Bag of the Week 14

Applied Flower Tote

I created this tote bag using Evy Hawkins’ Applied Flowers designs.  I stitched the blooms (32 in all) on cotton home dec fabric.  I then beaded the centers and attached them to the tote bag which I created without a pattern.  The bag is lined and the looped closure fastens around the top center flower.

Next week I will feature a garment I made with these same blooms.  It’s a totally different look.  Tune in.

Bag of the Week 13

Here Comes the Easter Bunny

This week’s bag celebrates spring and our upcoming holiday of Easter.  The Zippered Bunny Purse  comes from Reen at Embroidery Garden.  It is created entirely in the embroidery hoop including the application of the zipper. 

I used white shearling for the base of the bunny and pink satin for the lining of the ears.  The remainder of the design was stitched with thread including the quilted area on the ears.  A twisted cord strap and pink gingham bow were added.  I’ve made this bag several times as gifts for little girls.

Bag of the Week 12

Screen Play with 3D Bugs

What happened to spring?  After several days of beautiful, warm weather the temps here in Virginia will drop below freezing tonight.  But I won’t let that deter me from posting a bag that is full of springtime cheer. 

The pattern for this little tote bag is called Screen Play by Nancy Ota.  I love this bag.  I’ve probably made 6 or 8 from this pattern in all sizes.  The pattern includes instructions for four sizes of tote bag.   The body is made from window/pet screen fabric along with 2 or more cottons. 

My bug bag is based on the medium sized tote and measures 13” wide x 9” tall.   I was fortunate to know about a quilt shop in Virginia Beach that stocked dozens of colors of the screen, and I used pink along with some coordinates I purchased at JoAnn Fabrics.  I stitched the bugs on sheer metallic ribbon using Evy Hawkin’s Applied Bugs designs and applied them to the screen before construction.  I also added beads to the body and antennae for some added sparkle.

The Screen Play pattern is a great canvas for all sorts of creative techniques and it is easy to make a bag that is uniquely YOU.  Watch for future BOTW posts showcasing this pattern again.

More Burp Cloths

I found this picture of some burp cloths I made a few years ago for a baby gift and thought I would add them to the one I posted last week.  These were a little simpler as I only bound the edges with a fabric strip.  They were for a momma with a silly sense of humor.  You really can create something fitting to the personality of your friends.  Tina recently posted pictures on Facebook of some darling ones she made with jungle animals and ruffled edges.  I hope these inspire you to try some for your next baby gift.

My posts have been less frequent in the past couple of weeks.  Life has been on a crazy-busy schedule with some travel and a long term project on my work table.  I'm hoping to get cracking again after spring break.  Watch for my Bag of the Week post coming tomorrow.  It will make you think of spring!

Simple Gifts

A friend (though not a close friend) has a new baby and I wanted to make a little gift to send to her.  I stitched up this burp cloth with the baby’s name and added some binding and a little ruffle to make it more special.  This couldn’t be easier.  First, I preshrunk the cloth diaper and trimmed the ends to make them square.  I embroidered the baby’s name on one end and bound the other end with a fabric strip.  I made a ruffle and sewed it to the end with the name and then covered the seam with another fabric strip (these strips were cut on the straight of grain).  One trick I have adopted when sewing trim strips like this is to use a decorative stitch to do the final stitching.  In this case I used a serpentine stitch which easily catches both front and back edges of the trim strip without having to worry too much about what is going on underneath.

My friend Kathy once talked to me about the obligation that comes with receiving gifts.  She notes that sometimes a gift is not worth receiving because the gratitude that the giver expects in return is emotionally not worth it.  Or sometimes the recipient is an acquaintance where an elaborate gift would be inappropriate, might even make them uncomfortable.  Other times the situation doesn’t warrant a big gift.  I am always on the lookout for small, simple gifts for those times that you want to tell someone you are thinking about them.    I would love to start a dialog here and have you share ideas for simple but lovely gifts for these occasions, babies, weddings, hostess gifts.  Please share in the comments section.