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Thursday, November 18, 2010

Mama's Got a Brand New...







...BAG!
That's right, I was able to sew up this little number in a few days' time (which for me is quite the feat). I used some fabric I found on deep discount this summer at Ikea and at the time, thought I would make a purse or apron with it. If any of you out there know me, you know there really isn't much point in my wearing an apron when I cook or bake. This is due to two things:

  1. My clothes are already quite nicely stained, in general.
  2. I am very klutzy and this also accounts for point number 1. I imagine an apron would not fully prevent stains, unless it was made of some sort of silicone-treated fabric that formed a tent over my entire body.

So, purse it was. My current homemade bag had taken a beating of late, enough so that I finally managed to drag out the sewing machine, take a big gulp, and jump in (yeah, that's right, I am still a little afraid of my sewing machine. But don't tell her that). I used THIS TUTORIAL for most of the construction, but strayed in a few areas. First, I decided if this was to be my giant bag for everyday use, it would need pockets. I made a pocket for each side of the bag and instead of pleating the lining of the bag as the tute author had done, made the lining plain. I pleated the outer pieces first, then traced around them to cut the lining pieces. I also did not use interfacing. Lastly, I changed the straps. The author used leather straps which for me as a vegan was not something I was interested in doing. I thought about finding an old bag in my closet with fake leather straps or finding one at a thrift store to use but then I realized it would not do. I need a bag I can sling over my body, like a messenger bag. This gives me two free hands with which to knit or more likely these days, wrangle a feisty toddler away from certain mayhem. The straps would need to be much longer than regular purse straps I might find out there. So I made two uber-long straps for my bag with the outer and lining fabrics, which also meant no further cash was spent.

I finished it today and really liked it, until I put it on and realized...it looks just like a diaper bag. Oh my. Which I guess it will be, in part, anyhow. Most of the things that go in my bag are toddler-related sundries and soon, there will be baby-related sundries in there too. I also realized I don't like how most of my coats look with it, so now I really really want to find an nice thrift store non-wool gray coat to work it. Preferably one that can accomodate a rather large belly as well. Sounds like a nice challenge, eh?

I will say this; the tutorial was really easy to follow and well-written. This is the most well-constructed sewing project I have completed to date and it gives me hope that I am in fact improving in this area. Hooray for progress!

Monday, November 15, 2010

Real Life

Time is just flying by here for us all. I can't believe it's already mid-November. I suppose I should catch you up a bit...

Halloween was spent out of town with family but of course, Trick or Treating still carried on! Wee One was quite the little trooper and we made it to five homes before he simply needed to be freed from the pierogie costume.

The first sweater for Wee Two was started and finished. Well, almost finished. I'm still considering making and sewing on a toadstool applique on the side; we'll see.

I also began to sew a new handbag for myself and will show the results if and when it is completed. I have more sewing projects in line after this too and hope I can stay on track with it all.

That is some of what is going on. Today is sort of a restful break, we are all feeling a bit under the weather and just need some down time. We had a lovely week of beautiful warm fall weather, meaning lots of walks and trips to the park and time to explore the city outdoors. Perhaps we overextended ourselves but I would venture it was worth it.

Today we also got our first peek at Wee Two (ultrasound). Not sure how to put it into words, except to say how real things are. Life is very real today.