Tag Archives: purse

I splurged a bit.

When my shop was featured I had some money come in and it was just my birthday and some lovely people gave me money too so I decided to treat myself to some of my Etsy wishes. Since I have a tote/purse/bag weakness I stumbled upon, and fell in love with, this bag from luckycann.

I had a terrible time deciding on the colour I wanted.

Now that it’s arrived I’m totally in love with it and want to order more colours just because!

Just for fun I wanted to share what I actually carry in my bag! It’s funny when the bag I’m using is one I’ve made myself because when people ask “Did you make that?” I usually answer with “Yes and this and this and this and this . . ”

Clockwise from top left – budgeting envelope, coin purse, wallet (pattern here), notebook with cover (tutorial here), purse organizer (pattern here), thing I put my earbuds in (pattern here), sunglass case, pencil case (pattern here) and in the middle, of course, my cup cozy!

Another WIP gets finished.

I finished this bag a little bit ago. It’s made with a Michelle Patterns pattern. My best friend started it when I started my own bag, we were working together. But then she left it here and so I went ahead and finished it.

It’s great fabric and the colour combination is really nice, yellow and grey, love it.

It was a fun quick project to finish and it was nice to put a smile on her face by pulling out her finished bag. Isn’t the blingy button great?

Friday Create Along.

So you know what I should have been doing yesterday with my afternoon off, no not attending 3 appointments, I *should* have been photographing my finished bag!

I promise to snag some pics over the weekend.

Also I’m going to make this next.

You may be able to find it elsewhere but that’s where I bought it.

Friday Createalong

Well I finished this tote and I really love it. This is the first project I’ve made from my ever growing Pinterest board and I’m thankful to Michelle Patterns for presenting me with this challenge. I may be addicted. I picked the fabric up for $3 a metre at a quilting shop and I loved the vintage look of it. As a tote it’s turned out great!

I used this free pattern from UHandbags. The recommended handles are longer than the ones I used but I grabbed what I had on hand. It won’t go on my shoulder but it’s great to carry down at your side.

The pattern was pretty easy to follow but man, oh man, I’m not a fan of pleats! Also, I’m not sure what I did wrong, there were supposed to be 6 pleats and somehow I had room for 7 *shrug* But that doesn’t change the bag. However, that meant 7 pleats times 4 pieces of fabric, it was tedious. I do love the way the topstitching works and holds the pleats down. I’ve put pleats in totes before but they’ve only been sewn at the top.

Sewing the handles on was killer on my fingers, going through all those layers and trying to aim for the holes. I also tried to keep the interior stitches really, really small since I matched the thread to the handle colour but foolishly used black for the interior fabric.

Every time I make something new I take it into school to show some of the ladies I work with. The tote was well received. And then a bunch of them asked if I’m done the projects I’m working on for them. Good thing the weekend is coming!

See the other Pinterest Challenge participants here.

My Little Red Riding Hood bag.

I love this bag already, even without handles!

I took a break from creating for others on the weekend and finished this Saturday night. I stayed up way to late to get it done I was so excited. I intended to sew the handles on Sunday morning and have a lovely new bag. BUT turns out the handles I bought (before I knew what fabric I was going to use) are too small. I won’t be able to put the bag on my shoulder and they’re so small they look a bit silly.

So I’ve rearranged my BFF night out (Thanks BFF!) so I can head to the store tomorrow and pick up a longer set of handles.

Guess I’ll have to just sew another purse for these handles I already have *smile*

I made a purse!

I know, you’re shocked right?

When I went to the Creativ Festival I hit upon 2 super exciting booths in the last aisle (apparently where I should have gone first). The combined powers of those booths have spawned this amazing purse. Oh and me staying up until 1:30 possessed with finishing it. That’s misleading, it’s a really quick bag to make, I just wandered down to my craft space really late.

Both of these booths were so crowded I had to fight my way to get to the things I wanted. At the Kallista Quilts booth I was amazed to see some Echino fabric. I have never seen any in person so it was great to get to pick from some pre-cut pieces and buy some right off the bolt. Kallista Quilts are also on Etsy if you care to see their selection. They have great quality Japanese linens.

A few booths away I found Quilt A Bag. These ladies also carry some lovely Japanese fabrics, some of the more cutesy stuff I like. They also carry all sorts of fun things to make bags and purses and totes and change purses . . . all of which are my weakness. I’ve got a little rule in place to curb my addiction, I’m not allowed to buy myself another bag/tote/purse/etc but I sure am allowed to have a new one if I work my butt of making it!!

I bought a kit for the vest bag but then went ahead and made it using a $5 piece of the Echino I got, it was just enough, a random fat quarter and I used the piece they included in the kit to line the bottom. I also got fancy and added an interior pocket and a magnetic snap.

I was really intrigued by the webbing used for straps. It was super easy to make the bag, there’s no turning because the webbing hides all the raw edges. Just fold it over and sew it on!

I’m so happy with how it turned out. Now to tackle the key ring coin purse.

Purse clutch formy things are pretty awesome, who knew?!

Ok I’ve had one of these at home for a while now and I’m happy to say not only have I figured out how to use them but I really, really like it! Now I’m on the hunt for more, which is proving to be more difficult than I thought. I’ve been to 4 stores already, sewing and fabric stores, and no luck. Might have to resort to online.

Anyhow here’s what I made, it’s officially my new change purse and super duper lovely.

Now I might have to change my change purse everytime I switch my purse/tote/bag . . . *sigh* I’ve created a monster.

Whoooo’s bag?

I got an awesome gift the other day. My friend Joanna came over to bring me a surprise. Apparently she’s been working on it for months and months.

It’s all awesomely crocheted and lined with fabric. The little wing circles on the sides are pockets. It’s absolutely incredible quality, she did an amazing job.

Bucket bag finally done!

Woohoo!!! Months, I’m ashamed to say, after cutting this all out it’s finally done!!

I also shamelessly tracked down the exact fabric Keyka Lou used in her photos, but look how lovely they are paired together!  Can you blame me?

It’s Robert Kaufman’s Dill Blossom and I cheated and just used some red with white polka dot stuff I had lying around.

I had some wonkiness issues when piecing the lining together with the exterior. I fear I’m not a very precise and exact kind of crafter. But a quick email helped clear up the problem and I’m so happy with the finished bag.

Selfish crafting.

The kids went for a sleep over with Grandma and Grandpa so we had some time to ourselves, went to a movie, had some sushi and came home to goof off!!  I spent some time reading about screenprinting VS purchasing a YUDU.  I think I’m going to try setting up my own little screen printing nook.  Everything should go well.  I also decided to make myself a purse organizer!

I ordered this pattern from The Crochet Diva a few nights ago. It was really easy to follow and I love the results.

I used some awesome Japanese fabric I have with a Wizard of Oz print. Having a fabric addiction is sort of horrible. I was so torn between, “I don’t want to cut it!” and “Well what’s it here for if I’m not going to make something with it?”. I took the plunge and decided to cut into it.

And now for the action shot!

I also ordered the modernish messenger bag pattern.  Perhaps I’ll get to making that in the next little bit.