Monday Again

Yes it is.  Monday!!!!  Christmas is 4 days away.  I have a ton of little stuff to wrap and big stuff that is way to weird shaped to wrap.  I did finish 2 bags for gifts and sent them out.  They are really cool.  I went back to my crazy patch which now has another name.

Free Form Crazy Patch.  My friend Barbara gave it that name and I think it fits it well. One of the bags is a tote and the other was made using the pattern for the "Katti Lynn".  I have also figured out that I really need to make more in the style of the original "Katti Lynn" with a few improvements.

Monday Realization

It is Monday.  18 days til Christmas.  ONLY 18 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  OH my, now I feel behind.  I haven't even started my shopping but I do know what I want to get and I know where I will get it. At least that shouldn't be a problem. 

To many projects and to little time.   I guess the first thing I need to do is finish the Glove Reindeer I started a week ago.  They just need their eyes, nose, bows and ears.  And everything is sitting right there ready to go.  I guess I am getting sidetracked by my current purse.  I am really liking it.  I hope I have enough fabric left to make another one.  I can't wait to be able to show it to all of you and see what You think.  I like constructive criticism. That is the only way I am going to improve and being the perfectionist that I tend to be--------------Well all you other perfectionists know what I mean.

I Got Lost

Yup I think I did.  I was working toooooo many hours and had way to many things in the frying pan.  Thanksgiving is done and I ate too much.  Now it is time to get going.

I finally have time to get back to sewing.  Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have 2 bags in process.  I gave up on the diaper bag for now.  I was just having to much trouble focusing on it.  So I started something new.  It had been nagging at me to get it started anyway.  So I did.

In that creative line.  I woke up one morning (imagine that)  way to early.  Like 4am.  That for me is way to early.  Anyway,  I couldn't sleep.  I had way to many ideas flying around in my head.  I decided that I might just as well get up and put them on paper.  So I did!!!  I spent the next 45 minutes drawing pictures.  Now I just have to get them in fabric or not.  The ideas are there on paper whenever I get ready.

I am trying to get some gifts ready.  Simple ones.  Like cosmetic type bags.  Pot holders.  Reindeer ornaments.  And one not so simple one.  My dear hubby will not use the quilt I made him last year.  He doesn't want to get it dirty.....?????  He did say I could make an afghan with camo yarn.  That must be the hunter in him---camo.  Uh--ok!!!  So I am working on that when he is at work and when the wrists are not hurting.  Usually I have to hurry and put it away because I forget what time it is.  It goes into a large garbage bag--gets tied--and put in the computer room.  Thank goodness he doesn't make a practice of going through things.  Should be done soon.

Life and Retirement

I spent part of the day working on a bag that has been waiting to be finished, only to discover that I have 3 bags, a diaper bag, 2 cosmetic bags, 2 jewelry bags, a pattern or 2 that I want to study for the technique(like a drawstring) and who knows what all.  On top of all that our church is having a Christmas bazaar and want me to have a table.  I have maybe three bags that are finished and maybe a half dozen felted bags from a few years back.  I could maybe dig up a baby afghan or two.  Other than that I got nothin'. Not enough for two days!!!!  So unless I can be super woman and work at this day and night it won't happen.  I really am disappointed too.  I need to be more visible.  I just don't see any way it is going to happen.  To much work and to little play is what is happening.  I enjoy the work and in a few years I will quit.  Hmmmmmm So this is what retirement is like.

Variation of Katti Lynn

I have had to put the brakes on.  I have not been accomplishing much.  Working a lot of days and to many ideas.  I have one bag sitting here not finished because I can't get hold of the girl who wanted it with her name on it.  She may lose out if I can't get hold of her soon.  I also have a diaper bag going that I put aside because I couldn't stand it any longer and had to do a purse that the fabric was shouting, maybe screaming, at me.  So it is done!!!  I used the same basic Katti Lynn pattern and changed it a bit.  No Chenille on this one.  Just more little improvements.  AND of course more ideas for the next one.

I also have a zipper purse in mind.  This could be fun and maybe a bit out there.  I just haven't decided yet.  I am thinking I might tackle this one before Christmas.  I also think there are members of my family and a couple friends that need to have bags for Christmas.

I am sorting stuff out (what a job) in my computer/sewing wanna be room.  I have way to much stuff.  The bad part is, most of it is sentimental stuff.  A few craft projects that I want to try.  A woven basket that is not finished and needs to be so I can use it.  Two string art pictures that my mother had that look like a rainy, lazy afternoon thing to do.  I could go on for a few more but let's just say I have tried a number of things that are fun.

Well I guess I need another cup of coffee before I dive into the sorting today.

WHATEVER HAPPENED

I would like to know whatever happened to the good old days.  The days when you could go to bed and leave yours doors unlocked.  Whatever happened to your word being as good as gold. Whatever happened to respect.  Whatever happened to the days when Dads taught their boys to be boys.  And those boys took and dished out their licks.  Moms taught their girls to be girls.  Raising kids to have values and their word meant something.  Not to go after anyone who didn't agree with you or looked at you crosseyed.  What are we teaching our children.  I feel for the young parents who are raising their children today.

I am so proud of my kids.  My oldest struggled in school, but he is a whiz with tools.  Give him a few tools and a motor that need fixing and he is the one that will do it.  He has sole custody of his children.  He and his wife(not blood mother) are raising his children and have raised hers. He spent years waiting to get custody of them and has done a great job.

My daughter is in the Army.  20 yrs this year.  She serves her country to keep us all free.  She is a wife, a mom and step-mom.    She is my daughter.  I am proud to be her mother.
As daughters are to their moms---she is my soul.

My youngest son is one of the kindest, most tenderhearted people you could ever know.  He can make you laugh with his hillarious sense of humor.  Even if you don't want to.  He loves to duck hunt with his dad.  He is very good with kids and someday will have some of his own.  Animals and kids are drawn to him.  He is smart, sometimes to much for his own good which is another whole category.  He is trustworthy and I can say has rarely given me reason to worry.  He even listens to me although he won't always admit it.

I am just a proud mom who loves her kids.  Everyone should be so lucky.
                            

My Friend Vanessa

Well, I promised to introduce you to my friend Vanessa, who I will probably refer to as Ness. I met this lady, let's see, about 23 ish years ago. I needed a babysitter and she was recommended by the one I was losing. So we talked and she got the job. That baby was about 7 months old at the time. She had 2 boys of her own that were young but in school. My little guy became the little brother. Oh the things those boys didn't think of. But what fun they had. It was good for my Bobby to have brothers since he was basically an only child. There was a large age gap between him and his sister. Any way, so much for how I met Ness.

We both sew. Although our focus is in 2 different directions. She sews mostly baby stuff and is working on a baby line of products. I do purses and totes (and anything else that strikes me as fun to do). I work on getting her to think out of the box since I get so many ideas. Now sometimes that is a challenge. She is a pattern person and I tend not to be.

We both manage to have trouble follow us although nothing bad. You know how there was always that friend when you were a kid that could make you laugh and forget how bad a day you had or would just listen if you had one of those day. Well that is how we are. Now mind you, we have no mercy with each other, and our spouses have days they stay clear and just shake their heads while we just laugh. Ahhh--We have no mercy on them either which is why they try not to be noticed when we are in one of those kind of moods.

Now you have met Ness and I am sure there may be more stories of our fun sewing days. And maybe even our not so fun sewing days.

Diaper Bag Finished

Well, here I am again. I just finished a diaper bag last week. It is very girly and feminine. Of course it is for a young lady who is having a girl. I had to do some thinking on this one because everything is so pastel. I just can't seem to do a bag without the pop factor. So you can be the judge.

I think in one of my next posts I will have to introduce you to my friend Vanessa. She is such a character and we laugh a lot--and I mean a LOT. Maybe I will even let you in on some of our silly little things that come up in conversation.

Sew long, Open the box and let the ideas flow.

Helping Myself

I have not been doing much of that lately. I have had so much to do and haven't gotten much of it done. My biggest problem in life is I keep things. To many things. It is very hard for me to throw things away. Now in some areas that is fine, but in others it is not. So I am trying to convince myself it is ok to get rid of stuff, even if it is not broken. I am going through clothes and sorting out ones I will never be able to get into again and even if I could I wouldn't. I think I came by this quite honestly. My parents were children of the depression and threw out nothing. AND I DO MEAN NOTHING I will change this. I pick the right day or take a few minutes everyday to do one little thing to make some place in my home better. It will work---on spot at a time. Wish me luck.

Having Fun

Yeah it was fun!!!! I was sitting quietly one morning and I had this idea for a purse. I have mentioned before that I love trying different techniques. Well I used one of those techniques in this purse. I have a book called "Simple Chenille Quilts" by Amy Whalen Helmkamp. I have made placemats using the faux chenille technique in this book. I didn't want to make a quilt--which I have never really tackled before--so I decided to use this technique for a purse. I am sure I will use this again because it has such a cool effect. One of these is a gift, but right now I can't tell which one in case she reads this blog. So what do ya think? Are they winners?

Saga of the 25 (part 3)

Like I said--Everything I had in mind was no longer available. After another couple weeks of searching I finally found another 4 to go with the original one she picked out. So the race was on. I knew that the first 3 would be patchwork and the rest of the 18 would be dumbed down as I called it. That was the expression I used for making it much more simple. With about 2 weeks I had the 3 patchwork one well on their way to being done as far as the outside went. The linings would be a breeze compared to the patchwork.

The patchwork were finished and I was pleased. I thought by now I would be starting to get sick of the colors. Well I had to move on to the dumbed down versions. That made it all new--not sick yet. The ideas all came together and I started cutting strips for this version. It took longer to cut the strips and get them ready to be applied than it did to put them on. Now keep in mind--each bag had 18 strips per side x 2 sides = 36 x 15 bags = 540. Yeah that's right 540 strips I had to cut and apply. I would cut cut cut and apply apply apply. Finally about the middle of April I had them done. When I would get sick of working on that part I would work on linings. I had an assembly line with about 5 different stages being worked on at the same time. Tires me out just thinkin' about it.

Just about the time I figured I would have them done by the end of May I get a phone call saying "Mom, this is Martha, I need 4 more bags. Will that be ok?" Of course I couldn't tell her no, now how mean do you think I am. One of the biggest events in this girls life and I am going to tell her NO!!!! I don't think so. So again I was on the hunt. Fabric was running low as far as 4 went, all but the crackle. Here's Murphy again laughing--loud enough I can hear him--couldn't even get to him to stuff his mouth. So I finally found a fabric that fit in the color range which was the main thing so they would all co-ordinate. I looked like wallpaper but I kinda liked it. Didn't have much choice now did I. Then I was paid a visit one night by the Martha family and oh---she needed 3 more for a total of 25. Uhhhh ok.......... I think I ate, drank and slept sewing 16/ 7. You don't sew when you are tired ya know---cause Murphy is waiting around the corner.

To make a long story a bit shorter. The new fabric (looked like wallpaper) wanted a trellis added to it to break up the bouquets----it had to settle for a picket fence. I worked like crazy. Had the bags done (25)-----had the linings done (25)-----had the handles done (50). Put them together---4 at a time---pin 4--stitch 4---press 4. Had to do them that way to break of the monotany. I pushed and did not make it by the end of May. But by the middle of June they were done. Yes DONE. D-O-N-E!!!!!!!!
Called Martha--they were picked up---And by now they have been passed out to the 25 girls to be used for the next year.

All I can say is Whew I think I need a break, at least for a couple days.

Saga Of The 25 (part 2)

February was getting a bit late in the month and we still hadn't been able to get together for the fabric planning session. I was starting to panic. I felt like I needed to get started by March and that might be cutting it close depending on life itself. Ya know, the best laid plans line or that guy Murphy who owns a monkey wrench. Well, I finally decided to have her pick up the main fabric and I would go from there. We decided on about 9 yards and she could get more if need be.

Finally about the 2nd week in March she brought the fabric. Orange, tan(light and dark), pinky( which I could get to go a couple ways by shade used). Now for you to understand the way I was feeling about then---Yellow is my least favorite color. I like the pale, I actually like yellow. Now you are confused I bet. Well to explain. I like yellow on other people---I look jaundiced. Don't wear it and don't stand close to anyone who does. Orange is very close.

Any way she brought the 9 yards and I figured it should be enough. I ordered an orange crackle that I knew would be perfect for the linings. I ordered 15 yards, planning on having enough left for a few other projects. I also had a bit of some other fabrics that would be perfect if I could find them and they were available somewhere.

I will have you know I couldn't find them anywhere. Murphy's law ya know. So the search was on and the panic was taking hold.

Check back for more of the Saga

THE SAGA OF THE 25

This is the first installment of the Saga of the 25. 25 WHAT!!! You might say. Well some of you in some of my favorite Yahoo groups have been following the job that I have tackled. I have also posted a bit about this job in previous post. But I will start at the beginning.

One day, a friend of my sons who is a member of Job's Daughters, which is a girls organization, was at the house with her mother and sister. She was talking about her installation as state queen and the fact that they give tote bags to other girls around the state. She was looking at my photos of some of the bags I have made and the conversation ended up with would I consider making her bags. 18 was the number and I figured given enough time I could do it. No sweat. But she had to let me know by February so we would have time to talk fabric. That sometimes takes a while to find just the right fabric to all work. It takes 5 or 6 different fabric patterns to make my bags.

To be continued.

At a loss

I have been at a loss for words. I have been really busy sewing and working. Four days in a row. My granddaughter is graduating this year and next year my grandson. Oh to be that young again and have your whole life ahead of you. They have so much to learn and so little time to appreciate life. I hope they find their passion. Something they love to do that will give them a reason to start everyday.

I have been doing a lot of sewing as you can imagine with 25 bags to do. They are coming along fine. I have 3 days that I won't be able to do any sewing so I hope that doesn't slow down the process to badly. I have about 2 weeks to have them finished and somehow I will do it. Then you will all see the end results.

Quiet Days

There really aren't too many of those in my life. A week ago we celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary. That is an accomplishment these days. Our son took us to dinner for Chinese. Yummy!!!! We also picked out a couple plants for the yard and managed to get them planted within a couple days.

Other than that I spent the weekend sewing. I have piles of bags in some state of completion all over my sewing areas. Yes in this case it has to be AREAS, multiple. I have outer shells being stitched. Linings that are ready for pockets and pockets in the process. All cut, some sewn, some turned right side out and some pinned to be sewn. Soon, very soon this will all be done.

My stash is calling. I have not been through it since March, and oh my, I know there are things in there that are wanting to get out. Patience. I have to learn that every day. I must put all these ideas on paper so I don't forget.

Ok, good luck with that one, it takes quiet time. And we are right back where we started with not much of that valuable commodity. So on to the projects for the day. Maybe I will even get my dishes done.

ROLLIN' ALONG

I have been so busy, but here I am.
I am making fantastic progress on this huge project!!!! I have been poked by pins and burnt by my iron. Small pieces with edges folded over and irons almost guaranty burnt fingers. At first I just thought it was because I had the steam on-----that wasn't it. It is just HOT.

I am gearing up for a 2 day stretch of sewing over the weekend. The male members of my family will be fishing--yea fresh fish--and I will be sewing and reading.

I am stepping over the dog today because he thinks he is a rug. Well he could be but he would be mighty bumping. This is Ice. He is 5 yrs old and pretty spoiled. But he loves to go duck hunting in the fall.

Well the purse project calls.

How I Started

Whoa!!!! I just noticed that all the bags on the slide have Ka Ra La in big letters. I have changed that. I decided it was to much in your face. I didn't like that once I really looked at it. I have changed that part a lot, they are much smaller and you have to look for it, but it is still on every bag.

Thought maybe I should give a little background on how I started making bags. So here goes. I was being lazy one day and discovering the joys of Dish Network. I ran across a craft show, like duh what else would I be looking for. Well I happened on a program called "Uncommon Threads" and they were making a little(and I do mean little)purse using vinyl. I found some fabric around and made believe I knew what I was doing and made a little purse, it was like 6" x 6". Little, Little. I couldn't have that, so I started playing around. I played with size, well just the whole thing. It evolved into what I make now. I use no pattern for the patchwork, it just happens. It is kinda like a school yard. I have 5 or 6 kids(pieces of fabric) and they play together nicely or they get kicked out. They must audition to make sure they can play.

Well that is my story. They evolve. They are changing everytime I make a new one. I continually have different ideas, some I use, others I file for future reference.

Creative Juices

What a day! I don't usually get started 'til mid-day. You see, I am not a morning person. Although I get up early-6:30am to 7:30am most days, my brain does not kick in until 11 or so. I did some running for Hubby and have working on bags since. I am getting close, oh so close. I am almost ready to start applique and handles. I am not even sick of the color yet which is a huge surprise just for the simple fact that there are 25 bags all the same color. It is sure a challenge. But I am finding that is all I needed to get the job rolling. I am still shooting for the end of May. Wish me luck.

It has been a couple weeks since I was here. But I had a thought, scary huh. I have a friend who is a published author of romance novels. Reading her blog I discovered that though the outlet is different the passion is the same. The need to be creative is the same. Her creativeness flows on paper in the form of a book. Mine flows with fabric and ends in a tote or purse. It is amazing that there is so much creativity and so many awesome places for it to go. We are all creatively intertwined. I understand your passion Mary. I will soon enjoy one of your products. Keep up the creativity and continue to let it flow.

Lost in thought

Yes I have been lost in thought. I have someone very close to me going to Iraq soon. Very soon. Everything will be fine I am sure No matter how much faith you have there is still a bit of worry that slips in.

But on to my passion and progress.
I have pockets ready to go. I really love making totes and purses. The creativity just wears me out somedays with all the ideas I get. I have taken to writing them down if I can. But ya know when I have one of those really great ideas I never seem to have paper or anything else to write on. Oh maybe a tissue but that sure doesn't hold up well for writing on. And the memory goes before I get to the paper.

The bags are coming along quite well. I am just taking it in stages.

I am chasing rabbits today. I just had a thought. I have been watching for the hummingbirds to start showing up. There is just nothing more fun that watching the hummers eating. We discovered we could pull them in last year just before they all left. But so fun to watch.

I just thought that since I was talking about my patchwork bags that maybe I should add one. It is really hard to pick, but I liked this one. It ended up being a gift for a very good friend.

I have been really busy of late. I have a part time job plus I am in the process of making 18(maybe 22) bags for a friend of my son. She is a really nice girl and is part of the Job's Daughters. She is being install as a state Queen. I decided the best way for me to accomplish this large task was to start with the most important ones first. Which is the top 3 that are all patchwork with embroidery. The outer shell of those 3 are almost done. Then I can stitch them. Yeah!!!!!!
I have discovered that this is really a new thing to me, the blogging that is. But I have had suggestions of trying a tutorial, so that could be coming down the road. But first I have to finish these bags. It really sounds sort of exciting to share with others what I find the most fun. Which by the way isn't necessarily making just bags, but just being creative and having an open mind to new things.

I hope others who share my passion for trying new things will visit my blog on occasion and enjoy my ideas.

My passion

About this bag. It looked like pinwheels to me. Sooooo I decided that I needed to accent that and I appliqued a pinwheel on the front. This is one that I call a bucket bag. Carry your lunch or your knitting or just whatever.

Well at this point in time I am really into making totes and purses. It seems that the more I do the more ideas I get. My friends are loving it because they always seem to get gifts. Once in a while I sell one. This is a hobby that I want to stay a hobby. Hobbies are fun and jobs are not. Maybe I will put in a picture, Maybe.

The Whys

I started this blog to have a place to put ideas that I have come up with while creating. Some are very original. Some are combinations of others that I have seen. I am into techniques and what I can do to make them work for me. Most of the things I do started somewhere and have been tweaked to the point that they no longer resemble where they originated. I just can't seem to leave things alone.