Hi,
You are probably wondering why I have not been updating my blog. Unfortunately something went wrong with it and I had to wait for it to be fixed. Luckily everything is back to normal.
Well today is Mother’s Day and you would expect lovely spring flowers to be in bloom and a nice mild temperature. Wrong! Today, we have snow! Yes the white stuff that you normally see in winter. It started yesterday afternoon and it hasn’t stopped since. Luckily the ground is fairly warm so it has melted on the ground but the roofs are white.
This is a picture of a tulip that someone has taken of their garden in Newmarket, Ontario. Everything here is two weeks earlier then usual. It was turning into a lovely spring but Canadian weather is never straightforward so you never know what is happening.
I will work on the next part of the purse pattern and if everything works well this week, I should be able to post it.
Talk to you soon,
Julia
Sorry, nothing like waiting weeks to find out more! It has been a tough few weeks but I am now back on track. Today I will give the measurements of the purse.
You will need the following:
2 pieces - 12″ x 15″ (outside)
2 pieces - 12″ x 15″ (lining)
2 pieces - 7″ x 10″ (inside pockets)
You can adjust these measurements to make the purse bigger or smaller. I personally don’t like really big purses as I have a tendency to hit things with them - other people, sharp objects, door handles, etc. With a purse full of change, this can be quite destructive!
To cut out the pieces I use a Olfa Deluxe Ergonomic Rotary Cutter (45mm), Olfa The Essential Ruler - 6″ x 24″, and a rotary cutting mat. This is the quickest and easiest way to cut out rectangles/squares. The Olfa Deluxe Rotary Cutter is very good to use if you are cutting a lot. The ergonomic design allows the hand to be in a natural position and the size is perfect for most of your projects.
The Olfa Essential Ruler is part of the Olfa Frosted Advantage Ruler series. This ruler has a non-slip surface and the frosted background with the black grid lines makes it easy to see on light and dark fabrics. It was especially helpful with the fabric I was using as the design is quite busy.
The next step will be quilting the outer fabric. I will cover that in my next blog.
Talk to you soon,
Julia
I had lots of great plans to put up more posts on my purse. Right now the purse has a handle on one side and not the other. It is a little lopsided!
I have been running back and forth to my vet with one of the kittens. Milo had a high fever and was very lethargic. Luckily we were able to rule out the worse with a blood test. Now we have to give him three pills a day for ten days! I don’t know what it is like to give a pill to a dog but a cat is a HUGE challenge. Of course, as he feels better, Milo gets more difficult.
So I will post more information on the next steps for the purse tomorrow (fingers crossed!). My other goal is to get the other handle on. Wish me luck!
Talk to you soon,
Julia
I decided it was time to do some sewing. I looked at my current purse and decided it was definitely too wintery looking. Spring is on its way! (As long as I don’t look outside at all the snow that we have received over the last 3 days.)
First thing I needed to do was chose a purse pattern. Easy right? No of course not as I liked a little bit of one pattern and a little bit of another. So I do what any sewer does, improvise! I really wanted to use the new Clover Designer Bag Handles as well. These handles are fabulous!
Next step was to chose the fabric. There are a lot of really neat black and white and red fabrics out at the moment. These happen to be my favourite colours together. It was time to go shopping! Well I didn’t come home with fabric to make one purse. No, I came home with probably enough fabric to make 10! Oops…
I liked this fabric for the outside and for the inside pockets. I decided to line it with a plain black fabric. All the fabric I used is 100% cotton which is nice for spring and also a fairly easy fabric to work with and press. Make sure that when you chose a fabric that it can be ironed. You will not need to pre-wash the fabric as you are not wearing it against the skin. The sizing that they put on fabric will actually make it easier to work with. If you have already washed the fabric, that’s fine. If it feels a little limp, then add some starch to it to give it more body.
Next blog - cutting out…
Talk to you soon,
Julia
A while back I had promised to show you pictures of a bag made with Tall Poppies “This is A Great Bag” pattern. Well all I can say is that it better late than never! This is a very nice pattern to make and it comes with two different sized bags. The instructions are clearly written and easy to follow.
This bag was made as a Christmas present. We used Dritz Home Dec Large Curtain Grommets. I have never used such an easy grommet product before! Simply use the template to mark the position, cut out the fabric and then press the front and back grommets together. That was it! Even going through two layers of fabric as well as a stablizer was not a problem.
We then inserted the straps, took the bag to the sewing machine and sewed the ends together and the bag was done. The recipient was very happy with her gift. It is now on its way across the world to New Zealand.
The other change made to the bag was to add an inside pocket. Somewhere where you can put your passport, calendar, phone, or whatever else. In an upcoming blog, I will show you just how easy it is to make and add a pocket to your bag.
Talk to you soon,
Julia