A Senior Modern Maud

A senior relative in my family has been using one of my bags for several years now.  It goes absolutely everywhere with her and it has seen better days!  The best kind of compliment a bag maker can have!

So I thought it was time to make her a new one!

My oh so reliable Modern Maud to the rescue!

 

This pattern was named after another senior member of my family, my Nanny, sadly not with us anymore. 

I think these colours are to my relative's tastes and style.  She has also been one of my main 'suppliers' of vintage lace, buttons and remnants, so I'm 'giving' back some of her donated buttons!

There are 2 spacious pockets inside, one zippered with an easy to grab zipper pull.

And hopefully the feet & reinforced base will keep this bag sturdy as it gets dragged around used plenty!



So that's another Christmas pressie ticked off the list!

And if you wnat some Liberty lush in your stocking this year, check out this lovely giveaway!

(I may have more giveaway news here tomorrow - just saying!)

Introducing ......

.... my new handbag - 'Miss Eddy'!

This is a compact, well structured bag, with a reinforced, set-in base.

And you have the option of using wipeable fabric for the lining (aka a shower curtain) and turning your bag into a travel/wash bag.

The zip in this bag is virtually 'set in' near the end of the construction, with the final addition of handles fixed to the outside of the bag.

I will be teaching this pattern as a one day workshop in July - more details on this here (scroll down), which is why I kept the outer design details fairly simple. 

However, hopefully with a sprinkle of imagination and a dash of initiative, you could easily add your own design ideas to this wee bag.

I will eventually get the pattern written up (along with Martha May, Modern Maud and Joanie!) and put into my Etsy shop!

Well, I hope you like Miss Eddy, the new member of my 'bag family'!

P.s. Thank you so much to those of you who have voted for my humble Welcome Wallhanging in the Weekly Themed Quilters Gallery contest. Aren't there some wonderful wallhangings in there?  Voting ends Sunday, so you still have time to vote for your favourite here.

Getting Stuck In!

I'm working on a new handbag. 

I hope to introduce you to her soon.  But I've stalled on it because my local 'all things sewing' shop doesn't stock orange zips, or red zips, just orangey-red zips!

So I've had to order some online (which of course means you see lots more lovely things and end up spending more!).

But there's plenty more I can work on while I'm waiting on my zips.

I'm often so busy working on class samples that I don't have time to get more involved in blog-land stuff.

So in an effort to be more connected and proactive I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday over at Lee's, and I've also entered a wee bloggy competition, which I'll tell you all about on Friday!

Hope you've had a great Wednesday (despite the weather!).

Happy Paddy's Day!

To all my friends, far and near, happy St. Patrick's Day!

Despite living in the land of '40 shades of green', today will be a usual Saturday - lie-in, chores, sewing!.

At the moment I'm having some fun with these ...

have designs on one of these ......

made another one of these ........

and plan to eat lots of this when my friend Sarah and her family come for tea!

Hope you have a great St. Paddy's day!

Scrap-ology!

n. the science of scraps - Just Jude Concise Dictionary

I love working with scraps ('tell me something I didn't know' I hear you say!).

The other evening I was over-analysing (again!) while putting together a bag for my daughter's friend's birthday (clearly I need to get out more!).

Is the ability to put scraps together cohesively an art form or a science?

For me most of the time it is just instinctive.  I pull out what I have, audition pieces together, and get a 'feel' for what works and what doesn't.  You have to be brave doing this, because the nature of working with scraps from different decades means they don't necessarily 'match'. 

But on closer analysis, I think that's where the science comes in.

Taking this bag as an example, I realised there were certain 'rules' at play, that I was subconsciously following, but had never really verbalised them before.  

Side A

As a tutor, it's not enough for me to just 'know' how to do something, I also need to be able to effectively communicate the process to others.

Side B

So the rules I found myself following last night were:

* Start with one or two scraps that you like and build around them:  I had started with the brief that this person isn't a girly girl, but not a tom-boy either, who loves the colour purple.  So I'd pulled out some purple, aqua, orange & red to get me started.

* Go with your gut (not v.scientific I realise!): I somehow knew that true green wouldn't work here, despite getting short on a variety of scraps and trying green in there.  It was horrible, and I just proved to myself what I already knew.

* Keep the scale of the prints as similar as possible.  Larger scale flowers or patterns won't work in with these smaller prints - the squares are only 4" finished.

* Occassionally put squares side by side which have an element of the same colour in them.  E.g. you can have 2 v.different squares, which may both have a bit of purple in them.

* Don't be afraid and don't discount anything until you've auditioned it.  I was initially staying away from pink due to the brief, but realised I needed pink in here to lift the other colours and bridge the darks and lights.

* Even fugly fabrics can work alongside 'nicer' prints!  I realise I'm walking on dangerous territory here with some of you, but I've never been in the luxurious position where I can afford to be picky, and have proven to myself time and again that you can still get a cohesive and beautiful whole from parts that aren't necessarily pretty.

Now this finished item will not be to everyone's taste.  But when I step into certain high street bag shops, I don't always like what is on display, but they still 'work'.

Personally I love this bag!  It reflects the personality of the recipient and the maker.  And if someone made this form me when I was turning 13 I'd be stoked!

An inner pocket peeking out!

So, is scrapology an art form or a science?  I think, as with all patchwork and quilting, it is both!

I'd love to hear what 'rules' you follow when working with scraps.

 P.s. Thank you everyone for your patience as I transition from Rags to Bags to Just Jude.  It's been quite a challenge for this techno-numpty, but I'm getting there with a little help from my friends!  Jxo

1 Year Blogiversary!

It's exactly one year ago today that I wrote my first blog post.

My amazingly talented friend, Sarah, started blogging a few days before, and suggested I do the same!  I went from never being the least bit interested in computers to needing a 'fix' every day! 

It has been a wonderful year of learning, growing, being inspired by the astounding creativity out there in blogland and of course, making some wonderful new friends.

I would like to say a special 'thank you' to those of you who take the time and interest to pop over and read my nonsensical ramblings.  I never would have expected anyone to be interested in this creative venture, let alone hang in there week after week.  You rock!

To celebrate this special milestone I would like to make something bespoke for one of my regular readers, so I'm not doing a generic giveaway.

I would love it if you could tell me 1. your favourite colour in fabric, and also 2. choose one of the following handbags which I would be delighted to gift to you.  One comment will do for both & I'll find some means of randomly selecting the winner (Archie could you please teach Poppy how to select winners?).

Martha May

Modern Maud

Boxy Bag

Thank you for celebrating with me, and I look forward to another year of blogging with you! 

Judith xo

Introducing ..... The Boxy Bag

The final instalment in my bag series is The Boxy Bag.

This one was gifted to my mum on Mother's Day earlier this year.

I use stiff denim for these bags, because it holds the wonderful boxy structure.

This pattern came about almost by accident!  It's actually taken from the Modern Maud pattern template and I had a moment earlier this year of 'I wonder what would happen if I did this ....'  and so the Boxy Bag was born!

My mum uses hers for transporting her books around.  They are bigger than those trendy 'lunch box' style bags that you see about, and are v.sturdy.

A stylish yet practical bag.

Well I hope you've enjoyed my wee bag series.  In a few weeks time these lovelies (& more) will be destined for my sister's salon, hopefully to find new owners!

Have a fab Friday!

Introducing ..... 'Martha May'

We are now day 3 into my wee bag series.

Say hello to 'Martha May'!

A zippered version

Same pockets on the back as the front

More IKEA fabric!!

These 2 are slightly smaller than Modern Maud, and are actually the result of my playing around with the Bag for Life pattern I sketched out (it's amazing what you end up with compared to what you start with!).

So what do you think of the new addition to the family?

In other news, yesterday I received my first Small Goodie Swap parcel - all the way from Australia!

Just look at all these lovelies, incl. Denise Schmidt scraps - yum!

The back of the mugrug is as gorgeous as the front!

Thank you Kat for these gorgeous and beautifully made gifts.  When I first saw the pics of them on flickr I almost shouted at the computer 'pleeeease be mine', and was gob-smacked when I opened the parcel!  I think I'm the envy of one or two other swap members in the group, tee hee!

We each get 2 parcels in this swap, so I've still got one more to look forward to.  Hmmmm, I wonder who it will be from?

And last but not least, I've signed up to Emily's (Strawberry Patch) Christmas Charm Swap.

Emily needs 28 participants, each to purchase a meter of fabric and cut it into 56 charm squares of 5". We then post the fabric to her, Emily mixes them up and sends us back 28 different prints with 2 squares of each!  Sounds fab doesn't it?  Now Emily doesn't yet have 28 people signed up yet, and we can't run the swap with less than 28, so pleeeeeese hop on over to Emily's and get signed up. 

And when you do, you'll have lovely fabrics to get working on the irresistible swap over at Susan's blog Canadian Abroad!

Phew!  I think that's all I need to tell you about today.  Have good one whatever you get up to!

Introducing ..... 'Joanie'

Ok, so this is post no.2 on my bag series this week.

I've just the one Joanie to show you - she was v.time consuming and demanding to make, as I was adapting a pattern as I went!

This mustard velour wasn't easy to work with, but it's super soft and so tactile, you would be forgiven for just wanting to sit and stroke this bag!

The sturdy IKEA fabric adds structure to the bag, and as always, the base is reinforced.

Joanie is really a first cousin of Maud because I adapted the Maud pattern to get this design.

This is a good tip for all you prospective bag makers out there, start with your first pattern design, and then make changes and adapt it here and there to get a new design and a brand new bag. 

I would like to get another Joanie done for the sale in a few weeks time, just so she doesn't feel like 'Billy No Mates!'

Well, that's your intro to Joanie, hope you like her!

New Boxy Bag

I recently saw one of those hessian type 'bags for life' and was reminded of my love of structure (talking of bags here, ok life as well!).

With some offcut lengths of denim & bright prints I came up with these sturdy, quilted bags:

I adapted a pattern I had made last year and am so pleased with the results, I think I'll teach it next term.

I've decided to give my mum the 2nd one for Mother's Day (2nd April in UK). She doesn't have a computer so I think I'm safe revealing this here!