Birthday Bags!

The little sewing I have managed this week has involved bags or pouches!

My sister's Bag for Life, to go with her birthday picture:



And for my step-MIL, a pouch to match the Modern Maud handbag I made her for Christmas.



Finally, a pencil case/pouch for my friend's daughter:

I just love that Wellie fabric!

Happy Friday!

Drum Roll Please!

I've had few presents to make for birthdays this week:



Number 2 daughter has requested a roll/pouch to keep her drumsticks in!



And my sister-in-law is getting this 'tote for life' in the cutest wellie boots fabric I've seen!  There's no wadding in this one, so that it can be easily rolled up and stored in her handbag, so I put some French seams on the inside to make it more secure.

That's another few makes ticked off the list!

Last of the Presents!

Well I didn't get the weather to paint my ugly chest of drawers yesterday.

Instead, the Christmas decorations came down, were packed away for another year, and we moped around mourning the end of a truly festive and relaxing season.

I did get a bit of sewing done however.

The winner of my blogiversary giveaway (Lorraine) requested a blue and green travel sewing pouch.



This will be making its way to USA this week, together with 10 Tula Pink fqs.

And one last Christmas present make I forgot to show you.



This is a bag for life I made mum.  Most of the materials are recycled: a tea towel from Portugal (top), waterproof Irish linen offcut (bottom), and leftover Ikea fabric as the lining. Even the elastic strap is out of one of my girls' skrits!

Mum opened this present in front of my big sis, who has now put in her order for one!

Christmas Day!

A Bag for Life!

I'm a great one for carrying around a couple of those 'bags for life' - you know the ones?  

Where you paid 50p for a smart looking plastic bag that you could fold up and keep in your handbag, and proudly whip it out just as the cashier is about to pack your items into a standard plastic bag!  Love that moment!

Well it turns out these 'bags for life' aren't so immortal after all!  I keep 2 in my handbag, and they are both wrecked!

Now as a 'bag lady' you would think I would have had one of these babies made a long time ago, wouldn't you?  I guess it's just another one of those things I haven't gotten around to.

But we can thank the lovely Ayumi for inspiring me into action (check out her gorgeous grocery sacks).  I designed this shopping bag to fold up neatly and keep in my handbag:

Truth be told there is another reason why I needed to get on with making this.  I'm in the process of designing a new handbag (not as a 'bag for life') and I wanted to experiment with some shapes & sizes.

  

Not one to waste anything, I thought rather than 'waste' fabric on a trial design, I'd make good use of prototype 1 - ok the fabrics aren't that inspiring, despite an original bit of vintage thrown in, but it is sturdy!

Really this is an early draft of what I will tweak with and play some more on until I get the bag that I can see in my mind (just not yet in reality!).

I would like to make a few more of these 'bags for life' style ones, but to also work out a cunning way of holding it together when it is all folded up, like the strap you secure an umbrella with. 

I don't often get the time to just 'play' and design, I miss it and would like to do it more.  If only I didn't need to sleep or eat!!

I'll leave you with my inspiration mosaic for the upcoming mugrug & goodies swap being hosted by Fluffy Sheep.