Brand new bag

Mama's got a brand new bag.  I made it myself but that makes it better. Right?

Here it is in the process of being made....

How to finish it? Decisions, decisions.

I'm happy with the final product.

I used the this pattern. It's really easy to follow and makes a cute bag.

A New Bag........

My Mom has been saying for some time now that she needed to learn to crochet. Soooooo, for her birthday I had gotten her some supplies to get started.


I had looked at the bags at Hobby Lobby (it's all we have in my area) and didn't really find anything that I thought she would like.


Then last week, as I was grabbing some other supplies, I came across a display that had kits for aprons and a couple of different styles of bags. I decided to make one of those for her.


I chose this one because I thought she would like the fabric.

It comes as one big panel that includes all the pieces as well as the directions.


I thought that was great, especially for what I wanted to use it for.


However, the lining for this piece was a hot pink with black/grey leopard spots.  Not really my Mom's style.


So, I dug around a little in my stash and found this fabric instead.

It has the same colors as the outside fabric and the strap. Score!!


Anyway, I was careful when I stitched up the bottom of the lining by using an invisible stitch (although if you look closely, it's not invisible enough. LOL) Now, this bag is also reversible! Another score!!


I hope she likes it!


I saved the lining pieces that came on the panel and I'll use those to make another bag. Maybe a school bag for one of the girls for next year?

Stitch Along

I decided to participate in the Doodle Arts stitch along over at Lark Crafts. (click on their name for the link to the first pattern in the stitch along.)


Here's the first stitchery in the series.

It stitched up so quickly and that little troll is just so cute!!

I don't have a lot of options in my little town for fabrics to stitch on. Because of that I've learned to look for fabrics in the items that are available to me. I was in Goodwill last week and bought a blazer made of a nice heavy, ecru, 100% cotton. I was cutting the pocket off to use for another stitched piece and it occured to me to use part of the sleeve for this little pattern. Since it was already hemmed on one end and sewn in a circle I decided to make it into this little bag.

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to put handles on it. We'll see if I get around to it or not. lol Regardless, I love the way it turned out and there was minimal sewing involved to turn it into a bag. I kind of like it when an idea strikes that pushes me into thinking outside the box.

Oh, and it fits in with my theme of thrift for the year. A double win!!! LOL

To market, to market......

With all of the felt food that I've made for my niece I figured she should have something to carry it in, so I made a market bag for her also.


I just used fabric that I had on hand and made up the design as I went.

I used burlap for the outside. But, since that's kind of itchy, I lined the inside and added some little handles.


This whole project was just so much fun. I've never worked with felt before and I didn't have patterns for any of the things I did. It is so far off from my norm for me to do things without a pattern and directions. It was really freeing. And honestly, trying something with no pattern and having it turn out the way I envisioned really gave me a boost of confidence to keep going. It really has helped me to even begin to think about branching out more on my own and looking at things in a whole new way. Give it a try yourself!!

Halloween bags

I found a pattern and let the girls make some no-sew bags using bandannas.

Unfortunately, they put too many books in theirs and ripped them before I could even get pictures.


So, when I was in Hobby Lobby the other day (or every other day it seems) I found some Halloween bandannas. Since they were on sale I decided that I would make some of the no-sew bags for the girls. I looked again and came across .these instructions.





I used the orange bandanna on one side and the other side is a black bandanna with spider webs on it. Also, I tweaked the pattern just a little. I wanted the bag to not be so deep so I folded the top edges down about 2 inches and tied it in with the others. I also hope that will help to give it a little more strength near the handles. (That's where the girls bags ripped.)

I've only gotten this one made so I'd better find the time to get the other two made before next Saturday. I hope they like them