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‘Thesaurus’ Aeroplane Bags

I just finished up two Aeroplane Bags today. I had the huge pleasure of making these bags for Thomas Knauer using his new ‘Thesaurus’ line for Andover Fabrics. Andover has a lot of fresh, modern prints coming out this spring, including ‘Full Moon Lagoon’ by Mo Bedell and ‘Field Day’ by Alison Glass. I really like the direction that they are moving in.

Fat Quarter Shop will be carrying the whole Thesaurus line, due May 2013.

I originally had different plans for these fabrics, but once I had them in hand and saw that some of the prints were quite large in scale (Thomas said his favorite prints were the daisies and the alphabet, so I wanted to feature those for sure), they really needed to be made into Aeroplane Bags. If you’re not familiar with the pattern, these are large travel bags in two different sizes (the long size can fit many sewing machines).

The colors of the fabrics were very saturated and bright, and they work really well together. When I pulled the fabric for the different parts of the bags (straps, bottom, etc.), I wasn’t sure if I had made the right choices, but once I saw them in the completed bags, the fabrics are really stunning in these combinations. I’m going to be teaching some classes this year for this bag pattern, and it makes me happy to see the prints all pulled together here.

I can definitely see these fabrics made up into some cute childrens’ clothing. I think a lot of Thomas’s fabrics are great that way. They are bright and fun; the colorways make them great to be cut up into pieces for quilts, but I can just imagine a girl’s dress in the pink daisies or a boy’s vest in the alphabets.

I’ve been really disappointed in the way that Thomas has been treated by certain facets of the quilting world in recent months. If you follow his blog, I’m sure you’ve read some blog postings in which you can see he’s felt frustrated and a lot more. Some of the backlash has come when people don’t agree with what Thomas says. He has a lot of things to say about the action of ‘making things’. I can’t imagine a person that needs to stay put in the quilting community more. He is so willing to share his vast artistic knowledge, love for quilts, and kindness with others. I remembered missing his class on design at Sewing Summit and being so disappointed! But even if you’ve never met Thomas, I bet if you saw him on the street and stopped to ask him a question, he would be more than happy to share his ideas about quilting and design. I recall he visited his daughter’s class once to show some of his quilts, and the instructors being horrified that the kids were playing on them. But quilts are supposed to be laid on! And bundled up in! And enjoyed! He sent my friend, Teresa, a boatload of his fabric to be used to make clothing for some needy orphans in Tam Ky. He really and legitimately cares about where sewing and quilting is headed.
When I first met Thomas, he was sitting on the floor hand-tying one of his quilts. He always has some sort of fabric on him, even if he is wearing a skirt made out of his fabric. Maybe I’m biased because he is always telling me how awesome I am (in my head I’m like, “Thomas, chill out; it’s just a stupid bag”). I kid, but it’s like somehow he could tell that I spent days choosing *just* the right fabric for that bag. 

He just gets it.

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15 thoughts on “‘Thesaurus’ Aeroplane Bags

  1. vexa says:

    Your bags looks great! Those fabrics looks fab. Love the color combos and prints. Good job!

  2. Nilya says:

    Oh my, I have to try this one too. Love the shape of this bag.
    Aylin x

  3. Mar García says:

    I love that pattern. And the fabrics looks nice. I think you were right about choosing that fabrics!

  4. They look fabulous on the bags!! And I agree – Thomas brings such a fabulous, unique perspective to quilting. The intellectual side of things, I call it. I love reading his essays and blog posts.

  5. Tiffany says:

    Those would be adorable baby bags! Love the fabrics you combined 🙂

  6. Cathy K says:

    Your bags are wonderful and Thesaurus really shines in that pattern. Like you, I am a HUGE Thomas Knauer fan and I agree with almost everything he says. I love his candor and unique perspectives and believe we need MORE of him, his designs and his insights. Thanks for this post. Yay Sara and Thomas!!! (Hehe). Hugs, Cathy

  7. Great bags!
    Whenever I get the chance to read his posts I have to agree with TK, but man, the boy can talk! xxx

  8. Katy Cameron says:

    It’s funny, there are some fabrics I can only see as bags, even if they’re meant to be quilting fabrics, because the scale is just perfect, and these were just perfect :o) I read many of Thomas’ posts, but am quite often too exhausted at the end to comment!

  9. suemac says:

    He seemed very nice and approachable at Quiltcon.

  10. kateuk says:

    Great bags and the fabrics are just perfect.I feel another pattern purchase coming on…

  11. Tsoniki says:

    Count me in as a fan of Thomas’. I was in his lecture at the Sewing Summit last fall and it was my favorite of the weekend!

  12. teresa says:

    Amen and amen. Thomas has brought so much to the quilting industry and I’m thrilled that he makes me think about what it all means and encourages my own curiosity.

    BTW, love the bags using his fabric. They look great! (Duh, of course they do.)

  13. Lyn Ja says:

    Love the bags. Ordered up a pattern this morning. Huge fan of Thomas Knauer as well. He calls them as he sees them! A wonderful mixture of great fabric design AND great bag design. LOVE

  14. Gunilla says:

    Love the bags and the fabric! I agree, the quilting community needs more of Thomas Knauer! I love to read what he thinks, what the quilting world is about etc, he always has a fresh perspective on things!

  15. Beth says:

    Great fabrics for a great bag (ummm 2 bags). Looking forwardto seeing you.

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