Bag Lady--Sewing Lesson 1.2

I'm very attracted to easy patterns that involve a lot of rectangles! Bags work well with this trend. I'd worked on my own at home a few weeks ago, progressing on the "Easter Bag Totes" I'd started making with M @ hidden in the hem last month. I wasn't too sure how one of them had turned out but the kitty cat bag for I was looking pretty good. (Here's a flashback to the fabric I bought last fall.)

I'd decided to go ahead and invest in a self-healing cutting mat and rotary blade for cutting. I was going to wait until closer to my birthday but Jo-Ann's had them 40% off PLUS I had an additional 20% off all items (including sale) so for 60%, it seemed like it was as good of a time as any. I'd found a new, smaller bag pattern online (love me some Pinterest) and used up some scraps cutting pieces to work on at Mylinh's the next time we sewed together.

Mylinh and I set up her kitchen into a little sweat shop last night, lol (according to her husband, at least). Then she helped me finish up the Easter bag totes for the nieces and I got to work on my handy dandy tote bag. She had to help me brave the world of bobbin threading and there were a few small hiccups but overall, I was so happy with what we accomplished.

There's a sneak peak at the Easter tote..."E-ows" for Miss Izzy to put all sorts of books and treasures into.

The new bag is uber-cute! I can say this since I didn't come up with the pattern. Though it doesn't have the elegance of the tote bag I'd made for the girls, it was smaller and more practical for every day use. In fact, the bag folds up and an elastic band holds the bag into a little pocket sized bag you can stick in your purse or glove compartment anytime you need a small bag to carry some miscellaneous items from the farmer's market or a few books on audio you've picked up from the library. (I just listened through the Percy Jackson series and am now working my way through Harry Potter as I knit and sew away.)

Okay, in reality, that little tote bag took me forever to make! I can't say I exactly whipped through it last night. M's husband was expecting a closet full of clothes with all of the prep and set up M put into our sewing night. But I made another one here at home this morning and I cut my time at least in half so I am getting faster...slowly but surely. ;0)

Oh, and the cats seem just as interested in sewing as they do knitting (sigh).

There's usually at least one tail swishing or furry body on a piece of fabric I need at any given time. When will my kitties start to realize that they aren't kittens any more?

I'm proud of myself for getting outside of my comfort zone and taking on a craft I'd always wanted to learn, though I couldn't have made it this far without M's help. Next on our list...baby items! Woot woot. Time to get all cute and cozy. In the meantime, my readers, what is a craft skill you've always wanted to learn but have never taken the time to attempt? 

Coming Out of the Crafter's Closet--Lesson 1.1

One quarter of 7th grade home ec was almost enough to drive me away from sewing machines and other household skills for good. My class had the boys that probably ended up at the alternative school, as they were determined to make all kinds of trouble. One day, they stole all of the sewing needles from the machines so the classes after us had nothing to work with when they were trying to sew up their school bag projects. Lovely. So, well, junior high...

My grandma introduced me to the sewing machine but other than actually SEWING on it, I was...well...intimidated by the machine. Threading the machine, threading through the bobbin, it was just too much for my confidence and I never spent much time trying to conquer my fear of the sewing machine even though deep down, I really did want to be able to sew.

When my aunt Jil passed, I adopted/inherited her machine. It lived in the closet for over three years...sad and lonely while I embraced all of my other crafts.


A good friend and fellow crafter over at "hidden in the hem" sews beautifully. She generously offered to teach me. I saw a tote bag on her blog that she made and it didn't seem too difficult. Finally, last weekend, I got the sewing machine out of the closet, found the foot pedal/cord and the bobbin case and headed to her house for Sewing Lesson #1.

I picked lightweight fabrics, a little too lightweight for the strength the bags will need to hold all of the books my nieces check out from the library. We added an inner lining, which made keep the edges straight a little more difficult but gave it a really nice touch.

I bought fabric for four bags, one for each niece and picked patterns that I thought matched their personality. M has a serger, which she used to help strengthen side seams. We used "French seams" on the bottom, for the same purpose.

The night wasn't without it's newbie flaws. I cut one bag out incorrectly, which M said she'll figure out how to fix. Looks like G will just have a slightly smaller bag, lol. I got about halfway through I's bag, considering I had to rip out three seams, that wasn't too bad. M of course, finished A's bag. It's so incredibly beautiful! I can't wait for Easter to give the girls their 'Easter bags'!

I have some homework...work on finishing I's bag and to start on E's...instead of being intimidated, I'm excited. And of course, it helps to know M is just a quick drive away if I completely mess things up! I might not have finished my bag but I still have that pride in learning and making something new and different. Perhaps you'll see some more sewing projects on here soon!

In the meantime, happy crafting!