Friday, July 31, 2009

Catching Up!

... and cool links!

I don't want you all to think I haven't been working lately! Let's get going!

First, I'd like to thank Sharla (and Angel, Isabella and Sadie) over at The Beaded Tail for Thursday's post! Your words brought tears to my eyes! :) Thank you so much for featuring Bags by KZK! I loved seeing your HTP! Bag in action!

Next - thanks to Jan! Her sweet Khady Lyn did a great job showing off the Z Bag I made for Jan. Many thanks for your kind words, too! (And Dave DID work very hard helping me with the colors!)

Next again (lol!) - many thanks to Rhonda (and Joe Stains) for featuring her Huffle Duffel on Joe's blog! I hope it brings your team luck! :) I love seeing the Huffle Duffle heading out to the ball game!

I really appreciate all of you giving blog time to my bags!

Beth sent in a great email and photo of her new Super Shopper! This is from her company picnic Saturday:

Beth (in purple) and friends/family; Super Shopper on the right

She said she loves it - and that it goes everywhere with her! Nothing could make me happier!!! Glad to hear it - and thanks for sending the photo in!

In the Studio, I've been working on a Deeve Bag (with Hold the Phone! Bag) and a coordinating Super Shopper for Sherri. I LOVE the fabs I'm playing... um... I mean working with. LOVE them! The Deeve is done - here's a quick look; I'll go into excruciating detail about it later:

See what I mean about the fabs?

And here are parts of the Super Shopper:

The lining is two different fabs in the spa blue/green, with pink pockets; the outside is also those two different fabs with another in that line as the center panel... with pink pockets. Here's a close up of one of the outer sides:

I'm still doing a bunch of quilting on it. It's coming along swimmingly well!

That's about all the latest. Thank you Sharla, Jan, Rhonda and Beth for some GREAT photos and very kind words.

And thank you for reading!
KZK

Friday, July 17, 2009

Beth's Super Shopper!

I also recently completed a Super Shopper for Beth! She got it a couple days ago and I hope she's enjoying it! Let's start with some preliminary pix!

Sometimes taking a photo of my choices and viewing them on the computer helps me decide if I really like the direction I'm heading. I wasn't sure about putting all of these together but once I saw them on the iMac, I was sold:

The rich green print would be the majority of the outside - see the pockets I've already made (above)? Just a touch of teal. Rather conservative or formal on the outside.... then how about the wild ZEBRA print inside?!!? :)

Here are the lining panels, with the pockets sewn on:

I thought Beth would like lots of pockets!

Here is the bag, all set to go:

See the touch of teal on the pocket tops?

I didn't think those fabs would work together, but I LOVE them! I quilted in a variegated teals quilting thread, to help unite it all.

I toyed with doing the straps in one of the teal fabs, but opted for black polypro. I love the contrast:

I popped the lining up about 3/16 of an inch or so as a playful accent, as you can see in the shot above. Here's a look inside the bag!

How fun is that?!

I also threw in an eyeglasses case for Beth, just because I wanted to.

Beth, thanks for the order! I'd love to see pix of you and/or your boys (two-legged and four) with your new bag!

And thank you for reading!
KZK

Even More Great Models!

I told you I was behind with my posts. :)

Shelli sent some GREAT pix to me from Father's Day! Remember the LapPack I made for her to give as a Father's Day gift? Here's her "Dadders" unwrapping his LapPack!

Shelli told me he loved the fabric and all the details in it! That made me SO happy! Look at him checking it out!

As per Shelli, he commented on a lot of the military motifs, reminiscing about his time in the Army!

It looks like he has some help in this next photo...

We bipeds are always grateful for "snoopervision" by our friends! :) And Mick the pup wasn't the only one getting in on the act. Kali the Kitty just loved the packing paper and my business card!

I just love that photo!

Shelli also took some fabulous photos of her Dadders' LapPack, with the laptop inside. Here it is, closed:

And here you get a good idea of the "fit":

Shelli, thank you so much for the wonderful photos! And many thanks to your Dadders, Mick and Kali for the GREAT modeling job!

Thanks for reading!
KZK

More Great Models!

I've had a lot of gorgeous models showing off their Bags by KZK bags - and this post will have two such models - Valerie and Kat. AND... get ready, girls! We also have Steve, one of the most handsome models imaginable! They're showing off the Hold the Phone! Bag I recently made for the three of them to share.

I designed it to fit onto Valerie's walking belt. Here she is, wearing her gear!


Looks like a great fit! Not too obtrusive, not too big... but it holds everything! And it looks like...

Yep. Looks like Steve and Kat are checking it out, and approve! I've got to wonder... if I even touch a leash in our house, I get the "Let's go!" look. I jusssssssssst wonder ...

Yep. Great work, Steve! ;) Ready to go for a walk, Valerie?

(Great shot, looking down into the HTP! Bag!)

Valerie, thank you so much for the photos! And many thanks to you, Kat and Steve for a terrific modeling job!

Thank you for reading!
KZK

Rhonda's Huffle Duffel!

My excuse for being late with this post is also FaceBook... and posting the progress on the Ao4 Digest. I mean... letting Dave post it to the Ao4 Digest. Not only did we wrap it up on Take Your Dog to Work Day, this Huffle Duffel was for Rhonda, Joe Stains' mom! I had to let him. Umm... and then not post myself for a while... (Please check out the link to Joe Stains' blog to read his post about the Huffle Duffel when you have time; the pix are just adorable!!)

Moving right along from the "my dog ate my homework" excuse.... Rhonda wanted a Huffle Duffel to tote her things to the Arizona Diamondbacks games and to have it reflect their colors. Dave and I worked hard picking just the right reds. Here's what we came up with!

I did some fun meandering quilting on it in a variegated white to black thread. Here's the back:

What a blast! The drawstrings are some black cording housed inside a black on black sleeve thingy. (I hope I'm not getting to technical.) The lining is a great red, black and white print I bought in Korea:

I think it totally rocks the bag.

I thought Rhonda needed a glasses case, too - I mean, it IS Arizona; the odds are real good she has a pair of sunglasses she wants to have at the games!

I also used the white to black thread on the case - take a closer look:

I love it!

Rhonda, I hope you love your new Huffle Duffel! And if you DO need a larger one so Joe can try to sneak into the games, just let me know. I think I could do a Boston Terrier-sized one. :) Thanks for ordering!

And thank you for reading!
KZK




Jan's Z Bag

I've got to start posting more updates here! I've been showing progress on FaceBook (if anyone out there would like to be FB friends, please zip me an email to my address in the left-hand sidebar!) so I'm using that as my excuse. Couldn't be anything else. :) I've got a lot of ground to cover; I think I'll have to do multiple posts....

First up, is Jan's Z Bag! She asked for a specific wolf-themed fabric she knew I had and left the coordinates up to me and my Guide Dog for the Color Blind. Here's what we came up with:

Does it look too washed out there? Try it over on the flag holder! :)

And here's the back:

Here's a closer look at the Hold the Phone! Bag:

Do you like the paw print charm and the glass bead? I thought they were both perfect picks! Here's the back of the HTP! Bag:

I had a lot of fun "fussy cutting" the wolves and appliquéing them onto the bag!

Dave and I chose a brown button, a brown and natural criss-cross print for some accents, and a variegated brown and natural quilting thread. Check out how they all come together:

Here's a look at some of the quilting:

The inside of the bag is two different blues - as are the straps.

Icy cold, yet a light, summery feel all at the same time! Here's a look inside the Z Bag:

Two very roomy pockets, with some fun embroidery at the top. Here's a better look at a pocket top:

Jan, I hope you enjoy your bag as much as Dave and I enjoyed making it. Trust me, your favorite member of the Ao4 worked VERY hard and was rewarded for his efforts!

Zzzz.....

Thanks for everything, Jan! It was a delight creating this for you!

And thank you for reading!
KZK