Sunday Fabric Finds

I am always in the market for fabric and here are some I have my eye on

Ruby Star Rising fabric

Glasses in pink

Foxy - 'Anika' collection by Monoluna

sausage dogs say hello to you 

Jumping rabbits

Are these not the cutest pictures ever. Definitely something to make you smile.

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What I got up to this evening

I should have been making bags but instead I was doing this. It was procrastination but at least it was sewing.

I was blog hopping this morning and ended up on doe-c-doe's blog, where I found a site brimming with lovely free embroidery patterns. I have been looking to use my embroidery hoop for ages so I ended up picking mushrooms. Now I have always been up front about the fact that my hand sewing leaves a lot to be desired but I have been making an effort to improve it.

I did sit and ponder how I was going to transfer the images to the fabric. I searched the interweb and read about several different methods. I decided to go back to basics.

My first attempt was rubbish, it took me a while to get my eye in and decide on stitches.

My second attempt was altogether more successful. I decided to to use different colours and my French knots improved considerably.

I feel a few more projects looming, oh yes that's right I'm supposed to be working....

A day trip to dublin

A rare day of for my OH was celebrated by a trip to Dublin, not entirely surprisingly I came home with new fabric. He is a tolerant man. A few pictures of some of my purchases.

The pink wool hasn't photographed well but I am looking forward to working with it. Now I really must get my nose to the grind stone and start my Christmas prep, I'm a week behind already. I love Christmas in July :o(

Card Holder

A handy little card holder which can be made from 2 halves of a layer cake square (5' by 10'). This project is very straight forward. I was a little enthusiastic about the seams but next time I will make them much closer to the edge, to leave a little more space inside

Full instructions can be found on the Moda Bake Shop

Messenger Bag

Sometimes you need to create just for the sake of it. i'm in that space at the minute, I'm looking for challenges and fun things to sew. I look at every project as an opportunity to learn new skills or at the very least to improve some existing ones.

During the week I stumbled across a tutorial for a messenger bag by Diary of a Quilter, I liked the fact that is wasn't going to take ages so I set to work. I picked some bright fabrics from my Ikea stash and I was pretty pleased with the result.

I think I would make the strap a little narrower and shorter if I was making another one. 

I popped a little pocket inside and I think I would make it wider the next time.

The tutorial made me think I could change my methods for making totes, by sewing in the linings in a similar manner. Everyday is a school day.

The folding shopping bag

At the minute I am trying to develop some new lines specifically aimed at craft fairs. Given the current economic climate people are being more careful with their money and are less likely to "treat" them selves to a clutch mid year. With this in mind I have been looking at some ideas to have practical items that are sellable at a competitive price point. I already have a range of totes for shopping but I thought maybe it I could change the bag so that it would fold into a pouch, it may make it more desirable.

I reworked my normal production method for shoppers and after much studying other bags of this nature, decided how I could get it to fold.I, also, decided to not line the bag as this would add extra bulk to the folding and drive the price for the buyer up.

The irony of the design rework is that I actually thing I made it trickier to sew by making the bag simpler, but there is room for changes there.

The results are still open for debate: I thing it looks..... not in keeping with the type of products I produce. Other opinions vary from it's ok to there is nothing wrong with it, and I think there in lies the problem (probably a common one among crafters who sell). Being ok is not good enough, well certainly not for me. I am fussy about what I sell because as a consumer I am fussy about what I buy. I often stand at craft fairs and watch people buy things that haven't always been made with the highest level of care, but at a price they are happy with. Whilst I, like the next person, likes a bargain, I don't like it at the cost of quality.

So this brings me back to the discussion I have with my OH at many of these craft fairs - I am here just to make money or am I here to showcase what I do and hopefully make some money at it. I feel currently I stand at the latter, but realistically I need to be more it the middle. I know I need to make products that have more all year appeal, at a competitive price, but this bag has a way to go before it gets a look I am happy with.