After no showings for weeks, there were two parties through the house on the weekend - one Saturday afternoon and one Sunday afternoon. Isn't it strange how that happens? Just as I'd let go and settled to staying, two viewings. It's like when you decide I'm not getting married, I'm happy single or I guess we won't have children and then suddenly, it happens... or at least both of those scenarios happened to me. Not that the house is sold. It had two viewings which has me back to evaluating which strata unit works best for us and wondering if I'll need to let go again.
Several readers wrote comments along the lines of please just blog what you want. Thank you. I will. I should have used a different wording in Friday's posting when I said that I was worried about losing readership while working on the bags. It was a background thought - one that occurred to me and caused some concern but it wasn't enough to tap dance because... the blog is about my life and my creativity so it's a little impossible to talk about anything but what I am doing in the studio... which is fun... if you happen to like bags. I hope you do. I appreciate the encouragement and would love to hear what you think of the bags.
When I started on the Sandi bag, I had in mind an athletic bag only I was thinking of the shape not the siz. It became the little bag that grew and grew. She can carry the entire team's soccer balls, play hockey or football, or camp for a week in this bag. It's a BIG BAG...
... and colorful and perky and energetic... just like its "hands". I hope she likes it. The bag is mostly done. I thought it was finished and then it occurred to me that, because the size is much bigger than I anticipated, the shoulder strap may not be enough to carry the weight so I'm debating adding some red handles. What do you think?
The bag I'm working on now is for Cindy. The two pieces above didn't look like they had much in common other than the green of the background however, it has turned into a wonderful combination of fabrics with a mostly purple base and some really fun details that you'll see later in the week. For now - above is the starting point.
It's been interesting to search the studio for what I need. Sandi's bag is lined with a black fabric with brown/beige/rust dots. It's a polyester blend originally bought for a full skirt... from Fanny's... in the bargain section... for $1.00 a meter... about fifteen years ago... before they went out of business... and the bag only took some, there's LOTS left. The zipper was bought at least ten years ago as an option for a coat. Two of the feature fabrics are also at least ten years old.
Cindy's bag used a purple background fabric that I've had for five years, a lining fabric that's probably just as old, buttons that have been sitting in a jar on the shelf forever, purse handles that I can't even remember when I bought them, and another stashed zipper. The floral hand fabric was originally bought for curtains four houses ago.
It's great using what I have. What's scary is the fact that I can totally see finishing up these nine bags and not even noticing a dent in the studio. But it's a fabulous project, especially playing with threads again. As a textile artist, I used a LOT of thread. My work is known for the use of color and dense threadwork.
I get a giggle when I read about sewists who don't like to change thread so they work on all one color for periods of time. When I'm creating a piece, I might change the thread twenty or thirty times a day depending on how large the sections are and how detailed the design elements. I can thread my machine quite quickly, which is probably good because I can't stand a lot of stuff out in the studio and having more than one sewing machine would drive me crazy. Funny how we're all the same and yet so different.
Having cleaned the house three times in the past week, it's clean and I'm free to play today. I'm taking my youngest son out for breakfast to spend some time with him and plan to go to the gym after I take him to work. The weather has turned cold and all my fall fabric has yet to arrange itself into a coat so I may go to the second hand stores and see what's to be found. Maybe. I might also just stay home and sew. Yesterday, I pieced the Cindy bag together and then took it apart. There was too much bulk at the top and the seams wouldn't turn properly. I'm debating bias binding around the edges similar to Francine's bag IF I can find a fabric that will work. Otherwise, I'll need a plan C.
Talk soon - Myrna
Grateful - a wonderful visit with Barb
More handles on a big bag are always useful -- you can use the short handles to help carry the weight if you've slung a full bag onto yourself with the shoulder strap. Or put a loop on the end, for hanging the empty bag on a hook, or for steadying a full bag as you walk. I vote for the red handles.
ReplyDeleteI like shorter handles myself. They make it easier to grab the bag from a car or the floor. But shoulder straps are great for carrying. Both is a quality option.
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