Warm Weather

The last few weeks have been blissfully warm and sunny and I have been taking a blog sabbatical. It is nearing the end of term and things are starting to wind down on the work front but pick up on the handbag front. I have been booking the odd craft fair for christmas time and finishing some custom work.

My Creative Space

My creative space is filled with these little pretties today.
They are waiting to get their frames put on them for a craft fair this weekend. I always feel I never have enough of these for fairs, so I made some more just for this weekend.

I made a batch of my new zipper pouches/ pencil cases. I still have some more of these to sew tomorrow. I am hoping these will do well as they are a slightly lower price point. The rest of my space is a little cluttered at the mo. We have plans to revamp the space in the next few weeks, watch this space..... sort of speak.

For more creative spaces amble over to Kirsty's place

Etsy Finds - Finland

While in search of some lovely Finnish fabric I found some treats from Finland, which I felt I had to share.

The first is a lovely zip pouch is by syko. Kajsa has created some stunning creations and I am very jealous of her appliqué work - only because I can only appliqué when I hand sew. I am really drawn to zip purses at present, especially since I have been having a go making them. What I really like about Kajsa's work is that it's all original from her hand-drawn drawings. Her birds are especially lovely.

This bunny, from InnofHeart is so cute and reminds me I really must finish the bunny I started a long time ago. I also quite like that pink striped cushion he's sitting on.

This little Scottie dog brooch from vietto has given new life to an old piece of gingham

My car boot is filled with non plastic carrier bags, as so many shops now charge you for them. Some are bought, some are handcrafted in rare moments of down time. The ones I like have witty slogans or comments. An this one from 2ndlife caught my eye. I like it green or in yellow.

Zipper Purse

I have finally got round to trying to sew a zip in. After finding out that I did actually own a zipper sewing foot, I followed instructions from a tutorial I found on Liels Made blog. I fiddled with the pattern to make it a straight edged pouch.
This was my first attempt. I made it out of a little scrap of Japanese fabric and lined it with silver cotton. It is a little odd on one side as I didn't quite line up the fabrics. So I decided to have another go and came up with this.
I used pink martini fabric by Amy Butler on the outside and a jailbird stripe on the inside.

It's a nice little size for your card, lipstick and change. I think I might put a little bit of ribbon through the zip pull.

I have been looking for something like this to make for craft fairs. This little purse falls into the under £5 ($7.50) category, which is missing from my current range.

I have to admit I really enjoyed sewing this little purse and I didn't have to fight with a frame at the end of it all. I will do some market research tomorrow on what people think of these little purses.