Two completed bags out of the way!

My mother made my niece's Easter dress and when I saw that she had leftover fabric, I offered to make a purse.

You can't really see here but it's a pretty shade of lavender. The dress is made from crepe backed satin and overlayed with organza.

Nothing you'll ever see me do.

I used Pink Penguin's Puffy Purse tutorial again. I also alternated my fabric pieces by adding a layer of organza over every other strip.


I also used a metal measuring tape (cut to size) in the top closure of the bag. I was surprised at how well it worked, and I found the info for this at Freebies for Crafters.





Here's another evening bag using Orla Kiely tea towels. I liked the turquoise color and it matches a pair of capri pants that I own.

It looks a little boxy in this picture.

A patch pocket inside, and a magnetic snap closure.

The hard bottom.

Chlorox loves the new purse and is perhaps envisioning herself out on the town with it.

So I'll leave it at that. The Oscars are on and I'm trying to stay awake for the whole thing!

Enough with the snow already! And yet one more purse.

I was under the impression that I'd retired my 'Snow Shovel Queen' sash when I moved south last year. But due to popular demand it's been dusted off and put back into duty. I know I should be honored but I'd really rather be done with the whole thing and just rest on my laurels (and butt)!

Since we'd been warned about the next storm (raging outside at this very moment) Hans and I went to the grocery store today and for the first time in either of our lives we saw a lot of bare shelves.

It's a very unsettling feeling.


So onto a safer subject.


Yet one more evening bag (I'm not sure why I feel the need to make so many bags from this one pattern! I guess I just like it). Instead of two handles, I made a strap. The flap on the front is one of the pattern variations.

I used a linen napkin for the body of the purse (it's from the same batch of napkins I used to make the second bag at this post). The flap, straps, and bottom are from a woven curtain panel I found at The Good Will.



It has a magnetic snap on the inside and there's supposed to be one on the flap but my snaps are very strong and I would have been yanking too hard all the time in an effort to lift it.

I just added a heavy decorative button instead and the weight of it holds the flap in place nicely.






















This is the original bottom but I didn't like it so I had to rip the whole thing apart.

Here it is with a new plaid bottom and I thought since I'd added antique bronze D-rings to the strap I may as well follow up with bronze purse feet.

Some residual Super Bowl fun.

Here's Chlorox enjoying (NOT!) my glow in the dark bracelet in the form of a necklace.

Oh, look!!! Her eyes glow too!

Such a pretty kitty.

A finished purse (finally) and a great etsy buy!!!

Here's a little girl's purse made from Nicole Mallalieu's Evening Bag Pattern.

I made the big pink flower from a tutorial I found at this great site.

I centered it like this, sewed it in place, and asked Hans for his opinion.

"Does it have to be symmetrical?" he asked (a very dangerous thing to do at this time of the month I might add!!!).

"NOW THAT IT'S BEEN HAND SEWN IN PLACE, YES!" I calmly answered.

But since Hans is my decorating/fashion guru I ripped the damn flower off and repositioned it.

Here it is pinned (I wasn't stupid enough to sew it) to the bottom.

"Too much going on in that area with the print." said the guru.

In an upper corner.

"Aha! Just right! " exclaimed Hans, and I finally let him get back to his poker game.

A stripey bottom.

A slightly lopsided side view.

I used multi-colored ricrac on the handles and while I'm not really crazy with the look it's too late now.

Check out the bee! Is it cute or what?

I did have moment of concern though since this is for a very little girl. What if she's afraid of bees?

On to my fabulous Etsy purchase.

I mentioned the Freebies For Crafters site earlier. It's where I found the flower tutorial. There was also a tutorial on how to make pendants from Scrabble tiles.

Sure! Why not, I thought.

Then I looked at the supplies needed and what was involved and I knew it just wasn't going to happen.

But I have to say that it's pretty nice of this Etsy company to tell us how they make their product.

These are from HomeStudio.
I ordered 3 chains (one for each of my daughters and one for me) and they are really nice.

Joy and the letter B are for Baby Girl. The sea otter is for Vet Tech Girl, and the Eiffel Tower, and sand dollar are mine.

Here's a coincidence.

The back of the Eiffel Tower is the letter L. Since my name is Laura this one can do double duty!

And might I add; no way could I have made these myself and have them come out half as nice!

I'm also seeing these as zipper pulls for purses etc...

This is the snake chain and it has a wonderful slippery feel to it. The length is also adjustable.

They even came with three pretty little draw string bags and here's Chlorox checking things out.

Last but not least; I live on the East Coast, I ordered these on the first of the month and they arrived all the way from California on the fifth.

Is that service or what?!

There are so many choices of pendants and you can bet I'll be ordering more of these in the future (I wore my Eiffel Tower all day!!!).

Go ahead and check them out!!!

An almost dress, and my famous granddog!!

Poor Hans is having some trouble getting back home from Los Angeles and will be arriving here long after I'm asleep. And since I've been called into work tomorrow to clean two huge houses, a certain someone better not wake me up!
Originally he was supposed to stop over in Arizona.
Sixty mile an hour winds in The Grand Canyon State prevented that.
Las Vegas was the next choice, but the Prostitution is Legal State (other wise known as The Silver State) was experiencing heavy rain delays.
So he's now being flown to The Tar Heel State before catching a plane back to The Keystone State.

Where do they come up with these nicknames anyway, or am I the only person with an imagination??



On the sewing front I was able to get to JoAnn's today and purchase my invisible zipper and muslin, so I started in on Simplicity 2951. Throwing my vanity into the trash I made a size 10 top and a 12 bottom.

Now what do I mean by that last comment? It means that according to the info on the envelope my measurements are a perfect size 12, BUT normally if I were to cut a size 12 it would be miles too big. However this pattern looked suspiciously familiar so I erred on the side of caution and went ahead and cut a 12.

I've mentioned before that the sizing on Simplicity patterns can be alarming and you can be rest assured; they still are! I dug out my Simplicity 2939 which was a success and compared the skirt widths. Close enough I decided, and then whacked this out.

I probably should have added about another inch to the hip area.

It's so difficult to see in these pictures! The top of the skirt (where it meets the bodice) is supposed to be gathered.

I gathered the back but I pleated the front.

I basted the whole thing first, and I wasn't happy with the rear view (big surprise). So I ripped it apart, sewed the skirt fabric to the skirt lining, and then treated them as one.

It looked better with the weight of the lining but I still have to insert my zipper but that will have to wait until another day!

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

A closer look at the top of the dress. This is a very tiny top, I would have to call it an A cup size. I will enlarge it a bit if I ever make it again.

I decided to put the zipper in the side instead of the back.

But I completely forgot to just place the back piece on the fold and now the back has an unnecessary seam.

No damage, just stupid.

Anyway we'll see how it looks after I get the zipper in, but I'm not holding my breath!

Remember this fabric?

There was quite a bit left over and the lady I made this bench seat cover for has decided she'd like me to make a purse out of it for her 2 year old daughter.

Minus the cat!

I'm going to use this evening bag pattern for it, and I think it will be adorable!

Black and white, with hot pink and lime green accents! It will certainly be a one of a kind bag for a future diva!

I still have to go back to her place to get the fabric so this isn't going to get sewn for a couple of weeks.

Last but not least, my granddog 'Duncan Delicious' made it onto Pitter Patter again!!!

He's so cute!!

Actually this picture was taken over a year ago at Thanksgiving and our poor boy was kept outside on the porch because Kissy Pooh (my mother's pathetic doberman) couldn't handle the stress of another dog in the house (read; someone didn't want to share table scraps!).

So this was the pitiful face we saw peering through the door every time we went to check on him!!!!

Update: Hans just phoned to say he's now in North Carolina (that darned old Tar Heel State) and he'll be home sometime around midnight.

I did confuse him a bit when I answered the phone, "Pretty Kitty Hot Line!"

Hey! Chlorox dared me!

But that Hans is a big stinker! When he hung up he told me to get back to work!

More fabric... another purse... same old cat!

The trip to my mother's house went pretty smoothly but I ended up coming home with a paper bag full of fabric.
I don't need any more, as I'm trying to work my way through what I already have on hand, but how could I resist!

I think Chlorox was happier about it than me. Here she is, in a drunken stupor, lying on some of it.

There was quite an assortment (all in the process of being washed and dried) and I'm pretty sure some of the pieces were from my great grandmother's best friend, and I'm not kidding!


I almost left this piece behind because it was so small but it was such a cheerful print I took it anyway.
I put my scissors on it for scale.










A close up.
I've always loved orange and yellow, and here they are together in these pretty little flowers.













I was pretty sure I'd be able to squeeze an Evening Bag out of this remnant and I did!
Not that I'll use it as an Evening Bag, it's more like a fun summer bag.

This fabric is very sheer so to beef it up I basted a piece of white cotton to the body of the bag and the facing, and then treated each piece as one.

The lining is just a simple white cotton.

I used fusible batting on the bag, and I interfaced the lining.
The handles are fabric covered boning and I placed them on a slight angle.
I also layered an orange ribbon and yellow ric-rac over the handles for some added interest.

I was very happy to find the ribbon and ric-rac amongst my stash! As I stated above, I'm trying very hard to use up the stuff I already have on hand.




There's a patch pocket inside with the same ribbon and ric-rac stitched across the top.

And of course a magnetic snap in the facing to keep the bag closed.














A view of the side.

And a close up of the one of the handles.

This bag goes together lickety split and I highly recommend it!

Baby it's cold outside!

And I mean cold! Around 9 degrees here in The Big City. I thought I was escaping this kind of weather when I made my slight move south, but I have a feeling I brought it with me!

That's okay though because this means I'll stay indoors and sew.

Here's project #1:

Nicole Mallalieu's Baguette. It's listed as advanced and I have to say that yes, it's not for beginners.

The gusset (the part that connects the front and back) is not the easiest thing to sew but I finally got there. I've reviewed it here in case you're interested in sewing it.

Here's the back. This is the fabric I bought when we were in Dublin this summer. I've been waiting for the right pattern to come along.

The inside with a patch pocket.

If I make this again (and I will) I'm going to add a zippered gusset to the top instead of a snap in the facing.

I'll just use the directions from The Day Bag.

Here's that darned old gusset (the striped part that goes around the bag). It looks good, and Nicole is a wonderful drafter but I really thought for a moment or two I wasn't going to be able to do it.

I got extra smart with myself and used the paint program that came with my computer. If this picture won't enlarge, I've circled the side of the bag and added a comment so you can see where I sewed a small piece of boning. I was afraid the bag would collapse when the flap was closed and I wanted it to stay stiff. I sewed the boning into the seam allowance between the front and back of the bag, and it worked very well. Of course I did this on the other side too!

No, Hans and I don't hold hands all day long! He was busy at his computer so I was using the timer on my camera. However, Hans being Hans... well, I had to grab his hand because he's a big stinker!

That's why I'm laughing, but I didn't laugh when I saw how fat I look in this outfit!

We are all bundled up because of the cold.

I'm sure that's why I look fat! (I wonder where all the Christmas cookies went?).

Purse # 2.

Nicole's Evening Bag.

I made this from two linen napkins.

In order to get full use of the pretty border, I just layered a corner on each side of the bag.

They actually create a sort of pocket. Not a secure pocket, but a pocket none the less.

Here is a side view.

And the hard bottom. This is a wide purse so even though it's small, it holds a lot!

Busted!! The camera caught me trying to tickle the back of Hans' neck.

And damn! I still look fat.

Look at this face.

Chlorox is all dolled up and ready to paint the town red with her new purse.

Apparently her date is late.

Poor guy, I wouldn't want to be him!