Another Bean Bag and a Cushion Cover

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My friend Delphine was here yesterday to make another bean bag; this time for her little boy Tristan. His birthday is two days before Little Miss Bossy-Boots’ and as her children have been fighting over the first bean bag she made (with a little help from yours truly) for Charlotte, she decided to make a second one.

While the children were playing and Delphine was busy with the bean bag I thought I’d sneak in some work on my cushion cover for the swap. I only have till Monday before I have to send it off and I’d prefer to send it off a little earlier. I had a gigantic freak out a few days ago when I realised how close the deadline was. Imagine how I felt when I had a little peek at the cushions that have already been sent off by the other members of the cushion swap and I saw one that was incredibly similar to the one I had planned to make. Change of plan. Well. That was after having a major wobbly in the privacy of my own home. Luckily inspiration hit me again and I’m really hoping that my vision will work out well. It looks beautiful in my head…

Curious? Come back tomorrow for the big “Ta-dah!” moment.

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Swimming!

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Yes! It’s the last swimming bag. I’ve finally managed to finish it.

The colours didn’t come out right in the photos. The purple fabric is a Kona solid, which is a little darker than in the picture. The red fabric is a deep red cotton/linen mix which was a dream to work with. I just completely loved the texture and feel of it and am so happy that I have some left over.

The appliqué fish was a silvery fabric I had in my stash. I believe it was used for a costume I made for our theatre group at uni. However, I cannot for love or money remember which play it was for. A sure sign of the passing time, isn’t it? Anyway, ramblings aside, the fabric has a lovely sheen to it and reminded me of sardines. Hence the longish body of this fish. There isn’t a lot of detail on the fish, which honestly was because I didn’t have the time. Looking at it now, I actually really like the simplicity of it. I feel a new trend coming on…

The eye of the fish are two buttons, a small blue one on top of a dark grey one. The brief for the bag was purple and red with a glittery fish and the letter “C”. As the fish is more shimmering than glittery, I thought I’d add a sequin “C” for the bling effect.

As with the two other swimming bags I added an inside pocket for goggles, hair ties and other bits and bobs.

In this picture you can also see the bright red zip that closes the bag. I used to be quite scared of zips before I got the “Bag Making Bible” by the lovely Lisa Lam. Her book is just so fantastic I cannot praise it enough. It is packed with tips and tricks for making fabulous bags and although I haven’t made one of the bags in the book yet, I cannot wait to find some time to make a bag for myself. I even have some fabric for the lining ready.

 

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Cushion swap freak out

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Oh, yes. Time flies when you are having fun or, in my case, are working on orders. I realised today that I only have one more week to go before I have to post my cushion cover for the cushion swap.

Hmm. Shall I let you in on a little secret? I haven’t started yet. I do have a few ideas spinning in my head and am now waiting for Tuesday when I have a whole day (ok, ok, five and a half) to work on it. Shall I let you in on another secret? I’m really excited about it on the one hand but really freaking out on the other (alright, that wasn’t really a secret, the title of this post gave that one away). What if my ideas don’t come together the way I imagine? What if the girl doesn’t like it? I’ve read her blog but it’s very difficult to really be sure what she likes and doesn’t. I suppose I will just have to go with what I believe she would like and make something that I love.

As I haven’t got anything to show you yet I’ll leave you with a picture of a random passion flower.

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Shark!

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Here are some pictures of the second swimming bag I made. I forgot to get more pictures of the first one, all I have is the fish from the previous post but I hope that Julie will be so kind to take a picture or two for me. The bag is for a little boy, Richard, and I think I might have missed the mark a bit. After I finished the bag I did think that maybe the colours were a little girly. A quick word with Master confirmed that the bag could not be called boyish. In fact, he thought the only thing that saved it (just about) was the shark. Well, I told Julie that if she or, more importantly, Richard didn’t like it I would make a new one in more manly colours.

Right here are the stats. The bag is 45cm by 40cm with a zip closure and one long handle (86cm). I used two of my favourite colours from the Kaufmann Kona solids range, spring and delft, which was probably why it ended up more girly than it should have.  Next time I make something for a boy I’ll get Master to chose the fabric. The lining is an off-white fabric that I had in my stash. I like using light materials as lining because it is easier to find things in the depths of your bag when the lining isn’t too busy or dark.

I took the pictures minutes after I finished the bag and literally seconds before I handed it over to Julie hence the midday, dappled shade pictures.

There is an embroidered letter “R” in the same grey colour that I used for the shark. There’s also a handy inside pocket for goggles and stuff.

I love this bag and I secretly hoped that Julie would say that it was too girly and that she wanted me to make another one that was more boyish. All I would have had to do is take the “R” off and use it myself. She didn’t.

I think I might have to make another bag in these colours…once I’ve finished all my other projects.

I’ve almost finished the last swimming bag but have to first get another zip as the one I have is too short. Hopefully I’ll have another reveal tomorrow.

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another pink bag

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Are you ready for it? Yes?

Here’s the last of three pink and girlie bags for three little girls. I didn’t have time to go fabric shopping before Megan’s birthday. My solution was to make a patchwork bag. I took all my pink scraps, added a few girly blue heart scraps and cut them all 10cm high. I varied the width to make sure it wasn’t too uniform. To calm the busyness of the bag I added a pink panel and a pink flap (Kona baby pink). And just because I can, I added a fabric flower made from a long, gathered strip of the pink fabric I used for the lining and handle.

Continue reading another pink bag

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I’m still here

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Oh yes, I have been making stuff but just haven’t had much access to the computer to work on new posts. Whenever Master is around I don’t get to see the computer at all. That’s right, we share a computer which is totally fine during the week but not quite as great at weekends with him (i.e. Master) being a geek. Now add to this a weekend with friends and a nephew where all the boys are geek and  you can imagine that I did not even get anywhere near the study door. That’s ok, though, as Little Miss Bossy-Boots and I got to spend some time with lovely Helen and cute Keiran instead. Happy Families.

We managed to extract the boys from the computer on Saturday and went to Hamerton Zoo to look at all the animals. I admit I fell in love with this lazy wallaby.

Now it’s back to the sewing machine!

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Cushion Swap

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I am soooo incredibly excited! Why? Because I’ve entered my first crafty swap!

Vic from “Punky & Me” has organised a cushion swap and I’m in it. I received my email this morning with details of who I’m making a cushion for and I’m really, really excited. Of course, I’ve checked out the lovely lady who is going to be the recipient of my cushion. As soon as I entered the swap I started thinking about what I would like to make and I admit I had a design in my head. Well, I’ve decided to scrap it after I saw what the girl in question makes. She embroiders beautifully, so I’m not going to send her something that she could make far better than me. It’s back to the drawing board for me.

It’s ok, though, I have time till the end of May before my cushion has to be sent all the way to Australia. Australia! Have I mentioned before that I’m really excited about this? I think I may have.

 

Hmmm, maybe I should get my tatting shuttles out….

 

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Aimee’s Bag

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Yes, it’s another pink bag!

Isabelle’s mum asked me to make bags for her nieces too and here is the first one:

It’s pink with a big butterfly appliqued on the flap. It’s a fairly bright pink that might not always be perfect. No problem! the bag is reversible and here’s the more muted side:

I had a bit of a problem getting the pattern change on the flap and the body to line up properly and in the end just had to give up. I don’t like wasting material and therefore didn’t want to make another flap. I don’t think it is bad enough to warrant that.

The flowery side has two pockets for all the small things girls carry about.

And, of course, an embroidered name.

I just hope the birthday girl loved her bag.

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Easter

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Hello there!

Wishing you a very happy Easter. I’m just off now to hide some eggs in the garden for Master and Little Miss Bossy-Boots.

I hope you are having a great Easter!

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