Bag of the Week 26

Boatbag

You Have to Start Somewhere

This may be the first bag I ever made.  When I graduated from college in 1984 my parents gave me a Kenmore sewing machine as a graduation gift.  I took the machine with me when I moved to Texas that year and found a part time job at a local fabric store, Cloth World.  I really knew very little about sewing except what I had learned in my home ec classes in school and what my mom had taught me.  But, being young and fearless I jumped right in and started spending most of my paycheck at the fabric store and sewing anything and everything I could.  I even had the nerve to agree to make a sample evening dress from sequined fabric for the store and a prom dress for one of the other employees.  But really I was quite clueless.  Take this bag, for instance.  My family has a long habit of carrying our vacation supplies in L.L. Bean boat bags when we traveled to our fishing cabin in rural Maine.  (I can still remember when L.L. Bean was little more than a one-room shack where we stopped every year so my dad could buy his Maine fishing license.)  So when I saw this fabric I had the grand idea that I would make each of my family members a unique boat bag using it.  I had some sense in picking out the canvas that would become the bottom and straps for the bag but never considered that lightweight cotton would not make very sturdy walls.  The seams on the inside were double stitched and pinked (this was long before I owned a serger) and, clearly, I had no concept about matching seams. 

I kept this bag for myself but no others were forthcoming.

My skills did improve over time and with practice, and this month I will pack my own vacation belongings into both my L.L. Bean boatbags and this one which has proved to be very useful and functional, if a little floppy.  Some family traditions are worth keeping.

Another Baby Gift

A friend had a baby recently and I made a ruffled burp cloth for her.  These are my standard baby gift, and I blogged about them here and here.

Each time I make one I refine my technique just a bit, and this last time I wrote out the directions in a tutorial which you can find here.  Now you can make one of your own without having to figure out all of the widths, lengths, placement, etc.  This is not a hard or time-consuming project, and it makes a lovely gift.

I'm sharing this post on Today's Creative Blog Get Your Craft On Tuesday.  Please check out this great site for lots of creative ideas.

Bag of the Week 25

The Museum Bag

I don’t know about where you are, but here in the greater Washington DC area this week’s temperatures have topped the 90 degree mark.  Summer has arrived for sure.  And the hot, hot colors in this week’s bag just shout summer to me.   

Several years ago my American Sewing Guild (ASG) Chapter sponsored a workshop with Barbara Randle who taught us all how to create The Museum Bag.  It was a great day and a wonderful class.  Barbara is a very inspiring teacher and, even though we were all working from the same kits, each bag had a unique personality all its own.  The bag is constructed using Barbara’s Crazy Quilting with Attitude technique (I blogged about this here) and made from beautiful pieces of silk.  The seams are embellished with decorative stitches and the bag further enhanced with couched fibers.  The bag is lined with a fun cotton print fabric and closes with a magnet.

On Tuesday I’ll be posting a tutorial I’ve been working on along with more project ideas so please check back often.  Hope everyone has a great weekend – try to stay cool!

Photos for Daddy

I read about a cute idea for a Father's Day gift in one of my parenting magazines.  The author suggested creating a scrapbook and each year adding a page or two of pictures.  I liked this so I set out to make one for my husband.  I included only pictures of him and our boys from the previous year, and I hope to one day go back and make pages for the years prior to this one.  I had my three year old make a card with stickers (I did the stamping) and that fits in the window on the cover of the album.  This was a quick and fun project and one that I hope will become a keepsake. 

Bag of the Week 24

Dress up a straw purse with dresses!

Here is a simple way to embellish a summery straw bag.  I created a panel of embroidered designs and attached it to a purchased bag.  I first embroidered the dress designs onto a white background and then satin stitched that rectangle onto a larger checked fabric piece.  I created a satin stitch frame around the outside by stitching through tearaway stabilizer.  When the panel was complete I glued it onto the outside of the purse with fabric glue.  If your bag is unlined you could also stitch the panel onto the purse.  Then use some of the fabric from the project to make a lining for the bag.

These designs come from A Bit of Stitch’s Appliqué Fashion Dresses.  I have used these designs on all sorts of projects and I love them.  Wouldn’t it be cute to make a dress to wear and then use the same fabric in the appliqué for a matching purse?