Buttercup fever!

I made another TWO Buttercup bags this weekend! One for me...

In the most adorable lilac, purple and pink flower corduroy fabric I had in my stash! The lining is another lovely lilac corduroy.

Here you can see the magnetic snap and one of the little pockets. Once again I used a light fusible interfacing for the exterior fabric only, not the lining, as well as for the pockets and handles. I think they call it "fusible batting". I love sturdy handles and interior pockets as they take the brunt of everyday use. I still need to sew the decorative button flap on. (The other bag I made is a gift...)

I saw my best friend today at my conference and she is madly in love with my bag. Guess I will be making her another bag the same as mine this weekend! I made this bag to go with my velvet lilac suit I wore to the conference today. A perfect fit! This is such an adorable bag I cannot stop making it. You must however use a small print to make the best of the lovely pattern. See the free pattern at http://madebyrae.blogspot.com/.

The Buttercup Bag

I have made plenty bags but have not made my best friend a bag yet. Shame on me, I know. Problem is that I have actually made her several bags, but none of them were "right". I wanted something really special for her.

A few weeks ago Sew Mama Sew had a Fat Quarter Month and one of the projects featured was the Buttercup bag by Rae of http://madebyrae.blogspot.com/. This is the cutest little bag made from just a fat quarter!

Last night I decided to make a Buttercup bag for my friend.

This little bag is an absolute delight to make! I made a few small changes like adding some interfacing to the outer bag, I sewed the handles on before turning the back out and I added another pocket inside.

Not a great picture, but you can see the contrasting lining fabric and two little pockets for her cellphone and a few other small essential items. Perfect bag when you go shopping and just need your purse, cellphone and a few other items. I hope she enjoys her bag. I enjoyed making it so much that I am busy making another two! One for me and the other is a gift. Thanks Rae for a great pattern!

Storage and...bags?

During my quest to organize my closet, I bought this lovely magazine at our local news agent...

I just love the BHG magazines. Lovely pictures and great ideas, just like their website. Whilst browsing for storage ideas, I spied this...

Yes, I like the gorgeous pink chair, but look what is on the chair! And this...

Lovely pink cushion, but what is on top of it? This was enough to let me forget all about closets and storage! Do I ever NOT think about sewing? I hauled out some of my home dec fabrics and this is what I made...

It started off as the green leave bag on the pink chair and sort of morphed into a pleated bag with side pockets. A lot bigger too. The pockets came from the second green bag. I put knitting needles in the pockets to show it off. Love this fabric! It was the last piece in the curtain department at Fiona's and was rather expensive. I have been saving this fabric for ages. The bag is not finished yet but I love it so far. It is not lined, same as the bag in the picture, but the fabric is very sturdy and this is meant to be a casual bag.

I am also on a mission to make some fabric grocery bags. I am collecting far too many plastic bags! (and fabric too!) Here are a few that I have cut out from sturdy, home dec fabrics so far...

Just need to sew them. Some more of my home dec weight fabrics I plan to use for grocery bags, including the lovely grey fabric I used for the bag above.

I think some of these might morph into other type of bags too. Love the feel of home dec fabric! I do have some stunning Amy Butler home dec fabrics too, in lovely orange and some grey and blue and brown. Hmm...

Books Galore!

I am a little ashamed of myself as I went on a book-buying spree a few weeks ago...As it takes 2-3 weeks for books to ship to South Africa, I started getting my books late last week and this week.





Impressive stack, isn't it? Some of these titles I have been yearning for, for ages! Of course we are all familiar with Weekend Sewing from the fabulous Heather Ross and Sewing Green from the smart Betz White, but if you are seriously into sewing clothes, here are the books to buy:



Sew U: Home Stretch by Wendy Mullin of the Built-by-Wendy fame is a genius. This book is all about sewing knits and have some fabulous free patterns inside. She also shows you how to alter the patterns to make even more fabulous clothes. There are many great reviews in blogland so google the title and you will find it.


DowntownDIY Sewing is not a picture book. If you want lots of colour pics, this is not the book for you. It does however have some fabulous sewing projects from clothes, bags and accessories in. Simple instructions and free full-size patterns make this inexpensive book worth it.



But, for the ULTIMATE sewing book, for sewing clothes that is, THIS is the book to buy!

I LOVE this book. I only received it yesterday and i have not put the book down often. Chic & Simple Sewing by Christine Haynes is fabulous! For a great review visit http://www.craftypod.com/2009/05/04/review-chic-simple-sewing. I cannot do a better review. While you are there, check out her other book reviews. I want to make everything in this book. Honestly. Great patterns, full-size, and stunning designs that are simple and elegant. Watch this space for my projects from this fabulous book.

Knit, felt, knit, felt...

I am back on that crazy horse called FELTING! As if I did not have enough of it last year and I had the blisters to show. With the lack of Thrift stores selling wool and cashmere sweaters in South Africa, I consulted my lovely book, Easy Felted Accessories.

This book suggests knitting by hand or machine, felting the pieces and then cutting and sewing the fabulous projects featured. The projects range from hats to gloves, a blanket, needle book, slippers, scarves, corsages and other quick and easy projects.

Knitting goes fast, not so? I can quickly knit a large piece and make this fabulous bag by Saturday night!

Off to the Yarn shop I went Saturday morning and guess what? They had a SALE! I found the most gorgeous Portuguese 100% wool yarn, the purple yarn featured in the first pic of this post, and some lovely local felting wool yarn.

Enrhusiastic, I strarted knitting away. Knitting is NOT fast. It is NOT easy on my poor hands that are not used to this exercise either. By Saturday night, this is how far I got, as you can see in the first pic of this post. How do knitters DO it? Wish I had a knitting machine. Or better, can find some wool sweaters for cheap. Ah well, I'll get there, maybe by Xmas?

Just look at these fabulous felted rose corsages. Another quick project in this book. These will look so stunning on my knitted, felted bag!

And don't forget my knitted, felted Russian Hat! I want one!

With our sunny, warm weather in South Africa, we do not wear wool and cashmere sweaters, so the shops do not sell much of it. If you do find it at upmarket stores they can cost about $90 each. I do own a handful of cashmere sweaters, but at that price I will not be cutting them up!

I am on a mission to find some cheap wool sweaters and surfing the internet is high on the priority list. No luck so far, but I am determined. Knit, felt is clearly not the way!

Lavender and closet organization

Every morning it is a battle of wills to find anything in my overflowing closet! At least once a week I find an item of clothing that I have not seen in years. Does this sound familiar? I know I have too much clothes to begin with, but I am in desperate need of a closet re-organization. So I browsed on the best website ever - Better Homes and Gardens - and found great tips.

Of course, it did involve some sewing and fabric from my stash! After measuring the shelves, I cut some of my beautiful oilcloth to line the shelves. I used a stack of baskets I bought on 50% sale on Sunday morning and best of all, I sewed some lovely lavender sachets from the loveliest lavender sheer fabric with stunning lavender ribbon...my closet smells heavenly and i can now at least find my shoes, underwear and make-up. I still have lots to do, only finished one closet, but who knew organizing your closet could be fun?!

Giveaway results - 100th post

Thank you for participating in my 100th post celebration! I put all the names in a hat and got a colleague to draw the names.

The winner of the bag made by Pinktulip is Jacqueline! Congratulations, Jacqueline! Thanks for your inspirational comments and visiting so often. I will be in contact to get your details and start making your bag soonest!

As promised, there were two other prizes of a local craft magazine and some African fabric as well. Although the intention was to just draw two other names, for some reason Lola's name card kept attaching itself to the names being drawn! Talk about persistance to win!

So, we now have THREE other winners: Gingini, MilliMollyMandy and LOLA! Congratulations! I will be in contact to get your postage details.