Happy Labor Day Everyone: Fun Patterns!

I've had my yogurt and cherries, but I'm still drinking coffee while I type. I got a new Keurig coffeemaker--Steve & Lisa picked one up for me at Sam's yesterday. My old one was kaput. I like being able to make one cup at a time.

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I want to share these two purse patterns with you, because I think the designs are beautiful and fun. I got the patterns some time ago, thinking I'd get them made right away. I ordered some material from Denver Fabrics--a pink and a purple toile, a solid pink and a solid purple, and a striped pink and a striped purple. I thought these combinations would work really well. I didn't receive one of the materials for 2 months! And I changed my mind about using toile.

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If you go on Laura's website, you'll see that she offers patterns for 60 X 60 quilts, bag patterns of several choices--including a wave tote and purse, a shoppers tote, a double pocket purse, a saddle purse and tote, 2 different quilted wallets, a book pack, a kidney sling pack, 2 round zippered pouches, and a block of the month. What I bought is called the Lotus Bag in the first picture and the Messenger Bag in the second. The Messenger Bag pattern has 3 sizes.

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I've accumulated some material that I think will be perfect for the purses. Some time ago, I'd seen a Big Shirt on an actress in a TV show. I fell in love with it because it was made out of chintz...it looked feminine, but comfortable. I decided that I wanted to make one. I went to Hancock's and bought a Big Shirt pattern, but then I had to find some chintz. The online stores mostly have drapery fabrics, which is where I got in trouble.

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I looked at FabricGuru.com and read a touching explanation of what they're about. They'd been on eBay for years and gained a lot of customers. They're in Bessemer, AL. And I like that they don't have any fabric on their site that isn't in stock. I was looking for chintz...would I settle for the look of chintz? Yes, I would. I chose the fabric you see in my profile pic.

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While I was buying--and they only charge $4.99 shipping no matter how much material you buy--the "chintz" fabric, I would search for black velvet, which I needed to make Jamie a throw. I found a nice black fabric with a design on it and at a cheap price, considering it was (as I thought) velvet. I got them both and they came on a large fabric roll by Fed Ex. I was again impressed with this company.

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Imagine my surprise when the black "velvet" fabric wasn't velvet at all, but a color called "velvet black." That drapery fabric will make a nice sturdy purse! Also, my lovely yellow material with the large pink roses is actually a light drapery material and turned out to be a bit scratchy. Thinking that I'd make at least 2 Big Shirts, I bought another material with large roses in a darker color. It's also going to make a nice purse. Nice, stiff fabrics!

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Now remember that with all this fabric, my priority was to make an outfit for my birthday. I got out the Big Shirt pattern, but realized that it was July, and that it would be hot even in our dry air. So I began looking through my collection of patterns and found an old, but easy one. No zippers or buttons, just slip it over the head. So I decided that I'd use my yellow material with the large pink roses, and I took it to JoAnn's to get some pants material to match. I found a very nice cotton sateen in a green to match--my second try at finding pants material, because I'd been to Hancock's and bought a nice, bright green that didn't look right.

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There is more to this story, but you get the picture of my sewing these days. I've made some small throws and quilts for the kids, but that's about it. I DO love to sew! And if I get a chance to do any sewing, I'll let you know. I'm about to start on a new set of Bible lessons and that is very time-consuming work.

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Have a fun and relaxing Labor Day!
Blessings...Mimi