Travel Duffels 1 + 2

Do you know that it is now time to link up your finishes for the second quarter of the Finish-A-Long over at She Can Quilt?! Well, it is. And that means that I am racing to get at least a few things finished from my list. Yep, if you've been around my blog for a while, I'm sure you know that the last week of the quarter is my favorite time to finish a ton of projects! :) My original 2nd Quarter list can be found HERE. You have until the 7th to link up your finishes.

My first finish is my second travel duffel. I made my first bag in April, so that I could have a big bag to take all my stuff to the hospital in. It was the perfect size!

I used some Amy Butler home dec weight fabrics that I've had forever. Originally I was going to make a diaper bag with them... glad I never did. :)

The same time I started that one, I started a second so my kids could have their own to share when we traveled. I might make a third for my hubby, but not now. Anyway, I never did get the second finished, until now!

More Amy Butler.
I didn't have enough of the main fabric in this one, so the outside pockets are the same fabric as the handles. 

I like that the bags kind of match.

I used this pattern for the Quilted Travel Duffel by Studio Cherie on Etsy. I think you can find the pattern on Craftsy as well. I bought this pattern a few years ago, so I don't know if it's been updated, but I wish there had been a few tips the first time I made it:

• prewash your jute webbing - it shrinks when you wash it, as well as softens up. I think the ink in the webbing might also bleed - another good reason to prewash. (You can find jute webbing on Etsy. Some shops are better priced than others, so look around. I was excited to find some with a light grey coloring rather than the red and blue that was most common. but it really doesn't show, so not a big deal anyway.)
• Cut your webbing LONG. Measure the length she says from the short ends of the angles, rather than the points. The first time I cut it, it ended up being short. The next time I was about an inch too long, so really, I don't know how to cut it, but longer is always better!
• I did not zigzag around all my pieces as often as she suggests. For the end squares, I only zigzagged around them after I had added the pockets.

I can't remember what else...

On the white bag I added zippered pockets on both ends, as well as the pocket between the straps on both sides. I also added one extra pocket between the straps on the inside. I love pockets. I would have added more to the blue bag, but I didn't have enough of those fabrics. Oh well. :)

And I must add that these bags are HUGE!! They don't seem so big just carrying them around, but they hold a LOT. We went on a day trip to the Field Of Dreams movie set and brought a picnic blanket, snacks, water bottles, our baby bjorn, another blanket, some jackets, etc and still had room. We also did an overnighter in Nauvoo and fit all of our clothes, diapers (for the kids and baby), swimsuits, bathroom stuff, etc, in it (that is two adults, 3 children and a baby). Usually we have to bring two suitcases. It was awesome to only have one bag!!! We are driving to Utah later this month and I'm excited to see how much we can fit in these two bags and not have to bring as many bags as usual. :)

Hooray for a finish! 

Stay tuned for more in the next few days. :)

Do you have any fun plans for the summer???

Happy Monday!