Mini Double-Pocket Bag • aka Mini Sew-Together Bag

June 23, 2020May 7, 2026 Elizabeth E.11 Comments

Sound the trumpets! Today is finally the day that I’m releasing my pattern for the Mini Double-Pocket Bag. I know the title at the top of the post is long, but hang on to your handbags, because so is this post.

Mini Double-pocket Zipper Bag, number 236 on Quilt Index

You all know that BluPrint/Craftsy has bit the dust, possibly due to the coronavirus, but possibly not. I used to have a slew of patterns on there, but after the purge of Craftsy to BluPrint, they allowed me one. And that one was my more simple attempt to get the dimensions out there for the mini version.

But it’s not been satisfactory to me. I felt I should give you better.
Short version of this story: It’s Time.

It’s time to have a stand-alone pattern for my Mini Double-Pocket Bag, that also has instructions, so you can take this pattern to your retreat that is in the mountains or at the sea shore and STILL be able to make the bag, without relying on the Internet.

This version has two pockets. The yellow Mini Double-Pocket Bag I made has two zippers, that open from opposite ends. The other two bags (red and blue) slide open from the same side. I like to change things up.

I spent more than a few hours making over 64 (full-color!) illustrations to go in this pattern. I didn’t want any of you to get lost along the way. I used three pieces of software: Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, and Affinity Publisher. I recommend them verrrry highly if you are someone who wishes they’d majored in Graphic Design in college and more than once in the last week has mentioned this to their husband. (Yes, you’ll have a learning curve, but there are lots of resources to help you online.) This pattern is ALL MY OWN WORK.

To proof these bags, I sent patterns to Cindy of LiveAColorful Life, and Carol @carolgillen and they both suggested some minor changes; both were happy with the multiple and detailed illustrations. Thank you to both of those amazing ladies!

This is what the pattern looks like over at my pattern shop on PayHip.

I tweaked some measurements, dove deep into the making so I could understand other components, and added a few twists of my own.

And why do we all like to make this thing? I don’t know why, but there are over 500 posts of people making it, even with that old dishrag of a pattern that used to be up on Craftsy.

I think it’s because we can take three of our Anna Maria Horner fabrics, back it and bind it with another two AMH fabrics, and have something to carry our Hexies and sewing and binding and stitching stuff in. And we still have more AMH fabrics left.

Or we can gather up a batch of red and white and blue fabrics, and whip up a cute hostess gift for that non-existent 4th of July party we are going to. (Okay, better keep it for yourself.)

I, myself, have over five different small sewing bags, each geared to the type of project I’m working on. My friend Judy packs her jewelry in it when she used to head out on her international trips. I suppose you could use to when you head to the grocery store, to organize your coupons. I’m sure you’ll think of ways to use your Mini Double-Pocket Bag, and if you need the pattern (of course you do), here’s a little treat:

Until July 14th, the pattern will be sold at a discount of 20% with the code: minidoublepocketbag20 — that’s all lower case, with the number 20 at the end. When you check out over on PayHip, you’ll see a place to put your code.

Welcome the newest addition to our pattern world!

Happy Sewing!

300 Quilts · Patterns by Elizabeth of OPQuilt · Quilt Finish · Travels

Azulejos • Quilt Finish

February 16, 2020May 7, 2026 Elizabeth E.6 Comments

Azulejos • Quilt #227
61 1/2″ wide by 75 1/2″ long

It was a rainy, wet day in Lisbon, and we’d made our way by bus to the Lisbon National Museum of the Azulejo, or the Tile Museum. We were rewarded for our efforts as I began to call it the Quilters’ Resource Center. If you are a grid enthusiast, as I am, it was heaven to walk through, with all sorts of interesting ways to think about what’s in a grid, as well as how to use color and negative space to make a design. And so, from a small sketch on that day in 2016, I created this quilt.

I was also inspired by a beautiful fabric created by Alison Glass from her Handiwork Collection. It was just so….azul (or blue, in Portuguese). I filled in with other treasures from my stash, and got to work trying to make it easier to construct.

Cathy Kreter, my quilter, did a nice tight design for the quilting.

So why if I finished it in November, have I not put it up here until now? Two reasons: one is I was seeing if my favorite magazine was interested (not this time, they said), and secondly, it was slated to hang at Road to California with a collection of modern quilts made by my guild, the Inland Empire Quilt Guild. We were honored to be able to have our quilts hung in the atrium as quilters entered, so I kept it quiet. There are more pictures on our Guild’s blog, taken by our President’s husband, a professional photographer.

On Sunday after Road was over, I had to wait like forever to pick up the three quilts I had at Road. My husband snapped this as we were leaving, Ladybird in my hands (well, the backing for Ladybird — a stellar print by Jane Sassaman).

Today I took some more photos of Azulejos, laying it down by the tools of the painters who were working at our home that day, scraping popcorn ceilings painting. It’s nice how a quilt can brighten any corner!

100 Quilts · Free Download · Patterns by Elizabeth of OPQuilt · Quilts

Revisiting the Red and White Pinwheel

October 2, 2019May 7, 2026 Elizabeth E.13 Comments

A quilt in red and white and yellow and blue and all colors!

Interestingly, I get a lot of mail about this quilt. It must be on a boatload of Pinterest boards, but the pattern for this quilt has gone missing. It was originally published in a national magazine, but in searching for it (my old link to the pattern is kaput), it seems to have disappeared. The original was in a lot of different colors, but my friend Rhonda chose to make it in red and white for a class she was teaching seven years ago. I liked hers so well, I made one of my own. The original pattern was an 8″ block, but I made the pattern to finish at 7 1/2″ (mostly so I could get it all on one page).

I wanted to see it in blue and yellow!

Since it’s not my pattern, and it’s disappeared and I get a lot of mail about it, I decided to draw it up in my QuiltPro software, rework it in Affinity Publisher software, and have it here for you for download:

Pinwheel Quilt_OPQuilt Download

It’s not really a pattern, but more a loose set of instructions. It’s meant to be a scrappy quilt, and there are a couple of different views, a red-white-blue version and a Kaffe Fasset fabrics version.

You can read more about it here and here.

So you don’t go away empty-handed, if you’re not interested in a pinwheel quilt, here’s a chart that came to me in a Guild newsletter. It shows how much yardage is in a particular precut, and what that costs per yard.

Happy Quilting!

(Post and free quilt pattern download was updated May 2026)

300 Quilts · Patterns by Elizabeth of OPQuilt

City Streets Pattern Release

September 7, 2019May 20, 2026 Elizabeth E.6 Comments

City Streets now has another rendition.

I made it up in a 15″ block pattern, and broke into my meager Tula stash to create a colorful quilt. This pattern is made for beginners, with no triangles anywhere. I envisioned the 15″ block to sew up quickly for baby quilts and other times when you need a quilt. Fast.

I cut and sewed this all in a long morning, which leaked a bit into the afternoon. It’s a pretty quick sew if you are experienced, but a bit longer if you are a newbie.

City Streets, with both sizes included, is now for sale on PayHip. (Get coupon, below.)

I also learned a few new things in my Affinity Publisher Software, making the pattern more colorful and easy-to-read. Above is the yardage chart for both versions.

You’ve seen a photo shoot on the first version of this quilt, but more pictures of the new version (not yet quilted) are below:

Here’s a coupon code for you in case you want to pick it up. Head over to PayHip and use CITYSTREETS20 — it will get you 20% off the price for a little more than a week (it expires on September 17th).

Happy Sewing!