Sewing Is My Bag

You know how it is when you have been hit by a bug and you can't seem to get it off your mind. I have the "bag bug". I thought I would make one or two, but I can't seem to stop. I have decided to try my own ideas and designs for some new bags for my shop. The process takes time to plan and work out all the "bugs" just to get it right. Sure .... there are thousands of patterns out there, but I just want something different and my own.

A couple of years ago we took out some walls in our 105 year old house and I found some newspaper clippings from 1934 tucked up in the rafters. They were patterns of dresses that you could order through a mailing address. I imagine the lady of the house back then was dreaming of having these patterns and making herself a new dress. The black and white drawings of the dresses also showed the accessories to go with them. Of course I had to make one of the bags , so the pink one is a vintage style and I just used a little more modern fabric. I added a small cosmetic bag to match......I really like how it turned out...now all I need is the dress to go with it!

So spring has finally hit southern Ontario, and the gardens are starting to come alive. The weeds seem to have taken over and the cold winter was very hard on some of my perennials. Lots of plants to move and divide and then there will be a vegetable garden to plant. Spring cleaning is a "must do" for the entire house now that the bright sun shine fills every room, I can see the dust bunnies and dirty windows have taken over. I will be busy spring nesting as my Grandma use to call it, for the next few days (weeks)...... but you know I would really rather make another bag!

Ribbon Flowers

Something fun to try, a little ribbon, a little paint, some embroidery floss, and permanent ink. I am not sure what this will be when it is finished, but I am thinking to frame it for something new on the wall. Big bold letters that read "WELCOME" and lots and lots of ribbon. I remembered seeing this idea many years ago at a craft shop and I thought I would try it. Funny how some things stick in your head for that long.
I have finished a few new bags for my shop and still more ideas to put together. I am wondering how ribbon flowers would look on a tote bag, I guess I will have to experiment and see.

Catching Up

Time flies when your having fun.....or not having fun? Not sure which one is right, but it applies to both I am sure.
It has been nice to see the sun shining the last couple days, after all the snow and rain we have had last month, it was nice!
I've been thinking of my blog, but it seems that when I had a few minutes to sit and write, something else came up. Three weeks ago we had a major thaw of snow and on top of that was a major rainfall. Water levels were fifteen feet above normal and rivers around us were swollen and major flooding happened. Needless to say that our basement was very wet with water pouring in and nothing we could do to stop it. This was the second wet basement since Boxing day, so I am glad it is over. A few baseboards to be redone and some furniture damage, but other than that...all is fine now.
I had a husband home sick with pneumonia and a layoff that lasted five weeks. He is well now and back to work....so things are looking up. School projects for my son seems to have been high on the list of "to do" things. I have to really wonder if these projects are for the kids or for the parents since the requirements cannot be finished by the children alone.
So now things seem to be back to normal and I have some time to do some quilting and work on my projects. My little shop is working out well, lots of ideas to be added and it all takes time to iron out the bugs with something that is new.
Thank you to all of you that sent "well wishes" by email...I am fine....just keeping busy.

Spring Garden Tote

Finding inspiration for what I paint or stitch sometimes is as close as my own backyard. It is not the most ideal yard, but it has it's nice spots. My gardens show their best in late summer when most of the perennials will be in full bloom. The best part of the yard for me is the hundred and fifty year old maple tree that towers the house and shades the back deck and most of the yard for the whole afternoon.
Often I like to sit on the deck steps and sketch my ideas for the next painting project, but on this warm sunny spring afternoon last year the idea of a drawing came to mind that I thought would be nice to embroider and add to something. With the last few weeks of cold days and lots of snow falls, I was feeling like working on this drawing so I could think about spring and I started to stitch my backyard on a new found piece of soft linen.
Added to the tree are many flowers from the garden, bird house hanging from a branch, but most of all I liked the idea of adding words of who joined me that day on the deck.
Finished off this weekend into a pretty quilted patchwork tote bag with soft pinks, yellows and greens and a touch of brown. Just the colours you would find in my gardens. I was able to find everything I needed from my basket of fabrics and I just love how it turned out.
Sometimes it is hard to keep a clear picture in your mind of how the finished project will turn out, often I change my mind on colours and images half way through but this time I stayed with my idea and finished it the way I had planned.

New Bags

Cold days with lots of snow has kept me busy indoors. With the lack of sunshine we have had has made it hard to take pictures of my latest projects....so they look a little dark. I have had fun stitching some new bags, but somehow the size has gotten away with me. Trying some ideas without patterns shows that in the end they become big enough to fit a house in.... well, you know what I mean. Anyway....they will come in handy for the long days on the beach where you need to take a lot with you and I also have a new crochet afghan project started, so I will be able to take it with me when it starts to get big.
I have made a few trips to local shops over the last couple of weeks and found some good sales on some nice fabrics. Once I get home there is a thousand ideas on my mind for something new to start....just wish there was more time to stitch. My painting projects are slowly coming along, still in the Christmas stage while there is snow outside so they will be ready for next year and pictures will be here as soon as they are finished.
Thank you for all the very nice emails about my projects. I appreciate all of them. You ladies are so nice!!!

Magic Sprinkle

Some magic sprinkle dust was spread across our snowy backyard on Christmas eve. It contained some bird seed, some bread crumbs and a bit of glitter. It helps Santa find his way to our home every year and it works. Seems like he spent a lot of time here this year, his cookies were eaten from the plate in the kitchen and I see he helped himself to a couple of tangerines and a quart of eggnog from the fridge. The reindeer left a bit of a mess in the yard with bits of carrots everywhere and we even found a couple of bells that must of fallen off of one of them.
Seems hard to believe that only a few days ago our home was filled with family and friends, the sounds of laughter, the smell of roasting turkey, mincemeat tarts and cranberries simmering , soft Christmas music playing, and of course the excitement of what was under the tree from Santa kept us all very busy for the day. There were a lot of stories and memories shared about my Dad from past Christmases.......this year we could all laugh and smile instead of watching each other's eyes fill up with tears. Time does have a way of healing and bringing in happy thoughts because we all agreed that he was the biggest kid under the Christmas tree.

Santa was very good to me this year, as he always is. Lots of new things to wear and some crafty things to make, new books to read, but best of all.....time spent together. Everyone stayed for a few days and that made the holiday seem even more special. My son and I had a couple of late night baking sessions and cookie decorating, lots of homemade tree ornaments were made along with homemade gifts before everyone came. I believe the best gift you can give your child is the anticipation of Christmas and the traditions that go along with it.

The house seems strangely quiet today, my son has gone back to school and my husband back to work. The decorations are packed away and the tree is down for another year. There is always that sense of Christmas blues that comes with the end of the holiday.....time flies so fast when you are having fun.

Bunny Love

A Christmas gift I have given myself has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. For the past two years I have been working on a commission piece that was ordered and I agreed to do. In the beginning she wanted and angel painted on a door panel of a Grandmother clock. Her idea changed and she decided that she would like a whimsical bunny of some type. Well.... trying to get into someones mind to see what they see, if often not easy. Anyone that knows me, knows how much I have struggled with this piece and as one of life's lessons learned......I have to paint what I love and not what other people want painted.

This panel is long and I have had a hard time trying to fit her into my lens, so I will show her in bits and pieces.
This Grandmother clock stands about six feet tall. The top holds a painted working clock face and below is a cupboard with shelves inside and this bunny panel sits inside the cupboard door panel. I have one of my own that sits in our recroom and inside holds many movies and DVD's and right now my panel is a snowmom and her child decorated for Christmas. The panels can be easily changed from one season to the next and they make a nice conversation piece.

The next thing is the delivery and hoping she will be happy to finally have this back and that she likes my whimsical bunny idea.
I have to wonder what it was that inspired me to finish her. So many times I would sit and do bits here and there, but for the most part the interest was gone. Like some projects I guess, in the beginning you are excited to start them, but then you lose interest and they sit in closet until one day you either finish them or throw them out.....at least in my case.

So after all this time of this panel looking at me......she is FINISHED!!! I just need to shout that to the world from the roof top........
FINISHED!!!!!!!!