A new bag

I'm forever losing things in the bottom of my bag, it's so annoying! So when I saw this tutorial by Liberty at Crafts reDesigned to make a bag with lots of pockets, I just had to give it a go.

I'm very pleased with the result! The handles were a bit tricky to sew on, but my trusty 1940s singer sewing machine rose to the challenge. I used brown corduroy for the base and the handles, blue denim (the reverse side) for the middle stripe and the lining, and two fabric samples for the main exterior and the pockets. If you can get hold of fabric sample books (my local soft furnishing shop gives them away for a donation) they are a great source of cheap, excellent quality fabric that will otherwise go to waste.  Upholstery fabric tends to come in pretty large pieces, about 20" square, which is perfect for making bags like this!

Here's a picture of the inside:

All my bits and pieces (purse, phone, ipod, pens, keys, sunglasses) are all tucked away in the pockets, all easily accessible and (hopefully!) easy to find!

I followed  the tute pretty much to the letter, except that I added a magnetic snap closure just before I sewed the topstitch round the top of the bag.

If you fancy having a go at making one yourself, do have a look at the tutorial , it's really well-written with lots of clear pictures, though I think it helped that I had made a few bags before.

I'm just thrilled with the result! I'm sure I will make another version soon.

New product!

And I'm a little better too :)

Here's a project I have been working on for a wee while - bags for a wonderful place in John O'Groats called Puffin Croft Farm Shop . They do fantastic veg boxes which they deliver weekly, and they sell their own home-grown vegetables plus eggs and deli items. If you are in the area they are well worth a visit - the owners are really friendly and they have some lovely animals there too! The bags are for sale at the farm shop.

I started feeling a wee bit better yesterday afternoon, but am still not feeling great! You can tell by the amount of squares I have knitted.

Hopefully I will be back to full health soon!

Another past project

Here's another in the series "What I have been up to in the last year" !

This is a gift I put together for a friend who is having a tough time at the moment. Firstly, I made her a Dammit Doll to help ease the stress and emotions she may be feeling:

Dammit Doll

And just in case you are unsure of her role, here is the little card I sent with it (apologies for the poor picture, I seem to have been suffering from camera shake! NOT alcohol induced!)

Hence you can see why I gave her felt hair (which unfortunately bears more resemblance to an old-fashioned crash helmet, but we'll let that one go) as I thought wool hair may work loose over time!
Also, since she will be spending lots of time being wanged about (if she is doing her job properly), I thought I would save her modesty (if not her dignity):

Knickers!

I also made her a shawl in a nice bright red, to add a bit of colour to the hospital ward (they tend to be very beige, I've noticed) and to keep her shoulders warm if she got chilly:

It was a lovely quick knit, in King Cole Haze, which I was a little dubious about before I used it but I think it knits up well and is lovely and soft.

Then I made her a bag to keep all her bits and pieces in for when she goes to hospital appointments. This bag is made from curtain fabric samples, I think I used seven in all! It's double layered and has two pockets inside, for drinks and books etc. Unfortunately it came out a bit bigger than I intended, but hopefully it's still a useful size.

I added a couple of vintage buttons to each side to complete the look.

 And here's the inside:

This friend has a young daughter, so I sent her a sock monkey too so that she didn't feel left out:

They were all well received and it was nice to feel I could do a little something, even though I live far away from my friend.

Summer happiness!

When I was in one of the local gift shops last week, on impulse I asked the guy who owned it if he ever took things from local craftspeople. Anyway, one quick conversation later and he is very keen to see some of the bags that I make - yippee! So I decided I ought to make up a new batch. Here's the first - you lot get a sneak preview!

I went for a nice summery look, a departure from my previous "blue jeans" ones. I have improved on my design a little and now incorporate a magnet fastening and an inside pocket (it's not as wonky as it looks, honest!)


I need to do another couple of bags to take in I think, but am sticking with the recycled jeans thing for now as it's become a bit of a signature style. I'm pleased with the way this turned out.