Pink Inked Bag

I had more of this great fabric left so I made another bag with it.. for sale at Blackbird Pie. I also have some of the same fabric in multicolour but haven't decided what to do with it yet.







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A Bag Only a Parent would Need

I wanted something washable I could bring with me when we are out and about, so I whipped this together during naptime today. I was going to use some embroidered courduroy, then I was going to use rainbow ribbing to match the red courduroy but both times I remembered that DH said if he is carrying a bag remotely feminine people look at him like he might have stolen it.





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17 Bags Plus One

I just finished this big order for 17 tote bags. They are unlined and have a pocket with a badge on the front.



A summer bag. I couldn't resist the prints at the fabric store. I did something new and used wide ribbon for the handles, doubling it and sewing seams on each edge with a pretty stitch.





My newest addition in my quest for an organized sewing room.



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I know this will be a big suprise

I have made more bags.

A commissioned messenger-style diaper bag. The messenger flap is a cool taffeta with flocked printed flowers, the bag body is corduroy with embossed flowers and it has a checkered lining that made my eyes slightly cross when trying to cut and measure it. It has a couple of bottle pockets on the sides.





and a Thomas toddler backpack, made for a swap.



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Inked Bag

A bag I made for my friend K's birthday.





I used a webbing strap I scavenged from a bag my husband was going to throw out but made the newbie mistake of trying to iron out a wrinkle in it and melted a small part of it. I really like the webbing though, it adjusts easier than the fabric straps and it much easier than sewing a strap myself.

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Decluttered

Two more bags. The photos of these don't do them justice. The black is a courdoroy with embroidery on it and the brown is an embroidered taffeta. And I now eat invisible zippers for breakfast, rar!





And I did some craftroom cleaning this weekend.. stuff was piling up and all cluttered. I even did the closet. I was about to give this shelf away when my cousin called me and I told her what I was doing and she remarked that she wanted a shelf to put her fabric stash in, instead of bins, so she could see what she had in stock. Good idea, N.





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Attack of the Bag Lady

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Red Brocade Shoulder Bag

I just made this for myself, since I am digging the hands-free design so much right now. This one is also less bulky than the larger bags I have made for myself. I happily mastered the invisible zipper, assisted by this tutorial online. It's lined on the back with a black courdoroy.



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One for Me, One for a Sister

When I showed my sister the vogue bag pattern she raved about the cheetah print version so I made her this one for $mas and delivered it last night. I also made a matching dog leash but still have way too much cheetah print fabric left over. Maybe I will make Melissa a cheetah print poncho with matching headband for her birthday this year.



I also indulged on this for myself. I saw it on a local second-hand site weeks ago and hemmed and hawed about it for a long time. But I started a new* project this week and those wooden scroll bars are hard on the wrists. Plus now I can be an uber-nerd crafter and stitch with one hand over and one hand under.



*okay, not new, but a project I wanted done for this year and didn't happen, so I am making it for next year.

And how cute is my kid when he sits beside me to do his own sewing with this little wooden apple? Very.



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My favourite new bag

is the one I made with this pattern:
http://store.sewingtoday.com/cgi-bin/voguepatterns/shop.cgi?s.item.V7862



It's such a nice bag because it's so very hands-free plus it has a little pocket in the strap for your cell phone or a small wallet to be easily accessed.

I have to say though, following patterns is hard when you're used to making things up as you go. Lots of confusion and the invisible zipper was really frustrating, but cool enough that I want to keep trying to master it.

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Yes, more bags

Sorry for the redundancy of my posts, it's gift-making time.



But for fabulous holiday inspiration check out this flickr group:



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Assorted Gifts and Crafts

Quilted christmas wallhanging. Quilting requires patience and precision, so I don't do much of it. Look at my loops, they are crazy lopsided and I will have to include that specific stick with the gift to make sure it hangs straight.



I whipped up another bag out of the remnants. I always request or purchase extra fabric in case I make a mistake and then if it all works out I have remnants to play with.



Embroidered bear bib. It has the sweetest blue, white and red Red Riding Hood print on the back, but I couldn't get a nice picture of it.





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Christmas Presents!

I've started making Christmas gifts. This one is for my grandma. I got the fabric at a garage sale, the lining is a pillowcase from the same sale. The outside is a forest green courdoroy.





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And a Green Dotted One, too

Kind of a sister bag to the first. I made the pocket a little bigger, a little lower and put the cell phone pocket on the other side.

Polka Dots and Stars Bag

Sweet little tote with magnetic snap, zip pocket and cell phone pocket.

Brocade Bag

This is one of my prettiest bags, just because the fabric is so gorgeous!

Fairy Bag

Here is my latest bag. It is very similar to the work bag I made for myself and was made for Univeristy student to carry books and things to school. She picked the fabrics and said she liked fairies so I tried the stencil for her for the front.





And a zipper shot, because I thought the light blue looked so pretty against the grey

Work Bag

I needed a new bag for work and made this today. The black fabric is from an old set of sheets that I made into curtains in my first apartment (in 1995!), the red is a remnant I bought, the white with red flowers is scavenged from a pouch melissa gave me and anyone who reads the blog will recognize the red riding hood print. I made it large enough to hold lots of goodies- books, embroidery bag and notebooks, oh my!

Wrapping Paper Alternative

Wrapping paper seems like such a waste, I usually wrap adults' presents with a piece of yarn tied nicely but for kids' presents usually you still want it to be a suprise so I sewed bags for the birthday parties we attended today.



Other alternatives could be receiving blankets to wrap baby presents in (thanks m, for the suggestion) or dishcloths for adult presents (especially housewarming gifts) or holiday themed napkins/dishclothes/tablecloths could be used to wrap holiday gifts.

Any other wrapping paper alternative ideas?

Embroidery Bag

I didn't want to haul my sewing basket camping so I made a pouch I could tuck into my luggage. I wanted it big enough to hold a few t's, threads, needlecase and embroidery scissors. I used the vinyl/fake leather we got for free from someone whose husband was retiring from the upholstery business. The cherries were made from an upholstery leather furniture sampler another friend gave me and the zipper is from a bag of zippers salvaged at Value Village. Total cost for me was about ten cents! It measures about 10 x 12 inches and it's waterproof if I forget it outside in the campsite and it rains.