Cute Handbag

I recently found this blog which provides a pattern for this really cute bag. The bag only uses about 1/2 a yard of fabric or 2 fat quarters, a small amount of interfacing, and 1 magnetic snap. This is the first time I've used magnetic snaps and I will definitely be using them in the future. The bag went together easily in about 1 hour, with interruptions from my kids. After seeing the result, my girls went through our fabric stash and requested bags from this pattern.

Tote Bag and Pot Holders

After taking off a few days from sewing projects, I'm back to feeling creative. The Tote Bag was made using material that I tie-dyed 13 years ago during a 4-H leader training session. All of my kids loved the fabric, so I didn't make anyone anything out of it to not show favoritism. The bag has heavy interfacing and is fully lined with a lightweight beige canvas.

When I finish changing the color of my kitchen, I'm going to place a variety of coffee cup-themed potholders around the top of my cabinets. This is the first one that I completed. I don't like how the handle is applied, so I will continue my search for a quick coffee mug quilt block pattern.

Handbag and Hairbands

We had a rainy morning, so I was able to knock out a couple of simple easy projects. The first is a quilted handbag with an outside velcro-closure pocket and an inner pocket. The main opening of the bag is also closed with velcro. My daughter loves skeletons (who knows why?) which is the inspiration of this skeleton bag.


The second projects were a couple of reversible headbands. The photo isn't particularly good and my models are off riding bikes, so I'll post a better picture later. The tutorial for this project was found here on the blog The Long Thread. The blog features a number of great projects and many tutorials.

More Hand Bags

This afternoon, I was able to spend some more time in my sewing room (okay it's actually a desk in the school room, but school is out for the summer) and was able to complete a couple of projects.
The first hand bag is lined with the coordinating dotted fabric and has an interfacing for stability.


The second bag is made from one of my favorite fabrics. The lining is a coppery-brown, which worked for a lining, but not for contrasting straps and flaps.

Spring Bag and iPod holder

While the kids were in the pool this afternoon, I managed to make a new spring purse and matching iPod holder. The two projects were my own design. The lining of the purse is the same as the flap. The fabric was purchased at Hobby Lobby. I used interfacing to give the bag more structure and shape. A faux-pearl snap was used to close the flap.

The iPod holder is reversible and has both fabrics that were used for the bag. Both projects were fairly easy. The bag took about 45 minutes; the iPod holder took about 20 minutes, including the hand stitching that was done to close the holder at the top. My 17-year old daughter is already asking if she can purchase them from me or maybe get them as a present.

Recent Conversations at Our House

Allie walks in from playing outside. A loud voice is heard from the backyard. "Who broke my thing? Did Paige break it? Steve and Joe, who broke it?" Allie looks at me and meekly remarks, "I'll go to my room now."


Steve and Joe come upstairs at 12:20 in the morning. They were awakened by Amy and Katie who were impressed by a dog shirt I made out of Stephen's favorite shirt last year. As we are modeling the shirt on Buster, Steve quietly says, "That shirt still fits me." Oops!

It's a terrible picture because Buster wouldn't sit still.