Market Time for Me

Though Urbana's Market at the Square has been running full-force since the first Saturday in May, I will have a booth for the first time this season this upcoming Saturday. It has been a long, cold winter. I entertained myself collecting new fabric and sewing new items. Please look for me when you're at the market June 21 or 28, July 5, August 9 or 23 and September 6.

Everyday Tote

There is a lovely online site for sewing and knitting treasures called purlsoho.com. Their associated blog of ideas and tutorials, called The Purl Bee, featured this tote bag. Made of canvas with a bottom band of essex linen, a tiny amount of neon brightness on the outside hints at the over-the-top interior. The pattern calls for binding all the interior seams with more neon. I've tried the pattern with small print fabrics as the binding and large print ones for the bottom fabric band. I'm using one for my summer purse, and I'll have a variety of tote bags for sale at the June 21st Market at the Square.

Super Tote

I'm excited to play with a new purse pattern from Noodlehead called the Super Tote. This large, zippered-top, purse/tote bag features an outside pocket, inside pockets I made to my own specifications and a pretty pleat on the sides. I trolled the Flickr photo group for Noodlehead patterns to see what other sewers had done with the project, and so leap-frogged over more basic choices I might have made on my own when first trying a pattern. Instead of heavy weight stabilizer, I used canvas to make the bag more hefty. I noted several people used Essex linen for the neutral sides and handles, and one lady quilted her linen to the canvas layer to create a look of textured sturdiness. I love this idea, and will definitely use it again; imagine a colored thread line quilted over yarn-dyed linen next to some pretty print fabric.

For my own Super Tote, I went with Marimekko on the outside and an IKEA canvas stripe inside the bag and behind the various pockets. A sport zipper highlighted with an extra strip of orange can either seal the whole bag up or fold into the open tote. The pattern is certainly not quick to assemble and the bag uses lots and lots of fabric, but I'm still hoping to make 4 or 5 this year for the fun of exploring color and feature options.

Stampin' Up! Fabric

My friend Nancy of http://nancysniftynotes.com and http://www.etsy.com/shop/NancysNiftyNotes makes cards. She primarily uses the Stampin' Up! card making line of stamps, inks and papers. It turns out, the company also has a line of fabric. In preparation for a Stampin' Up! convention, Nancy asked me to make a purse and pouches using some of their prints. I was free to mix and match, piece and cut, as long as the Stampin' Up! fabric remained the star and I used as much of the fabric as possible. The result is a pile of items, both large and small. I'm pleased with the coordinated result, and now Nancy has enough of this and that to store her everyday items with gifts for her card class participants, besides.

Saturday Season Opener

My first date for the Urbana Market at the Square is this Saturday from 7am to noon. I'm stocked up with a winter's worth of pouches, purses and baskets in both old fabric and new. This will be my 5th summer at the market, and I look forward to the fun of people watching, chatting about fabric and divesting myself of projects so I'll have motivation to make more.

5 of My 15 Minutes Used Up

The live tv studio of ciLiving was full of guests and cameras and activity, and really an interesting experience. Arriving 15 minutes before the show, there was little time to get nervous. As Monday's Work From Home segment feature, I was directed to the kitchen table corner of the studio to set up my wares. Then I took a seat at the table and watched the other segments. My reference photo is blurry, but you can still appreciate how large the cameras are. Mid-way through the show, host Heather Roberts rotated over to the table and we chatted about zippered pouches for about 5 minutes. Then, it was on to a song and more weather. It's clear I'm not made for tv; since my goal was to avoid catastrophe, it was a good day. Judge for yourself: http://illinoishomepage.net/fulltext/?nxd_id=499872

Live TV

I've spent some time this afternoon rummaging through my bins of completed items for the Urbana Market at the Square. Tomorrow I've been invited to show my things on WCIA's ciLiving show. I'll spend about 5 minutes chatting with Heather Roberts, one of the hosts of the show. This is great timing, in that my first summer market is coming up. June 22nd I'll open my 2013 craft-selling season. I have plenty of new fabrics, a few new types of items and some re-working of old patterns. Now to finish up the ampersand pillow cover shown above and stash the lot in bins for tomorrow.

Eclectic Purses

I have had things for sale at Eclectic on Main Street in Urbana since they opened. The coop features art and crafts from dozens of local makers, including cool jewelry and bright paintings large and small. My area of the store is in the upstairs room, where I have displayed pouches and fabric baskets of various sizes. Yesterday I dropped off at Eclectic purses. I made two types of bags that can worn across the body or on the side. Some of the purses zip closed, and some snap. All have oodles of open and zipped pockets inside and on the exterior of the bags. Before my summer farmers' market dates draw close, I have time for larger projects like purses. Made from patterns by two interesting designers (Dog Under My Desk and thesterlingowl), I'm setting aside sewing time to explore how to enjoy bits of my fabric stash in the context of these medium-sized purses.

Finished Items

The five custom order purses are completed. I am most fond of the Essex linen one. Prewashed, interfaced with both woven and craft fuse layers and topped with a large red snap, the purse says summer to me. It really is a pleasure to work on longer sewing projects while the deadline of a farmers' market booth is far off. Efficiency seems less important. Yet, I'm sticking to a supplies budget which is forcing me to use bits of fabric from the bottoms of my stash piles. I hate to use things up completely, but then again, there is always a new pattern I'd like to work with. I maintain a notebook of fabrics I'll buy as soon as summer booth sales warrant. The austerity is arbitrary, but it feels good to curate a self-sufficient hobby which continues to be more play than work.

Works in Progress

With kids tucked away at school, I enjoy a lovely, sunny day of sewing. I'm working on custom orders for 5 purses. The bodies of the purses will be navy or black denim, and one will be black Essex linen, but the linings and interior pockets will be wild. Here are the open pockets and messenger bag lids ready to attach to the subdued parts of the purses. Tomorrow's task will be all about diligent interfacing and fussy ironing of solid fabrics. Today was play.

Two Zip and Cross-Body Pocketed Hipsters

Winter is the time to try new sewing projects. I have been hunting around for purse ideas because purses are useful and their construction pushes me to acquire new skills. In particular, I've been wanting to become proficient at installing sturdy snaps. Also, customers at the farmers' market have asked for purses that zip closed for maximum security. I found two pdf patterns that appealed. The red purse is a pattern by Erin Erickson of the business Dog Under My Desk. It features a zippered top as well as an exterior zippered pocket and an open pocket. The adjustable strap means the purse could be worn at the side or across the body. I played with the interior and added another zippered pocket along with two open pockets. A large, colored snap closes the top of the Cross-Body Pocket Hipster pattern from The Sterling Owl on Etsy. Piping at the top of the exterior pocket gives this pattern a substantial feel. The purse I'm using right now for my personal treasures is made from this pattern, and I like the extra width and easily adjustable strap.

The pattern designers of both purses allow small-scale sale of projects made from their instructions. Look for some version of a hipster to be at my farmers' market booth this summer.

Sewing and Minecraft

Over the long, very hot summer, the go-to activity at my house has been playing Minecraft. All my kids (and my husband, too) have created elaborate worlds, filled with houses, railroads to nowhere, bottomless swimming pools with diving boards and vast farms of wheat, red and yellow flowers and sheep. They have learned that if you put two adult sheep together you will get a lamb. The baby will be the color of one of the parents. My son performed a vast, virtual Mendelssohn pea experiment with Minecraft sheep, all housed in separate pens and sorted by color to prove that traits are passed down through the generations. Lately, my sewing has been working the same way. My so-called large essentials bag is designed to look big enough to be a gift. It can contain bathroom supplies, home office bric-a-brac, or cords and chargers for travel. My sister gives large essential bags filled with baby items as shower gifts.

One of my customers, W, asked for a slightly taller and deeper bag to be made out of oil cloth and laminated cotton to serve as a toiletries bag. (in back of photo) At a recent farmers' market, A asked me to put a handle on a large essentials bag. She saw the shape and size as purse.

Tweaking my standard pattern, these projects push me to move to a new generation of sewing items.

Summer Purses

Thanks once again to Pinterest for showing me a new purse design. This shoulder bag comes from Anna Graham of Noodlehead. I am intrigued with the fabric mix-and-match options of a front panel and side pockets and side panels. The curved and multi-panel construction takes awhile, but I think the result is sophisticated and functional. My new bag this summer is made from Japanese Kokka owls and linen.

Moms Day Craft Fair

Meet me this Saturday at the U of I's Moms Day Craft Fair. From 10am to 5pm, over one hundred vendors will display their wares in the ballrooms of the Illini Union. Since it has been awhile since I had a booth at a craft fair or farmers' market, I stuck tape to the floor of my house in the appropriate dimensions and installed a mock booth. I still have a few tweaks to make to the booth, including new matching tablecloths, and then I can load up. I plan to have a good time Saturday.

Safety Leash

My sister knows a lady who has had her purse stolen out of her shopping cart. She asked me to make a leash for her purse, really just a long keychain with hardware for hooking and unhooking. Made in a bright pattern so you can find it quickly in your purse when you arrive in the store, you simply buckle the handle of your purse to the shopping cart. If someone tries to stroll by and help themselves to your bag, they will also have to sneak off with your cart, your bag of apples and the roasted deli chicken for dinner tonight. I made several purse leashes. They go in the mail today so the woman with this fabric security idea can give them to her friends.

Zipper-topped Purse

The winter is a great time to work on longer projects that stretch my sewing skills. A lady in town asked for a copy of a favorite purse. After making a pattern on the computer, I tried to copy the key features of the original bag. The purse has a zipper top, an outside zippered pocket, a slight dip along the top seam and an adjustable strap. I added a lining to the bag and inset the interior zippered pocket into the lining. Waiting until I felt the "sewing mojo" to work on the project was key, and I am pleased with the completed purse.

Hardware Included

My friend G wanted a purse with an adjustable strap. This seemed like a reasonable request. I rummaged around our pile of luggage and duffle bags in the basement to find a sample of a strap to copy. The mechanics of the strap double-backing on itself while feeding through some sort of tension hardware is not obvious to me. When I make another bag with adjustable strap, I'll be back on the floor mocking up the path of the webbing before sewing anything down or (worse yet) cutting anything to a permanent length.

Typewriter

I love, love, love the new fabric line of typewriters and alarm clocks by designer Melody Miller. I bought what I hope to be plenty of the blue and orange typewriter fabric for projects this season. The main image is larger than I expected, but I think it works on the front of a purse. I plan to make a basket next with the print. The pattern for this purse is from the book Bags: The Modern Classics by Sue Kim. I added the coordinating piping because I wanted to see if I could. I can report that it is possible to get passible results from a slight viewing distance. Next time I'll resize the lining of the purse to better fit the exterior with piping. Or, maybe I should just make the thing as the pattern describes.

Clutch Piecing

While surfing pretty pictures on Pinterest.com recently, I came across a strip-pieced purse much like this one. In fact, what made me stop scrolling through images to consider this one closely was noting that I already own one of the fabrics--the Japanese elephants. The original purse was gray and yellow, but I have more green prints, so this purse is gray and green. I also tried the purse with a wristlet handle sewn directly into the bag and a beefier "purse" zipper. I like the look of a more substantial zipper; the handle change is for ease and neatness of construction. Kudos to sewers who have the patience and technique to turn narrow tubes of fabric or install neat sections of reinforcing hand stitching. I am not one of you.

Lincoln Square Village Holiday Market

The boxes are out, and I'm dusting off the display tables in the garage to prepare for the opening weekend of the Lincoln Square Village Holiday Market in Urbana. It begins this Saturday and runs Saturdays from 8am to 1pm through December 17th. I will have a booth there all 6 dates this year. I'll have a few holiday-themed fabric baskets, clips, and gift card pouches added to the "all season" pouches and bags I make for the outdoor farmers' market. All are invited!