Amy Butler is a genius!

I am an Amy Butler fan! Confirmed. Love her fabric. Love her projects. Love her patterns. So I was really excited when I saw she has a new product launching in June 2009. http://www.trueup.net recently reported that Amy Butler has teamed up with Electric Quilt to launch Amy Butler Softwares. This is a new way to purchase Amy's projects in electronic format. Trueup shares this link http://www.doyoueq.com/amybutlersoftwaresprojects/slide.htm where you can see a preview of the gorgeous new projects that will be available in June 2009 for purchase.

This makes me especially happy as I can purchase, download and use. No postage fees and no waiting! If you are an Amy Butler fan, go check the above link out.

The Perfect Apron, by Rob Merrett

Although this book only launched in February 2009 I saw it late 2008. It was so popular that I had to wait more than a month after launch to get a copy of the book. It was well worth it! The Perfect Apron by Rob Merrett is value for money! Some great new, fresh designs I cannot wait to try! The book is divided into 6 sections: Back to Basics; Kitchen Couture; Domestic Bliss; Kitsch 'n' Cute; Fun & Function and Country Charm.

The Back to Basics section covers some very simple designs as seen above, but still lovely aprons.

The Kitchen Couture section has some really smart aprons. The use of fancy fabric with basic pattern designs allows you to create some smart aprons for entertaining or just if you feel like dressing up in the kitchen or home.

This is one of my favorites from this section!

The Domestic Bliss section has some very pretty apron designs. There are several that I have marked as future projects.

Isn't this apron gorgeous? It is so on my list!

Although I prefer full aprons, this design is also fantastic!

In the Kitsch 'n' Cute section there are several apron designs that I really like.

Such as this one. I can imagine this apon in the soft blue denim fabric I bought recently with some lovely pink gingham fabric. This one is first on my list but I might add a bib.

The Fun and Function section has more practical designs in. Many aprons for men, gardening and kids crafting.

It also has one of my all-time favorite apron designs in. Last year I purchased a vintage apron pattern from Etsy with almost the exact design.

The Country Charm section has lots of frills and girly aprons in. Although really cute, I don't find it practical in the kitchen. The woman in me wants one though!


Like this romantic apron. Really nice!

As if all these devine aprons aren't enough, the back of the book shares some really nice tips on pockets and other basic sewing information. And best of all, right at the back of the book - FULL SIZE patterns! I highly recommend this book if you love aprons!

Knitted, Felted bags

Last year I posted pictures of 2 bags my sister Linda knitted for me. She also felted the bags. I decided that I would sew fabric lining and handles for both bags but never had time to do this until last week.

This is the pink bag, now with a lovely cotton pink gingham lining and handles. I also sewed on the roses my sister knitted and felted.

A closer view of the pockets I sewed on in the lining. Not a large bag, but enough room for your purse, cellphone and other daily must-haves.

This is the blue bag - my favorite! It came out really pretty with the polka dot blue lining.

A close up of the lining and roses. I did this bag first and forgot to add pockets to the lining. I read on another crafter's blog that her daughters refuse to get the "prototype" of anything she makes as this one always has all the mistakes! So true. I always forget something with the first one I make! Still happy with the results though.

Cotton Tale Stash Club

Last year I joined a local fabric shop, Cotton Tale's Stash Club. Every quarter you get a parcel containing 32 samples of their latest fabrics. A few weeks ago I received notification that the Q1 2009 parcels were ready, so I agreed to purchase it.

A really cute idea that allows you to see what new fabrics the store has. Many of the fabrics co-ordinate so you can use the squares in patchwork projects. I have already planned a few. Wish I had more time to sew!

Sew Darn Cute, by Jenny Ryan

A few of my friends have asked me to post a review on this book as they are considering buying it. To be honest, I saw a few pictures of this book on blogs around the internet and decided on a whim to purchase it. I was very disappointed at first when I received it and just put it on my bookshelve. A few weeks later I picked it up again and I must admit, I love it now. I have made several projects from the book and plan to do a few more soon!

The book is divided into 5 sections: Pretties; Totables; Nest; Kid Stuff and Crafties. All yummy projects that are easy yet very effective. The first section, Pretties, consist of personal items such as a hairband, a cuff, jewelry and even sewing a few pieces of fabric to your clothing. Really simple, but nice.

Being a bagaholic, this section is one of my favorites! It includes several cute totes with fresh embellishment ideas.

Like this cute pillowcase purse made with denim fabric, a repurposed pillowcase and cute ric-rac. Really a simple project with great results.

A firm favorite, the "Ladylike Laptop Tote". I adore yo-yo's! This is such a cute bag. It is on my list!

The next section is called the "Nest" and this covers simple projects for your home. Projects include coasters, curtains, etc.

This project is on my list. A very cute way to embellish your dishcloths with ric-rac and fabric.

The "Kid Stuff" section is not really very useful to me with bibs, embellishing baby clothes and a doll blanket, but I do like the snake (can be used as a doorstopper) and the teddy!

The Square Bear, also featured on the front of the book, is really cute!

The last section, Crafties, is more my cup of tea! This includes a pincushion, needle book and a few other cute projects.

Like this cute Craft Apron with many pockets. On my LIST!

And a very pretty sewing machine cozy!

Overall I would recommend this book to other crafters. It has some cute little zipper bags in and of course, the travel pillow that I have already made. Quite a few new, fresh projects that I have not seen in other books. The patterns can be found in the back of the book, but some must be copied and enlarged.

It's a bag weekend!

I was adamant that this weekend will be more productive than the last one. So, after finishing my Mystery Bag I started planning my weekend projects. Of course, there were several bags I wanted to make. First on my list was another metal frame purse. I managed to salvage quite a few nice frames last week, but I cannot get the RIGHT design in my head. This continued the whole weekend. In the end I decided to make something else until I get the design sorted out. So I made this delightful bag.

I saw a picture of this bag on one of my favorite blogs http://nicoledesign.blogspot.com/. Nicole is an amazing bag designer! Her metal frame purses are different from the usual you see on the internet. In a few words, I would describe her designs fresh and new. This bag is one of her patterns called the "Flat Bag". I saw a picture of it on her blog and made my own pattern.

I just love everything about this bag. As with Lola's Mystery Bag, it plays on the contrasting fabrics and shows it off so stunningly. I have a variety of bamboo, bead and wooden handles I bought last year and never used. This is actually my first bag using these handles.

I bought this new home dec Amy Butler fabric from an Etsy shop at a great price recently and have been keen to use it. It goes so well with this bright orange moda fabric I bought locally. How clever to put the magnetic snap just below the handles. I did forget to add pockets! At least it has a large outside pocket. I also love the effect of the covered buttons on the outside pocket.

I then decided to make another bag with this pattern. This is a fun, pink bag for a colleague at work, Cindy. I promised her a bag months ago! This delightful brown fabric with the pink butterflies and flowers was a gift during a Swap I participated in last year. Fabulous fabric! It goes so well with the pink polka dot fabric. This time I did remember to add pockets inside. I also added some velcro to the outside pocket.

More views of the pink bag showing some fabric detail and the placement of the magnetic snap. It is well worth paying a visit to Nicole's blog and shop for inspiration.

Lola Mystery Bag complete!

I finished the Mystery Bag on Friday night. Love how it came out! It is a lot bigger than my usual bags but I can already see some great uses for this bag.

Isn't it pretty? Love the fact that the design is so unsual and the use of contrasting fabric that shows off to best advantage. Thank you very much Lola for hosting the sewalong! I will most definitely join in should you host another one! It was such fun!