Friday, December 31, 2010

New Year's Eve

2010 has gone by rather quickly!
I am looking forward to spending time experimenting with new ideas in my studio. Have you set any goals for yourself yet? To try something different?

I did find a few sewing projects that you might like to try.
Thread Banger has some simple ones such as a scrap fabric pot holder or a bicycle lunch bag.
Hand made cloth dolls from The Purl Bee
Soft toys from Softie Making
10 Simple-to-Sew Totes, Purses, and Bags from Better Homes and Gardens
I Love To Craft has Mobile Phone Covers
Chickpea Sewing Studio has lots of free patterns
Sewing Projects at Free Sewing Patterns
Embroidery and Sewing Patterns at Pimp Stitch
Softie Christmas from Squawk Fox
Crafty Pants: Translated Japanese Patterns
Leaf shape wool felt pot holders from Design Sponge 

Happy Sewing!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Things Organized Neatly!

Getting organized! I have learned not to change the location of 'stuff' that I use a lot. Whenever I've done that, I kept looking in the original place, forgetting its new location. Check out a previous post for organizing your sewing room.

However, this post isn't about you organizing anything. I discovered this neat site called Things Organized Neatly. Some of the things that have been organized are actually works of art. To see each month of posts, click on Archive. Also do a Google search of 'things organized', and click on the images. Lots of stuff to see.

Sometimes you need to go outside the box and look at different things. This often helps to get the creative juices flowing again.

Check out these:
Pika Land - about art and illustration
Walking Paper
Trendland
Automatism Blog
Design Inspiration
Swiss Miss

Have fun!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

My Christmas Tree and Other Stuff

I was trying to figure out what was wrong with my Christmas tree until I checked out last year's tree photo. It had coloured lights in addition to the pre-lit clear ones as I had put on extra lights. Next year it will definitely have the coloured bulbs as those are my favorite.

Today has been a quiet one. A time for reading, jigsaw puzzles, car racing video game, Banana Grams and food. You would think food would be last on the list after Christmas day but. . . Talking about food - my Christmas Pudding was delicious after it's dicey beginnings. My mother's comment: 'I think it's better than mine' - even if I did forget to put in the rum!

Here's some quilts and stuff  with a food theme to use for inspiration:

Canned goods 
Apple Falls Quilt Art 
Apple (scroll down)
Pear 
Celtic Pear 
Pomegranate Art Quilts
Pears Mola Quilt 
Banana for Anna  
Dancing Pineapples  

Enjoy!

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying the day! Newfoundland is having a very green, relatively warm Christmas. We will probably pay up for this in January.

Santa paid a visit to my house but the best part is having family around. A very special Merry Christmas to my daughter and family in Chicago.

I did receive some nice surface embellishment/quilting CD's. More inspiration for future work. I will comment on those in a future post.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Fun Food!

It looks like we are going to have a green Christmas this year unless it turns cold suddenly. This week the temperatures have been well above normal. Today we are having strong winds and lots of rain. The kind of day you want to stay inside and do something creative! At the moment, my 'creativity' revolves around baking cookies and cakes for Christmas. Part of my parent's gift is edible stuff.

I found some interesting 'Fun Food' to knit, sew & crochet. Enjoy!

Felt Cookies
Pineapple Art Quilt - idea, not free
Fabric Eggs
Chocolates Quilt Pattern - applique
Chocolate Cake Tea Cosy - knitting
Knitted Ice Cream Cone Patterns
Cherries knitted pattern
Pizza Party!
Knitting, Crochet & Sewing Patterns - lots of food patterns
Canned Crochet 
Honey Pot - Crochet
Felt Food - Eggs & Orange Slices
More Felt Food  - scroll down the page
Play Food 
Ice Cream Cone 

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Steamed Christmas Pudding

This year I made a steamed Christmas Pudding for the first time! It turned out to be a good one!

However, this is the Christmas Pudding Decoration I made yesterday for a friend. I can't take credit for the pattern. The original pattern is from The Contented Quilter and is a pincushion.

Check out the following patterns:

Here is another pudding ornament
Christmas Pud Pincushion
A cute crocheted pudding - scroll down
Knitted Christmas Pudding  
Knitted Christmas Tea Cosy -  suppose to resemble a pudding but there is no photo. Thought I'd include it anyway.
Christmas Pudding Tree Ornament
Line drawing of a pudding - template

Have Fun! Merry Christmas

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Sunflowers

I know this is the wrong time of year to be talking about sunflowers but it does go along with my previous post! The sunflower is an annual herb and not just a large yellow flower. It has been used as a folk remedy for many ailments but today is mainly used in food preparation. Sunflower oil is used for cooking, margarine, salad dressing and soaps. For more information, check here.

While visiting the National Gallery, London, I had the pleasure of seeing Vincent van Gogh's Sunflower painting. The one pictured on the site is the one I saw which is one among a series that he painted. I did purchase a small matted print of the sunflower. It's amazing how many things have the sunflower motif. There is even a National Sunflower Association.

So, to help get you through the winter months, why not make something bright and colourful! I've found a few things with a sunflower theme. Most of the patterns are freebies - not all are quilt related!

Twirling Sunflower Quilt Pattern
Sunflower Serenade
Wendy's Sunflower Quilt - check this one for the machine quilting
Rise and Shine
Textured Sunflowers
Provencial Sunflower - for inspiration
Sunflower colouring page - pattern for a quilt?
Sunflower machine embroidery design
Cross Stitch Pattern - scroll down
Sunflower Cake - baking idea
Sunflower Pillow 
Cat and Sunflower

Friday, December 17, 2010

Ai Weiwei: 100 Million Sunflower Seeds

The Tate Modern was one of the places I visited while in London. The Ai Weiwei exhibition of 100 Million Sunflower Seeds was of particular interest and is on exhibit until May 2, 2011. At the time it was possible to walk on the surface of the work, which I did. However, a couple of days after my visit, that part of the exhibit was stopped. Apparently the dust from the porcelain was proving to be a health hazard. Now visitors can look upon the sunflower seeds from the Turbine Hall bridge or viewed up close from the edge of the exhibit. These photos were taken by my friend. In the last photo, I am holding some of the 'seeds' in my hand. The whole room in the second photo is covered with the porcelain seeds.

To learn about this extraordinary work, go here.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The French Shore Tapestry

The French Shore Tapestry tells the story of northern Newfoundland's French Shore, from the pre-historic animals that roamed the forests and shoreline to the moment in 2006 when a few talented women in the tiny outport of Conche began their embroidery odyssey. This piece measures 66 meters long (216 feet) and is created from linen and wool. The Bayeux Tapestry, created in the 11th century, was the inspiration for making this piece. Images of the Bayeux Tapestry can be found here.

I had the honor of helping (October) to lace this piece to a wooden frame so that it could be put on display at the Geo Centre, St. John's, NL. You can see and read about the tapestry here.
Photo by Judy Cooper
If you are in the St. John's area over the Christmas holidays, it is well worth a visit. It is a very impressive piece!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Fiber Arts / Mixed Media

If you have lots of time and looking for inspiration in your art, check out the Fiber Arts / Mixed Media web site. There's lots to see especially the photos members send in of their various art pieces. Just click on the 'main' button and go to photos. Lots of eye candy! I hadn't been into this site in ages and forgotten about all the interesting 'stuff' there. Dale Potter from SW Saskatchewan, started the site.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Busy, Busy . . .

Catching up on projects in my studio has been taking up some of my time lately. December came and I suddenly realized I had nothing done! I did complete several scissors holders and credit card holders for Devon House Craft Shop over the weekend.

I also made more Christmas Tree Art Cards. You can see a sample of these here as well as how they were made.
  

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Realistic Tapestries by Jill Draper

I just came across some fantastic realistic stitched tapestries by Jill Draper from the UK. These photos from the Telegraph say it all! Jill "renders pictures of rural life and shimmering seascapes in her embroidered tapestries recreating scenes with astonishing accuracy from photographs. Each picture measuring around 15 x 30 inches takes up to 120 hours and contains hundreds of thousands of stitches done by hand and machine." Read entire article here.




Casserole Totes

The festive season is almost here. It is the time of year for parties and visiting with family and friends. Sometimes we bring goodies and casseroles with us. What better way to transport a hot pot than in your own casserole carrier. I found a few free patterns. Check them out! 
Casserole Tote from Craft Town
Embroidery Library has one
Dixie Doodles 'Cozy Tote' Casserole Dish Carrier
Round Casserole Carrier
12 + Casserole Tote and Carrier Patterns from Tipnut
Fabric Dish or Dish Insulator 
Casserole Carrier
Insulated Carrier
Handy Tote for 9" x 13" casserole dish
Quilted Forest Pattern 
Kitchens Accents from Fiskars
Quilted Insulated Casserole Carrier  
Another one! or two
Tutorialfrom Cackleberry Cottage
Here's a great place to get recipes to use with your new casserole tote: Kraft Canada

Thursday, November 25, 2010

The Embroidered Box

photo by Judy Cooper
I've been doing some 'spring' cleaning in my studio. Maybe I'm putting off getting some 'real' work done! I came across an article in an Embroidery Autumn 1987 magazine called The Embroidered Box by Margaret Swain (historian and author). To my surprise this box was the very one our tour group saw at the Embroidery Guild, Hampton Court Palace, UK in October.

According to Margaret Swain, 'it is a handsome addition to the Embroiderers' Guild collection, and is the gift of Miss Hester Clough, founder member of the Mid-Wessex Branch . . .' The box 'is the typical oblong shape with a flat top. The lid, edged with silver braid, is worked on white satin, using silk, coloured bullion, metal thread, seed pearls and mica for the windows. It displays a dazzling variety of stitches, some of which, leaves, flowers and the wings of insects, are stiffened with wire.'

Swain goes on to explain that this is raised work which we commonly refer to as stumpwork. The term stumpwork is relatively modern and only goes back to the turn of the century. I found her quote about stumpwork, from work by John Nevinson,(1938), interesting. '... that  the term stumpwork was not found in any contemporary 17th century document, and is meaningless, though perverted ingenuity has made the unlikely guess that the carved wooden heads for the miniature figures were called stumps'.

The fashion for raised work appears to have died away at the beginning of the 18th century as did the fashion for these ornate boxes.

Since I had actually seen this box up close, I found the historical reference interesting. 

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Keep It Hot! - Tea Cosy

This weekend was finally devoted to working in my studio. I usually submit something new to the Craft Council of Newfoundland & Labrador Christmas exhibit - Comfort and Joy. The deadline was Friday but I was given a bit of extra time to get my piece in. I decided to make a tea cosy using my fantasy fabric.

This first photo show one side of the tea cosy before it was stitched. As you can see, I used lots of colour, decorative yarns and wool roving on a cotton base. This was topped with navy tulle and then stitched over with different shades of rayon threads. The threads matched the yarns. Once that was done, using Sulky Sliver Opalescence thread, I stitched over or outlined certain parts.
The second photo is a close-up of the other side of the tea cosy before it was stitched.


Here is the completed piece. Each side is quite different. One thing I've noticed: the Sulky Sliver threads don't glitter in the photo. When the light hits the threads, the piece really sparkles!!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

#4 Textile Art From England

I was asked by the Newfoundland and Labrador Craft Council to do a photo essay for their newsletter of the textiles I saw while on the England tour. This is part of the essay showing photos from the embroidery guild tour.
Hampton Court Palace, built during the reign of Henry VIII, is the home of the Embroiderers’ Guild of the UK and the Royal School of Needlework. We were very fortunate to have behind the scenes tours of both organizations. 

The president of the Embroidery Guild of the UK gave us an entertaining lecture and display of work. I have many more photos but these were a sample from this part of the tour that I selected for the newsletter. 
Or Nué on Book Cover
Embroidery by Constance Howard

The Or Nué (Gold Work) is on the cover of a book. I could not get the photo to turn the right way even though it is rotated correctly in my files. Go figure! I tried everything but this is it. The piece beside the book cover was done by Constance Howard, a well known British embroiderer. She wrote The Constance Howard Book of Stitches, first published in 1979. I have this book and it is an excellent one for hand embroidery.

The box cover below is another stunning addition to the guild. It was a gift of Miss Hester Clough, founding member of the Mid-Wessex Branch of the Embroidery Guild. More information about this box is in another post.
Stump Work on Box Cover

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Quilt Show

I have added a link to The Quilt Show on the side of my blog. Last July they had a special rate for a six month trial membership so I joined. I did enjoy viewing the shows since I don't see them here on TV. So a couple of days ago I renewed my membership. For special occasions, they do host a free weekend where you can view any show on the site. They also have a teaser by letting you see a free show. Check out the projects and the daily blog. Have fun!

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Cluster Map - Visitor Locations

When I put the cluster map on the side bar of this blog, I figured it did a continual visual count of all my visitors and where they were from. Not so! I had an email a couple of days ago telling me that one year of counting was at an end and that a new map would appear. Here's the old map. Now the visitor count starts again for another year. However, the counter showing the total number of visitors continues as usual. I did save a copy of the map with all the dots but forgot to copy the 85 different countries that were listed.
Thanks to all my many visitors since August 2009.
I'm having fun with this blog. For one thing, it keeps a record of blogs and web sites that interest me and they are easier to find.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Art Knowledge News


Art Knowledge News is an on-line art news magazine which is updated daily. I signed up for this about a week ago. Since getting back from my England trip where I visited lots of museums and art galleries, I can continue to peek into galleries around the world to view some more spectacular works of art. Of course, I could do that at any time, but with this site coming to me daily, I'm seeing things I probably wouldn't have thought about. Also they have a list of links that is easy to follow. I'm also following them on Twitter.

The photo was taken at the Tate Modern Museum, London. I did not record the artist's name. If anyone knows it, I would appreciate you letting me know and I will update this page.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

46 Days Until Christmas!

Wow! 46 days left - Christmas will be here before you know it. I hadn't given it much thought until I started to pay attention to the Christmas projects in the various craft and quilting magazines on the news stands. I started looking and found a few simple free projects to get you started on your Christmas list.
Christmas Pudding Pin Cushion
BOM quilts has lots of free patterns for Christmas
Christmas Basket Applique
Figgy Pudding and Holiday Magic Place mats, Napkins & Napkin Rings from Red Rooster Quilts
Simply Santa from CompuQuilt - paper piecing
ElfChristmas Ornaments from Better Homes & Gardens
Christmas Tree Quilt Pattern - applique

Also check out my previous posts:
Freebies for Crafters
Pincushions
Freebies From Freda's Hive

Saturday, November 6, 2010

#3 Textile Art from Knitting & Stitch Show, London

Here's some more art work from the Knitting & Stitch Show, London. These photos were all taken with my Canon S90 camera.
The first piece of textile art was made with layers of sheer fabrics that were dyed/painted and stitched. I just love the vibrant colours.

The second piece was felted.
Various techniques were used in the other pieces.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Stone Henge

photos by Judy Cooper

My friend and I took a day tour while visiting England. We went to Stone Henge, Salisbury (to see the cathedral) and Bath. It was a very memorable trip. Our guild, Michael, was priceless!

During the summer months, it's possible to get private tours of Stone Henge where you get to see the stones up close. These tours occur at sunrise and sunset. In any case, you get an audio tour which works very well. It was an interesting morning and I'm glad I experienced it.


Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Forte Framing and Gallery

Forte Framing and Gallery now has a new web site. The original one has been totally redone! For those of you new to my blog, this framing shop in Chicago belongs to my daughter and husband. For those of you living in the Chicago area, please stop by and see the place. Some of my textile art is on display as well as some of my shimmers.

They also rent out their shop space for art shows and parties - the shop is very spacious and a fantastic place for a party!

Jill is working on some original art pieces just in time for Christmas. You can see her at work if you drop by.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Houston International Quilt Show 2010

I am very envious of all those quilters who are going to be attending the International Quilt Show 2010 in Houston, Texas this week! Having been there in 2001, I know what a spectacular week they will have. I have been monitoring some of the posts from there.

  • Susan Brubaker Knapp has posted a few pictures of Quilt Market on her site, Blue Moon River. Quilt Market opens October 30 - November 1. This is a Trade show only and not open to the general public. The International Quilt Festival opens to the general public November 4 - 7. Susan has beautiful art work on her site so don't forget to have a look. It's very inspiring!
  • Alex and Ricky from The Quilt Show have updates from Houston too.
  • Lisa Walton, textile artist from Sydney, Australia shares some of her Houston experiences with us. 
I'm looking forward to seeing more of the posts as the week progresses.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Ginkgo Tree

I saw my first ginkgo tree in London, not far from my hotel. Its fan shaped leaves are very beautiful. I can see some future art on the horizon - maybe! Until now, I didn't feel like using the ginkgo leaf as it wasn't from my own experience. That is not the case anymore.
Apparently the ginkgo is the oldest known species of trees on earth. Check out the links for more information on these magnificent trees.
bark of Ginkgo tree
















Some art using the ginkgo tree for inspiration:
Nancy Cook
Gladys Love (scroll down)
Denna Hardin
Fabric pile 
Ann Fahl 
Stained glass / quilt pattern  (scroll down)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Find My Fabric

Just when I was wondering what the next blog topic would be ... I get an email newsletter with an idea. This bit of inspiration comes from Superior Threads
hand woven Guatemalan fabric
What if you ran out of a specific fabric for a project and needed a bit more to complete it? None of your quilting buddies has any! Not only that, you don't remember the name of the manufacturer, collection or designer of the fabric. Well, now there is an innovative fabric search engine, Find My Fabric, that finds fabric and quilting supplies from online sources. Either scan your fabric or take a photo of it and upload it to the search engine (it's easy to do, just click on the camera icon and follow the directions), and if the fabric is out there, an online retailer is located for you. How easy is that?

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Raphael's Sistine Chapel Tapestries


While in England, I had the opportunity to visit the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The focus for the visit was on four outstanding tapestries designed by Raphael for the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and the Raphael Cartoons  from which they were woven. 'The Cartoons have been on display at the V & A since 1865 but the tapestries have never been shown before in the UK. This exhibition provides a unique opportunity to see these stunning designs and tapestries together - something Raphael himself never witnessed. The Acts of St. peter and St. Paul are the only surviving tapestries designed by Raphael and were commissioned almost 500 years ago by the Medici Pope Leo X for the Sistine Chapel. Both the Cartoons and the tapestries are renowned masterpieces of High Renaissance art'. The photo shown is from the V & A Web Site.

While catching up on my email (I had lots to read), I found that Mary Corbet's Needle 'N Thread - October 1 newsletter, made reference to these same tapestries. But the best thing, she had a link to an online video about them. Have a look! Photos of the tapestries were not permitted.

Friday, October 22, 2010

World Quilt Competition

I'm still trying to get through all the emails I received while in England. I just came across a video from The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims which I want to share with you. The quilts are just stunning! Apparently, every year at the Pacific International Quilt Festival there is a World Quilt Competition. Check out the gallery at this site.

Monday, October 18, 2010

I'm Back!!

Home again! I left Heathrow Airport at 10 am London time and got home around supper time here in Newfoundland. London is about four hours later than here so it is well past my bedtime. I had a marvelous time traveling throughout England. My finger is tired from clicking so many pictures. Thank goodness for digital photography as I took oodles of photos which I will be sharing on future posts. On this trip, I did meet several textile artists whose work I have admired. More on these special artists later.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

City of York - UK

Today I walked around the older part of York. The architecture is fantastic. I just love the old, old buildings as they have so much character. This afternoon our group had a special presentation by the museum curator of the Quilters Guild of the UK. We saw such wonderful quilted pieces as well as the quilts in the gallery. After that we did a bit of shopping and walked back to the hotel via the old wall that surrounds the city.

I'm writing this blog on my new ipad while on the road. It has been a learning experience. I will post photos when I return home.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

England

My tour group is spending the night at the Rutland Arms Hotel, Bakewell. Yes, I'm finally in England! It's my first trip here and I'm thrilled! The countryside is remarkable with hugh willow trees, hawthorne hedges, flower gardens displaying fall colours and, of course, the magnificent architecture. I haven't been into London yet. That will be on the last part of my trip.Check out a previous blog about the tour on a previous blog.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Inspiration

I have found a few sites that might inspire you to try your hand designing and making art quilts. Bright, colourful fabrics are used in the pieces.
First, have a look at the work of Larkin Jean Van Horn. I enjoyed all her work but the beading as applique, river stones, rocks and water (this was a favorite), and shattered circles were very appealing to me.

Q42 Designs by Sharon Benton, has interesting fabric art. The art in her blog also appealed to me. Definitely worth a look!
Check out the gallery, blog and free articles from Gloria Hansen.
I just love the art quilts of Laura Wasilowski! Her hand dyed fabrics are wonderful.
Helen Howes has pieces that range from large-scale wall hangings to smaller works. There's lots to see on her site.
Margaret M. Hunt has' finally bitten the bullet' and created a website. She has been blogging all summer. This award winning fiber artists has lots for you to see.
Karen Stiehl Osborn is an award-winning mixed media artist, who works primarily with cloth, paper, paint, photography and stitching.
Lots to see at Jeri Riggs web site.
Art Quilts are Liz Berg's specialty.
Enjoy exploring these sites!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Trees - We Lost Lots of Them due to Egor!

Hurricane Egor certainly did a lot of damage here on Tuesday! A category one hurricane - I would not want to experience any other higher category. For those of you out there who have been hit with severe hurricanes, this one was a baby and I feel for you. We lost a lot of trees in the St. John's area especially around Bannerman Park in the downtown. We were lucky that we didn't lose the electricity although with a couple of power surges, our server's power supply was fried.
Because we lost so many trees, this post will be about trees to use in quilting and stitching.

Tree Quilt for Baby from The Heart of Sewing
A Pine Tree Block from Quilting Assistant
Apple Tree Block (download PDF), from Quilt Mag
Paper Pieced Tree Block from Bella On Line
Weeping Willow Quilt Pattern 
Pine Tree (traditional pieced block)
Autumn - quilted wall hanging with maple leaves
Winter Harvest - an idea to think about
Tree Napkins
Tree Pincushion from Connecting Threads 
Turning Over a New Leaf
Most of the links provided above are mostly for quilters. I had a difficult time finding non Christmas free patterns.
Enjoy these!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Journal Covers


I decided to make a cover for a journal a couple of days ago. This one is quite small as I want it to fit in a purse. It is similar to the ones shown here with my fantasy fish. I did find a few sites with journal covers.
  • If you want to have a place for a pen or pencil with your cover, check out this one. Even though the free pattern isn't available anymore, the picture is helpful. You just have to be a bit creative!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Circles and Curves

Our small part of the world is waiting (not happily) for hurricane Igor to land on its shores. Igor is forecast to have heavy winds and 110mm of rain overnight and tomorrow. It's pouring out as I write. Let's hope the power stays on as I'm watching some of the shows from The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. Several months ago they had a special for 6 months of viewing and I subscribed to it. I must say, I've enjoyed watching the various shows, some more to my style of work than others, but interesting all the same.

Tonight I watched episode 704 - Cricles, Curves, and Chocolate with Dale Fleming. She demonstrated how to do stitched curves her way as well as making the Six-Minute Circle. HGTV has a tutorial on making this six minute circle. It has possibilities for doing lots of different shapes. Dale's book, Pieced Curves So Simple, is in my bookshelf! It's a great book with lots of easy to follow photos.
 

YouTube has lots of video demos on sewing curves.
How to Quilt, a Beginner's Guide to Quilting shows you how to sew curves in your quilting.
How to Make the Perfect Drunkard's Path Block
Sewing Curves with Jinny Beyer

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Tips & Tutorials for Making Bags

My friend is also making the Professional Tote. She directed me to Nicole Mallalieu Design to view the Simple Purse Feet Tutorial. It's worth viewing if you decide to put feet on a purse or tote. In fact, Nicole has excellent information on her site for purse making. Check out her blog as well.

Check out these tutorials for bag making on the sewing tutorials blog. You'll also find lots of stuff for the sewer.
Find free patterns for bags & purses on a previous blog post of mine.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Tote Bag


Well, I finally finished my 'Professional Tote Bag' by Creative Thimble. It will be my carry-on piece when I travel to England this month. I used fabrics I purchased at Ikea in Chicago. They are a bit heavier than regular cottons and were more difficult to sew several layers. But it did work out. The red fabric was plain until I stippled all over it with Sulky variegated black/gray.  The contrasting black fabric had the outline of white leaves all over it. I figured that would get a bit dirty over time so I coloured in all the lines with a permanent black Sharpie marker. Sucker for punishment or what!! I do like the effect. I did not colour some of the pocket linings as they won't be seen.

I did put the luggage strap on the back. I now have the option of hanging it on the handle of my wheeled luggage.








I can also put a bottle of water in one side pocket and an umbrella in the other.









This is a partial view of the inside. My note book is already packed!







View from the opposite side.
This fabric, again from Ikea, is the one used for the lining. It's not a typical design I use in projects but it looked crisp and clean and matched the red and black. I read somewhere once that bag linings should be light so you can find things in them. However, a friend of mine, mentioned reading the opposite of this. I guess, if you like it, use it!


This is my contrasting fabric before the black Sharpie marker was used.