Tallinn Fabrics Blog Tour

I’m excited that today is finally my day on the Tallinn Fabrics blog tour. I was so happy when Jessica Swift invited me to participate in the blog tour. I fell in love with Jessica’s Tallinn Fabrics for Angles by Art Gallery Fabrics last Fall, when she debuted her first line at Fall Quilt Market. I’ve been brainstorming lots of fun projects to make with her fabrics since then.

I decided to make the Townsend Travel Bag by Sallie Tomato Patterns. Jessica’s designs were influenced by her travels in Eastern Europe. They definitely inspired me to dream of travels abroad. The first step to making those dreams a reality is to find the right luggage, or in my case, to make it.

I used Odessa Dream, a large floral print – my favorite from the line – and a few coordinates, Sofia Sunrise, Sofia Midnight, and Zirkusbau Candy, a fun print with quirky bunnies and horses in bright, fun colors.

For this project, I used Sallie Tomato zippers by the yard and hardware. Zipper yardage is my new favorite way to buy zippers. The ability to custom cut a zipper to my desired length eliminates the need to hunt down a zipper in the right color and length. Sallie Tomato offers a variety of tape and teeth colors, which you can find here.

The thing I enjoy most about bag making is checking off each step as I go. First step, cut all the pieces. Next, fuse the interfacing, and soon the pieces you’ve cut start to resemble a finished bag. Add zippers, assemble straps, bind the unfinished edges, and before you know it, a pile of fabrics and foam become a travel bag.

This bag has a number of useful features, including internal pockets, a separate traincase compartment, and an optional adjustable crossbody strap. I was sure to add my favorite finishing touch, a “Handmade” tag by Emmaline Bags.

I made a couple accessories to complete my travel set. I used the Jewelry Travel Pouch tutorial on the blog, A Happy Song. The drawstring pouch features eight small pockets. The exterior fabric is the vibrant coordinate from Tallinn fabrics, Sofia Sunrise, and the interior fabrics are Sofia Midnight, and Odessa Dream in Fairytale.

Finally, I made a quick zipper pouch, which features Zirkusbau Candy, and is lined with Sofia Sunrise.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the projects I’ve made as much as I enjoyed sharing them. Jessica has quite a list of talented designers featured on her blog tour. I hope you’ll visit each of them and enjoy their Tallinn sewing projects as well.

1. Thursday April 19 – Mathew Boudreaux | Mister Domestic
2. Friday April 20 – Katie Skoog | The Simple Life Company
3. Monday April 23 – Sharon Holland
4. Tuesday April 24 – Eleri Kerian | Sew and Tell Project
5. Wednesday April 25 – Paola Baker | Love of Fabrics
6. Thursday April 26 – Maureen Cracknell
7. Friday April 27 – Alexis Wright | My Sweet Sunshine Studio
8. Monday April 30 – Isabelle Selak | South Bay Bella Studio
9. Tuesday May 1 – Cassie Massolia | Lily Shine Creates
10. Wednesday May 2 – Becca Plymale | Sunflower Seams
11. Thursday May 3 – Alisa Kutsel | A Stitch In Between
12. Friday May 4 – Sharon McConnell | Color Girl Quilts
13. Monday May 7 – Karen O’Connor | Lady K Quilt Designs
14. Tuesday May 8 – Sarai Schuk | Sarai’s Hobbies
15. Wednesday May 9 – Elise Baek | Elise & Emelie
16. Thursday May 10 – Jessica Swift
17. Friday May 11 – Gwyn LaSpina
18. Monday May 14 – Loni Jakubowski | Havin Sew Much Fun