putting a quilt together.

Never loose your scissors again.

Everyone can always use extra gift tags.

The hand stamped note pads were fun and easy.

The whole group of 10 Just Because Goody bags.

I had a lot of fun designing each item and more fun making them.  To wrap up each bag in a fun way I used a plain brown paper sack, a small paper doilies and a quilting clothespin.  Each lady that received a goody bag seemed to love the items included.

The wrapped bags.

Oh, so true!

Check out my Etsy account WebberWorks for more Just Because Goody bags.  They are great for any kind of retreat.

Danna

Patchwork Express - A Trip Worth Taking!

A few weekends ago I had the opportunity to attend a Patchwork Express trip.  This is a trip where you board a bus with 49+ other quilting friends and travel to different quilt shops.  On our trip we visited 8 quilt shops in 2 days.

Three friends from my quilt group. 

A quilt shop visit always brings big smiles!

I had not been to most of the shops so it was exciting to visit someplace new.  One of the things I liked about seeing all the different shops is looking at all the quilt samples each has on display.

And of course all the fabric to drool over is another great perk.  Each shop has its own unique way to display and arrange fabric.  I am a person who starts my creations by selecting a color first.  So the shops where the fabric was arranged by color was easier for me to see all the choices.  Some shops arranged theirs by fabric lines.  This was interesting to see all the choices in a particular fabric group.

One of my favorite shops had large gift bags called "Mystery Fabric Grab Bags".  Each bag had between 4-8 pounds of fabric and you paid a fee per pound.  I purchased a 4 lb gab for $20.  I love the excitement of opening a grab bag not knowing what is inside.  Mine had two large pieces of yardage fabric in brown and black.  Also included was a ton of pre-cut  and packaged coordinating pieces.  The pre-packaged sets look like they were from a past block of the month.  I am sure I will have fun creating something with those pieces.

My friend bought a $100 Mystery Grab Bag.

This finished quilt top was in her bag.

Our bus had lots of fun winning door prizes, playing quilt bingo, sharing snacks and discussing all of our fabric and notions purchases.  The "Bus Mamma" was a friend of mine and she did a great job taking care of all our needs.

Our "Bus Mamma"

With each shop we visited I gathered new and different inspiration for future quilts.  And of course fabric to go with that inspiration.  Like most quilters I have more projects in my head than I will ever be able to accomplish but it is always good to have new inspiration.

Adding to my stash.  It is always good to have new fabrics.

You know the saying "She who dies with the most fabric wins."

The next time you are in your favorite quilt shop ask if they participate in a Patchwork Express event.  It is a trip worth taking.  Where else can you travel with so many that share the same passion for quilting.

Happy travels!

Danna