Joel Dewberry Aviary Custom Bag

I’m a heat wimp.  Which is why I’m glad I live in the Pacific Northwest, not far from Seattle.  Our average summer temp is around 75 or so.  Saturday, it was 90, Sunday 91.  Way too hot for this pregnant lady.  Today is better…only 83.  Thank the Good Lord, tomorrow it will be back into the 70′s and I can get out and work in our garden.  The weeds love the heat and are trying to take over.

The heat also is affecting my sewing.  My sewing room is a converted sun porch which faces west.  And of course, we do not have a/c.  Very few people here do.  My sewing room is a good 10 degrees hotter than the rest of the house, so I haven’t spent much time in there.  But I caught a break this morning when my little ones slept in and I was able to finish up the custom Aviary Bag before the room heated up.

Isn’t it beautiful??  It was a bit of a challenge (in a good way!).  I combined patterns for the Coming and Going Bag with a standard tote bag.   Getting things to fit together took some doing and a mock up bag that my girls claimed as soon as I snipped the last thread.  Then I decided I didn’t like the pockets and pulled it apart to redo them.  What do you all think?  Here are pics of the front and back (or back and front):

Finding just the right place to cut out the sparrow panel is always fun.  I wanted a bird on the front, and on the back and on the end.  It made my piece of sparrow print look like swiss cheese, but I did it:

And here are the infamous pockets.  The first time, the pockets lay flat against the lining and ended up being pretty tight…I tried putting my cell phone in one, a camera in another, etc and they started pulling the lining and the stitching.  So I redid them a bit bigger and pleated the bottom so they will hold everything without pulling.

Well, all that is left for this last custom order before my break is a wallet…I should be able to do that tomorrow and have the bag & wallet and a couple of other goodies in the mail on Wednesday.  Then I can start working on the, ahem, looonnnggg list of orders for my family.  First up will be some simple knit skirts for my oldest daughter, who goes off to Grandma’s and day camp next week.

 

Retro Femme tonight

I’ll do a big finished object post tomorrow (after I finish a couple more objects!), but here is what I’ve listed at Retro Femme tonight…

                   

The sun is finally shining and I’m going out to play with my children until their Daddy gets home.  I’ll see you all tomorrow…..

Unmotivated Monday

Monday is not my favorite day, like many people, I’m sure.  On Mondays, my hubby goes to work very early, which means I have the honor and duty to get up with our toddler at the lovely hour of 5 am.  Ugh.  I much prefer the days when hubby goes to work later and so the honor and duty is his, and I can sleep in until 7. Which is a much more reasonable time to get up, especially after staying awake until almost midnight enjoying a quiet house, a good book and several cups of herbal tea.

I did have a productive weekend, just not in the sewing room.  I conquered Mt Dishes!!! For the first time in, well, a very long time, my kitchen counter was clear of all dirty dishes…for about 15 minutes.  But now that I’m on top of the mountain, I mean to stay there.  So as soon as I post this, off I will go to wash dishes…if the power stays on.  The wind is howling and we’ve already lost power once today…just for a little while, but I’d be far from surprised if it went off again tonight.

Let’s see…I did get the two custom bags sent out.  Here are the final posed pics…aren’t they lovely?

    

I’ve already heard from the new owner of the Ginger Blossom (on the left) bag…she was thrilled…and I’m thrilled that she is so happy!  The other bag is going to Canada, and hopefully it’s new owner will also be very happy with her bag and accessories.

Next up…I’m finalizing details for the JD Aviary bag and I’m starting tomorrow on a Mix It Up apron for a customer in the UK.  I’m thinking the layout will be something like this:

The top fabric will also be the waistband and there will be another stripe of the multi-color dots (Vintage Dots) on the very bottom.  I’ve changed around the layout about ten times, but I’m pretty sure I like this one the best and will start cutting it out tomorrow.

There is one other thing I’ve been working on:

I’m about 18 weeks along now…my last three babies have come at 39 weeks, so if this wee one follows the trend, I’m just about, nearly, almost halfway through this pregnancy.  I’ve haven’t for sure felt any movement yet…but soon, I think.  And I’m also out of my “regular clothes”…which means I will be sewing up some maternity skirts in the next few days.  Since my last baby, I’ve stopped wearing pants and at any rate, my maternity wardrobe, which has seen much service these last ten years, is in dire need of a injection of new things…maybe even some shirts, too…we’ll see.

Off to the dishes and then bed!  Five a.m. will be here sooner than I’d like.

 

Double Tagged

I’ve been double tagged (does that mean I’m a real blogger now?) by summersadie and by see mommy sew.  Since I’m taking a sewing break today, I thought I’d post my answers.

#1…What was I doing 10 years ago?

I was working full time, attending college almost full time and having long discussions with my husband about what we really wanted to do with our lives.  We decided to start our family and leave the rat race behind for a simple, children filled life.

#2…5 things on my to-do list for today?

The same 5 are there almost every day: dishes, laundry, homeschool, sewing and gardening.  Today, only some dishes and laundry got done:  I slept wrong last night and have been dealing with a pinched nerve or something that is making my right arm alternate between pain and tingling numbness…so I’ve been resting and using the heating pad today, more than anything else.

#3…Snacks I enjoy

Pretzels, M&M’s, popcorn, chips & quacamole.

#4…Things I would do if i was a billionaire

Yikes, the list would be endless, but start with paying off all our debt and that of our parents.  Build a house on acreage for our growing family.  Donations to causes that we long to support, but can’t.  Travel with our children.  More donations to great causes.  A really really nice embrodiery machine.

#5…Places I have lived

Born in Seattle, WA.  Grew up 20 miles away in Mountlake Terrace.  Spent a year in Sweden as an exchange student in high school.  Spent 18 long months living in San Diego before I came to my senses and came home to WA.  Bothell, then Lynnwood, then Marysville, then Tacoma and now Port Orchard…all in WA.   The good Lord willing, I’ll never leave WA state.

Okay, my right arm is getting tingly again, and according to the tag “rules”, I’m supposed to pick people to tag.  Well, I’m going to take a shortcut and say that if you would like to share your answers to the above questions, consider yourself “tagged” and leave a comment with a link to your post, ok?

Sometime before bed, I’ll be listing a couple things at Beautiful Enchantments for Friday stocking:  the Josephine apron and the Circangle purse.  Tomorrow, I’ll hopefully be back to sewing, I have two wallets to finish up and I’m working on a skirt and a couple of dresses for a friend’s daughter.

Thanks for visiting!

 

Chocolate Lollipop Circangle Bag

I’ve been busy busy sewing all week and so today will hopefully be the day of finished objects!  First up: a circangle bag from the Chocolate Lollipop fabric collection.  I made two..the smaller is about 10 inches high (from bottom of the bag to the bottom of the handles) and 12 inches wide at the widest point.  The larger is 11 x 14. 

       

 They each have a small pocket on the striped side, just big enough for a cell phone, and dark rattan handles.  A fellow mama from Beautiful Enchantments asked me to make a bag for her, and I decided to make two, let her choose which size she’d like and the other will be up for grabs.

Can you see the pocket?  This bag is reversible, so I tried to disguise the pocket.

Next up will be the two aprons I’m listing at Retro Femme’s Fathers Day stocking tonight.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get them done before my hubby left for work, so they won’t be only somewhat unwillingly modeled by a real man…I think the back side of my trusty dress form will have to do.   Check bag later to see!

Mama has a new bag

Ever heard the saying “the cobbler’s children have no shoes”?  That’s what it’s been like (a bit) around here.  This handbag making mama was carrying a purse that I made over a year ago and it was showing its age quite a lot.  I’ve been wanting to make myself a new bag using the Katie Jump Rope fabrics.  And last week I got my hands on a pattern for the Run Mama Run bag and decided to test it with KJR. 

The original pattern yields quite a large bag, almost a tote, really, and far too big for my everyday use.  You all know what happens when one carries too large a purse…everything ends up in there and then nothing can be found.  So I downsized the pattern, by hand, because I didn’t want to take all five of my dear blessings out to the copy store.  Dear hubby had accepted a last minute invite to a baseball game and wasn’t home yesterday when I decided to do this.  I trimmed a little here, a little there and started laying out fabric and cutting.

This pattern has several pieces, but it is fairly straighforward.  My biggest pet peeve about bag patterns does make an appearance in this pattern:  the pattern for the outer and the lining are the same size.  I think this is because the bag *can* be made to be reversible, but I do think that there should be an explanation on how to make the lining smaller for a traditional bag.  I find it very annoying when a lining won’t sit properly flat in the bottom of the bag because there is too much of it.

I did make a cutting error…when I downsized the pattern, I forgot to downsize the width of my straps when I cut them, so they were too wide.  I just put little pleats at the bottom, which I actually like, but it wasn’t part of the original pattern.

Here is my lovely model with my new bag:

The other problem I ran into was that for some reason the outer bag fabric developed a few wrinkles during the process.  I used fusible fleece (which I’ve used many times before without a problem) for the outer and all looked good until I turned the bag.  I’ve steamed it a bit and some of the wrinkles left, but I guess I need to get more steamy.

        

One thing I do like about this bag is that it stands up by itself.  I was worried that because I narrowed the width, it would be too narrow to do this, but there it is, standing up.

I put pockets on both sides, one is divided to hold my cell phone and keys.  The other is long and will hold my yearly planner calendar thingie.

         

Did I mention it’s still a little big for me?  That’s my new wallet way down there.  Looks a little lost.  I’ll probably trek off to the copy center later this week.   I really like this pattern, the style and looks appeal to me, but I need something smaller…just big enough for my wallet, phone, keys.  This version will be great to use when I need to also take a couple of diapers or a book or bottle of water.

Speaking of wallets, I made a new one of those for me, too.  Below, the old one is on the top, my bright shiny new one is on the bottom.  (duh, right?)

My wallet pattern is based on the tutorial at that*darn*kat (the link is over there  –> ).  This time, I added a zipper compartment instead of more card slots.  If I had any cash, it would be artfully peeking out from behind either the cards or the zipper compartment.

       

So, that is how I spent my Sunday.  Now, its “clean-up Monday” at our house.  Mt. Laundry and Mt. Dishes await.  I have several sewing projects to do for local clients and a custom bag to start.  And I hope to post a review of a new book I snagged:  A is for Apron. 

Have a great Monday!!

Spotted Box goodies

If you hang around hyenacart.com, you may know about The Spotted Box.  This is a box of samples from various vendors, there are several available for purchase each month and you, the buyer, get a whole bunch of really neat things.  Next month, the box will have a slew of super sweet somethings from me and the other ladies of Beautiful Enhantments.  Here are mine:

Business card holders.  Each one has two slots and a snap closure.   I love how this fabric matches the color of my business cards.   I made five of them in just a couple of hours.  I think I might make some more to send out as order thank-yous.

Yes, it has been two weeks since I posted.  As the saying goes, the night is darkest before the dawn.  Before I started feeling better just a couple days ago, I was sicker than ever.  But except for the occaisonal twinge of queasiness if I forget to eat, I’m feeling much better and will be tackling a huge sewing to do list.

Next up will be an apron and or maybe two for Retro Femme tomorrow.  I’m also going to put up another spot for a semi-custom Coming & Going bag, with the new prints from the Ginger Blossom collection (see my previous post).  Then I have some local sewing to work on over the weekend and, as my husband keeps reminding me, I need to start planting our veggie garden.  Yep, a bit of a late start this year, but winter lingered until just a few weeks ago, so the only choice was to wait.

Time here for a little keep-the-tummy-happy snack, then I’ll be back at my sewing machine!

What a difference a day makes

Yesterday at this time, I was laying on the couch, trying hard to not, well, throw up, and hoping that by some minor miracle, my husband would be able to come home early from work.  Neither wish came true, but somehow I lived through it, my wonderful daughters kept things together enough that no-one went hungry and today…well, today, I feel almost…good.

So I finally finished the second custom Coming & Going bag with the Joel Dewberry Sparrows.  All that I needed to do was finish the topstitching, add the snap and sew the turning opening closed, but all that was just NOT possible yesterday…or most of this week, for that matter.

        

Front on the left, back on the right.  If you look closely, you can see I managed to cut the fabric just so that I have one sparrow on the front, one on the back and one on the end…see him there?  peeking round on the end?

And a cute pocket with a divider for a cell phone:

We’re having a clearance sale over at Retro Femme tonight.  I’ve listed a few things and there are lots of things from the other stores, too.  If you love a bargain, so take a look!

Next up on the sewing list…a few odds and ends and then I need to take a day to reorganize my space, it’s getting too messy for me.  Then I have some dresses to sew from some lovely Alexander Henry fabrics and, of course, Retro Femme stocks next week!  Maybe I’ll put together another apron like the Katie Jump Rope half apron (see below), with a different set of fabrics.   I do need a name for that apron style…something retro, fun and simple…any thought??

Have a great weekend!!

 

The end is near??

If history truly repeats itself, I only have 2 or 3 more weeks of feeling like a overcooked noodle with the tummy flu.  The good news is that we were able to hear the heartbeat at my visit with the midwife on Tuesday. In the rare moments that I feel a bit of energy and lessening of queasiness, I usually head straight to my sewing room, ignoring the piles of laundry and dishes. 

I have two custom orders for the coming & going bag, both with the Sparrows fabric from Joel Dewberry.  The first is done and in the mail:

    

The other one is started and should be done this weekend.  I’ve listed two more semi-custom slots for this bag at Beautiful Enchantments, which stocks at 2pm eastern on Friday.  There are other fabric choices available: Metro Blues and Katie Jump Rope.

Speaking of Katie, I’m (still) working on a patchy, retro apron with this fun prints.  If I can manage to be upright for a couple of hours tonight, I’ll list it at Retro Femme tomorrow.

Thanks to all 3  of you who still visit me and I hope to be up to full speed again soon!

 

Announcing…

I’m still here!  I haven’t been sewing hardly at all for the last couple of weeks, but I did manage to crochet a lovely bag that I listed at RetroFemme last week:

As to the reason I’ve been under the weather and not sewing much, it’s nothing too surprising for us.  A pretty regular occurance around here.  We are expecting a new baby!, around the middle of November, if all goes as we hope and pray it will.  This makes baby number six for us and we are just as happy and excited as we were when our first was on the way.

Though I will say, I was a little more excited when I wasn’t suffering from round the clock “morning” sickness and then a bad cold on top of it! 

I do have sewing plans for this week.  A custom bag from the Joel Dewberry Sparrows line.  An apron from Katie Jump Rope.  A dress for my oldest daughter.   Listing a few more things at Etsy.  Hoping I can keep the saltine cracker crumbs off the fabric.

And a little giveaway on Thursday for my birthday.  Check back for more details tomorrow.