Simple pattern + great fabric = gorgeous bag!

I love this fabric!  Makes a simple bag pattern turn out quite nice!  If you want to make your own, you can find the pattern here.  It's called the "1 hour bag" and Jodi from Ric-Rac generously has it as a free pattern and tutorial.

My darling daughter "bagged" this bag when she saw it.  I had only half finished sewing it together!  Since I gave in and promised to give it to her, I asked her what colour buttons she wanted on the sides.  She wanted pink ones and do you think I could find some to match, in just the right size?  No!  It took me a few weeks of looking in fabric stores and even op shops before I gave up and bought some self cover buttons.  I was then lucky enough to find just the right shade of pink fabric in my stash.

Inside the bag is a simple pocket and a magnetic snap to close.  You could change this bag and add so much extra features like more pockets, a flap etc but then it would take a lot longer than the one hour it takes to make.  It actually takes longer if you add in the time it takes to make a choice on what fabric you are going to use!  The outer fabric and lining are cotton and the interfacing is H640 Vilene.

My niece likes this bag too!  So I need to make another in similar fabric!  As I said before, it might take me some time to find just the right fabric!

If you do make this bag, remember to strengthen the positions of the magnetic snaps with extra iron-on interfacing.  I didn't in the beginning and had to undo the bottom of lining to remove snaps and add some extra interfacing.

felted sweater socks

This post will most likely be more enjoyed by readers in the southern hemisphere,  because it's freezing cold here, and I have made the warmest socks ever!

These socks were made from a 100% lambswool jumper (translate: sweater for my American friends).   I found it in a sales rack of a thrift store.  So it was CHEAP.  Also as a jumper it was pretty ugly and unwearable.

I forgot to take a before picture but you can see from the above pic that I just cut off the sleeve and stitched the foot area closed.  I tapered the foot to snuggle around my toes,  therefore trapping in the heat and warming up my feet beautifully!

I hope my daughter doesn't mind I have decided to keep these for myself since she claims to be allergic to wool and I really am feeling the cold lately.  I don't know whether it's old age or if my low blood pressure has something to do with it.  Most likely old age! lol.  I will keep an eye out for acrylic jumpers to turn into socks for my daughter so she doesn't miss out.

I won a giveaway!

I won a giveaway a few weeks ago from Jess of JK Creations.  She generously gave away a few of her beautiful clutches she makes and I won one!  Lucky, lucky me.

I love the fabric she uses for her clutches.  I am inspired to experiment with different fabric types and embellishments now for some bags I am making.

I am making a couple of bags at the same time to really get a feel for how the different fabric textures behave with the same pattern and interfacing.  So it will be awhile before I get to post about them!

crafty recycling

I made this bracelet using a piece of  plastic from a drink bottle.  I think it may have been a bottle of Franklin's spring water.

The ideal bottle would be one that has an hour glass figure and you cut out  your cuff from this.  I shaped the ends and then used this to cut out some felt.

Decorate your felt first and then blanket stitch it around the plastic cuff.  Great for recycling those plastic bottles!

non sew related! turn away!

In May, I travelled to Whyalla, South Australia, for our annual tourism conference.  The show was full on for the entire week and not all of it spent sitting at a table in the conference centre listening to speakers.

We snorkeled with the Cuttle Fish.  Awesome!  I saw three.  The weather was rough and being a non swimmer, I got washed around a bit.

This is the closest I want to get to reveal my face on the net.  I am third on the right.  These were the brave souls who faced some cold rough snorkeling weather.

We went on a trip to Iron Knob.  I am luckily in the shadow. lol

A magnificent dinner with a live show of the "Desperado's".  Meal prepared by local high school students.  The meal was tasty and well presented.

We went on a scavenger hunt around Whyalla and then a tour by bus to see more sights of the town.  The pic above is when we were locked out of the bus and mechanics were called in to break in.  Here he is trying to drill out the lock.  Failed.  In the end he got a big hammer and smashed it out.

We got to wander around on this ship and see the very interesting museum they have at the Whyalla Visitor Information Centre.  We also went on a guided tour of "Onesteel" where they make umm......steel. 

We drank lots of wine and ate lots of food and my employers paid for it all and paid me to do it.  Pity this couldn't happen more often. lol

We also had some time to listen to some very interesting speakers.  I overloaded on info and a lot went in one ear and out the other.  Thank goodness a conference dvd was made and sent on to us later on.

Fabric Challenge.......finished finally!!

You may have noticed that I disappeared for awhile from my blog.  Or you may not have! lol.  But I have not even turned on my PC for awhile.  There seems to be a nasty bug doing the rounds around town and I may have caught it.  Well, I hope so because if not then all the nausea I have been feeling is going to turn into quite a surprise in 9 months!  Nausea and keener sense of smell are the only symptoms I have got and everyone is saying "preggers" at me.  I got my tubes done about 15 years ago so I don't think that is it!! 

Oh, and I am doing stupid things.  For example I bought a new kettle, filled with water and boiled it, then tipped it down the sink to clean it out.  I felt the pouring was a bit slow but didn't bother checking and boiled some more water for a coffee.  Still pouring a bit slow.  Had a look inside the kettle and found the instruction manual still in there.  A bit soggy and falling apart.

So a bit sick, a bit stressed because I have to wait till the end of this month to do the pregnancy test.  Even though I am 99.9% sure I am not, it's that small uncertainty which has me worried.

Anyway!  I haven't been feeling like sewing much as my brain has gone elsewhere.  After all this time I have finally finished my fabric challenge.

There are eight grommets hammered into this bag.  I had to leave the room while hubby did it for me.  Using a tool he made, to do what I wanted.  I told him my plans of wanting bronze grommets on one side and silver on the other and wanted to make two male grommets work together.  A special tool was needed and hubby came up with the goods.  Had to alter one side of the grommets, but finished off being just how I wanted them.

It's reversible!  Red with beige linen themed on one side and green and grey linen themed on the other.

In my not well state I have forgotten to take a proper picture of the red and cream side!!  Shit this is not my month.  I don't want to leave posting this bag as my challenge partners have waited long enough.

I used bits of all the fabric prints sent to me.  I hope this is exceptable to have some on the inside of the bag.  Fingers crossed that it is exceptable and they forgive me for going over the allotted time.

I also had to go away up north for a work related conference.  The conference lasted a week and I will show a pic tomorrow of what I get paid to do. he he

UPDATE:  I have found out that I forgot to say where I found the pattern for this bag and it's designer!  Thanks SoozeM.

Pattern from April 2009 issue of "Stitch" and designed by Rashida Coleman-Hale.  It is a great pattern.

While I am here I may as well post the picture of the red side of the bag which I had forgotten to take yesterday.