Yes Sir, Yes Sir, Three Bags Full

I looked at the entries, and winners of the purse challenge at PR. I should enter a challenge. That would force me to apply myself to finish an item, and it would be fun. Maybe next time.

I love to make bags. It's a good place to use techniques that may be a bit overwhelming on a garment. And, it's fun to try new embellishments on a small project that I can see an end to in my lifetime.

There is a bag pattern that is great for trying out new techniques. It is called thesmarthandbag . The bag is box-shaped. It has a cuff at the top, akin to pant cuffs. On the under side of the cuff, velcro is attached. (this doesn't show on the outside of the bag. As is, this is a nice bag. But wait--there's more! You can make slip-covers to fit over the bag, and the covers are attached with velcro under the purse cuff. It's ingenious!







Here's my basic Smart Bag in black:




It's difficult to see in the photo, but I attached a fur boa to the top of the bag, over the cuff. There's clear plastic handles, and a red tassel. I could now make slip covers that fasten under the fur cuff piece. The bag is made from home dec fabric.

The pattern is still available at the website above, and there are others, as well. The possibilites are endless as to making the slip covers. Pintucks, pleated fabrics, different types of paint and embellishments. It's a big candy store out there!


This is another Smart Bag.

I don't intend to make a cover for this one. Here, I've used a jungle print cotton fabric, which I quilted. I put a ruffle around the top of the bag, (over the cuff), from a lightweight leopard print fabric. There's wood handles and wood beaded fringe. The lining is the leopard print. This is a fun bag!



Here's a crazy quilted bag. This pattern is from the booklet "Totes With Zippers" by Cindy Taylor Oates. The idea of the crazy quilted bag came from Barbara Randle's "Crazy Quilting With Attitude"
This reminds me of Mardi Gras. Very festive! I love carrying this bag also.

I'm going to the fabric store tonight, and probably the book store. Marty has a book review of "The Seamstress of Hollywood Blvd" that sounds delightful. I really need to carve out some time for reading.

I read blogs--does that count?