Evelyn Handbag

The Evelyn Handbag is sewn from a pattern designed by ChrisW Designs at http://www.chriswdesigns.com.

The fabric is from the Hobby Lobby clearance bin. This is the most structured bag I have made to this point. It has feet and a hard bottom insert.
The directions provided with this pattern were great. Very easy to follow, and the pictures helped immensely.
The back zipper pocket installation was especially well described and I will use those directions to install other zipper pockets on other bags.

The inside pockets are great for carrying all the little necessities of life that are carried in all women's purses.

 
 

The side pockets have elastic and are the perfect size for an iPhone or other smart phone.

Some ideas for variations using this basic pattern have been bouncing around in my head, but I have to make a couple of bags as gifts for some dear friends, so those ideas will have to wait. 

Cedar Chest

Yesterday, my husband and I went to a city, about 150 miles from where we live, to see our best friends' son in a college production of Pride and Prejudice. Our daughter lives in the same city, and as we had some time prior to the performance, my daughter, my husband and myself dropped into the local Goodwill to check out the goodies.

This is what I found:

A beautiful (though somewhat worse for wear) Lane cedar chest. It has real cedar inside!

After some shrewd wheeling and dealing, I was able to purchase it for $100. Not too bad. My husband, and a helpful store worker, loaded into the back seat of our car, and we drove around the remainder of the weekend with a cedar chest filling the back seat of our Hyundai.

We arrived home today in the early afternoon. I washed the grime off the chest and removed the old handles and upholstery fabric.

After searching through my fabric stash, I found a piece of upholstery fabric I had purchased on clearance at Hobby Lobby. I used this to recover the upholstered top. My son helped me pick out some new handles for the chest at our local Home Depot.

A little 0000 steel wool and a can of Restore-a-Finish later, and we now have a beautiful heirloom sitting at the end of our bed.

I am extremely pleased with how it turned out.

Not only does it look lovely, and provide woodsy smelling storage; it also serves as a stepping stool for our older dog who is beginning to have a hard time jumping up onto the bed.

It is very gratifying to go from this:

 To this...in an afternoon!

Tote Bags Galore

 Have I mentioned I enjoy making bags? Purses, handbags, pouches, messenger bags, tote bags, if it can hold stuff, I love making it.
My last post was about the custom handbag I made as a result of a Craftsy class I participated in called Design Your Own Handbag instructed by Brett Bara.
I can't say enough great things about the Craftsy platform and classes.
Once you purchase the course, its yours forever. You can go back at anytime to watch all or just parts of a class. You can post your questions, comments, etc. in the class, and the instructor replies, and so do the other participants. 
Craftsy also has classes they offer for free! Such a great deal. To prep for the Design Your Own Handbag class, I signed up for a free Craftsy class called Bag Making Basics: Reversible Tote and Zipper Pouch. This course is taught by Kristen Link and is so easy to follow that I went a little crazy with the reversible tote bags. As can be seen by the row of pictures on the left and right.
This was a wonderful way to use up a bunch of fabric pieces that I have. The bags don't take much in the way of yardage, so I just put colors and patterns together in whatever way felt fun.
The bags are reversible and machine washable. That may just be the best part.

Custom Designed Handbag

Craftsy is the greatest! Participating in their online course platform is so convenient and fun. Once you purchase the class, it is yours forever and you can go back to it again and again. This is the 3rd class from Craftsy that I have participated in, and I plan to participate in many more.
The class is called Design Your Own Handbag and the instructor is Brett Bara.

I decided to purchase the class because I love purses, and I enjoy making my own. 
This handbag is the best I have ever made. I am very proud of how it turned out. The hardware makes it look professionally made. 
My inspiration was the beautiful home decor fabric I found the the clearance bin at Hobby Lobby. I found the faux leather in the same bin.
The actual sewing of the bag was simple and only took about 2 hours. The hardware is a different story. 
The hardware was ordered from Pacific Trimming and was by far the most expensive part of the project. It took most of an afternoon to install the hardware. 
The time invested was well worth it!

Replacing a Back Pocket on a Pair of Levi's

My husband only wears Levi's. When I say he only wears Levi's I mean that he only wears 501, button-fly jeans. No other jeans will do.
In 1988, when we first met, that is all he wore, and to this day, it's all he still wears.
He has graduated to wearing other colors, not just blue, but they have to be Levi's 501s.
Being a frugal guy, he has a difficult time stomaching the purchase of a pair of jeans for $50. Consequently, he buys them on sale, or better yet, at Goodwill or Savers, when he can find decent ones that fit.
My husband will wear a pair of 501s for years and years and years. The new ones are for work, and as they wear, they are cycled and worn for home and outdoor activities.
It probably goes without saying that I have become pretty fair at repairing Levi's 501s so that he can eek a few more years out of them.
One of the areas that wears out rather quickly, is the back right (wallet) pocket.
Here is a simple method that I use to fix this.
Note: This method works for us because of the large number of old Levi's 501s my husband has.
Materials Needed:
Jeans the same color as the ones to be repaired
Seam ripper
Pins
Jean needle
Sewing Machine
Thread that matches the stitching on the jeans

Step 1: Carefully remove the worn out pocket with a seam ripper. Don't forget to save the red Levi's tag!

Step 2: Choose an old, done-in pair of Levi's that are the same color, and carefully remove one of the back pockets. (One that's in better shape)

Step 3: Remove any loose threads that are left on the pants and pocket from the seam ripper.
Step 4: Pin the "new" pocket in place, by matching the original sewing lines on the back of the pants. Don't forget the red tag!

 Step 5: Machine stitch (with a jean needle) the pocket along the original top stitching lines on the pocket. Use thread that matches the top stitching on the jeans. Be sure to stitch over both lines of stitching. Satin stitch at the top corners to make the pocket secure.

Step 6: The pocket is replaced. Can you tell it's a different pocket?

I think this repair could work with any type of jeans.

Black Friday Craft Project 2012

Once again my daughter and I spent Black Friday crafting instead of battling  crowds of shoppers. 
This year's craft was a sock snowman.

I started looking for an appropriate Black Friday Craft project beginning in October. 
Pinterest provided the research venue. The inspiration for this project can be found at the following link: 
http://childmadetutorials.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-fun-way-to-display-your-candy.html
The blog described using a small white sock for both the face and the hat. We decided to use a white sock for the face, and a holiday sock from the Dollar Tree for the hat.
Some other changes we made; using Puff paint, for the eyes and mouth, beads for the eyes, and holiday buttons for the hat embellishment.
In addition we gave each of the snowmen, a different personality.

 
We watched movies while we crafted and had a wonderful time talking and working together. 
I treasure these times with my daughter, because I know that very soon we may not be able to spend this kind of time together.
Last year, we began this tradition with creating Christmas trees: A Little Fun on the Day After Thanksgiving

We ended up making 22 snowmen and some precious memories at the same time.

Edwardian Era Motoring Outfits

I love wearing costumes! Costumes allow you to be anything you can imagine, if only for just a while. Each year our dear friends hold a Halloween party, and everyone who attends tries to create a costume that others will talk about.
I have made many costumes for these parties over the past 20 years. We have been the Munsters, a 1700's Scottish couple, Greek gods, Rhett and Scarlett, Vikings, and many others. 
This year, in honor of my husband's love of old automobiles, I made Edwardian Era driving outfits.
I am very proud of how they turned out. They are very authentic and I can just picture us motoring down a dirt road in a "Tin Lizzy".
It took me 4 weeks, 4 denim needles, 12 yards of cotton duck fabric, and 10 yards of trim to create these.
I also spilled blood for these, as sewing buttons on this heavy weight fabric caused me to jab my fingers many times as I worked on these. 
The hats were my first attempt at head wear, and 
they turned out pretty well. The flowers on the woman's hat came from Goodwill.
Anyway, here are some detail photos of the outfits. I hope you enjoy.