Frenchy Bags

Last week, I got the urge to tick one of the things off my to-do list, I sewed up an Amy Butler Frenchy Bag. Ooh-la-la! It's so cute!

Check out the cuteness.

This is the only Amy Butler pattern I have sewn, but if all of her patterns are this user-friendly...I'll be back for more. The directions were so clear and straightforward. I am used to sewing the patterns from big companies like Simplicity or Butterick. While I love them, they can be a little confusing and unnecessarily complicated. Amy keeps it simple and straightforward. Love it.

Love you Frenchy Bag pattern!

The pattern includes directions for a handbag and a large tote. I chose the large tote (because I need a mom purse). I did not deviate from the pattern except for leaving off the magnetic closure because I didn't feel like I needed it.


When I was sewing my bag it occurred to me what a great advanced beginner project this would be. You learn about interfacing, simple pleats, handle joining, and laying in a lining with pockets. If you have never followed a garment pattern before, this is a great place to start.

Detail of pleats and handle join.

When I told Alex that I was writing this post today, she asked me why she has not seen me wearing my new bag. Well, let me tell ya...I love it, I really do. I'm just afraid it might be a little loud. Maybe I will feel differently when the summer hits us and I am wearing different clothes, but right now the fabric seems too bold. (Speaking of fabric, the blue floral pattern is from last year's Amy Butler collection and the mustard is something in my stash by Moda from a few years ago.) I might have to make another in more subtle tones.

It's another love fest, I'm giving this pattern a thumbs up. I encourage everyone to make one....then we will all match! We can call ourselves the Frenchy Bag club. I'm so lame... ;)

–Cassandra

Friday Finds: Vintage Sewing

Today's Friday Find is all about fashion sewing patterns from Wearing History for those who love vintage style. Particularly 1930's and 1940's. They are so much fun. And a lot of the styles they have chosen to write up as patterns are quite practical by today's standards. There is definitely 2012 appropriate sport and party wear in the mix. I don't mind the inappropriate myself, but that's just me (Alex doesn't like "costumey").

This is the pattern that initially sucked me in.

I have been wanting to make an apron for some time. This is the one it's going to be.

I would most certainly suggest that you follow the blog and "like" them on Facebook. They are always posting links to other blogs sharing vintage knitting patterns, tailoring tips, customer finished projects, make-up and hairstyle how-to's, etc. I have really gotten some good information this way.

Who doesn't LOVE lounging pajamas!!

If you adore vintage style as much as I do...check it out!


–Cassandra

How it went....

The Distractibles

Last week, Cassandra and I posted about the trunk show we were participating in on Saturday. I thought that, today, I'd give you the "post mortem" (as it were.)


Friday night, at 10pm, the last bit of work I needed to do was put button holes on 15 notion bags and sew on the buttons. The car was packed and I was ready to go except for that last thing. Aaaaaaand.... my button-holer decided not to work. I was so tired and frustrated at that point that I was, quite literally, cross-eyed. So, I resigned myself to the fact that the notion bags might not have a closure and I went to bed.


Saturday morning I was up and running at 7a.m. I sent a text to Cassandra and asked her to stop at the craft store and pick up some elastic to make a button/loop closure on the bags. In the end, we figured it would be true-to-form if we were sewing at our table during the sale. I had a massage at 8a.m. (GREAT way to start the day), then home to clean up, run the last couple of errands, and get to the show by 10:30 or 11. Smooth as silk.

part of our display

I rolled up to the house at 10:30 and started unpacking the car. By the time Cassandra got there at 11, all we had to do was arrange everything and make it pretty. The craft shop didn't have elastic but Cassandra picked up some grosgrain ribbon that was just the right color. Aaaaaaand.... then I realized that I'd never stopped to get change in case people paid in cash. Yikes! Out the door I race, trying to get to the bank before noon.


I managed to get to the back and back to the show-house by noon. A little frazzled but ready to go. *whew!*


All day long there was a steady stream of people browsing and shopping. The crowd was wonderful and seemed to be into the spirit of the event. Cassandra and I got to do what we do best - talking and making friends - while we sewed buttons on the notion bags (which sold surprisingly well!)

sewing buttons at the last minute (not surprisingly)

Overall, we sold about 25% of the stuff we took with us. We're going to put up an Etsy shop in the next couple of weeks and will hopefully sell the rest of the stock. And, if certain items are particularly popular, we may be convinced to continue making them!


We had a great time although it's a lot of work for two, inherently lazy souls such as us. We learned that we have a strong brand that's well received by strangers and that "making physical product to sell" is not really our forte (unless we can just manage the process and have other people do the actual work! LOL)


Keep your eyes peeled for an Etsy announcement soon.

Alex


PS - I hope that the people who invented the Square are making $10 BILLION dollars. If you don't know what Square is yet, check it out. Best.Invention.Ever!

Quilts Are Calling

Summer has come to Wisconsin like a lion. We went from 50 degrees to 90 in a matter of days. Luckily, the heat stayed at bay until I cast-off one of my large wool projects...the other will just have to wait until fall. It's time to work with cotton fabrics...and maybe even do some hand-work while sitting on the porch sippin' lemonade.

The siren song of making a pieced cotton quilt is calling me. Maybe I'm in over my head... maybe not. For help and inspiration, I bought this book:



The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman has some really great general tutorials and the beginner projects have very clear directions. After much thought, I have decided that this is where I'd like to start:

I'm going to make the Small Plates quilt...yeah!

It seems like a project that is straightforward enough to be done well by a beginner, yet the finished product is dazzling! I plan on adding colorful hand-quilted elements to really make it my own. (That is a technique I've been wanting to explore for a while.) I hope to share this process that is new to me as I go. Hopefully some of you with quilting experience will post good hints and tips for me in the comments section. Maybe I will even come up with some of my own to share.

As a rule, I like to buy most of my fabric locally if possible...but that doesn't keep me from peeking around online. Fabric is just too fun.

Ooh-la-la... Amy Butler's Passion Collection

Awesome woodland fabric by Antioniamanda on Spoonflower

Mmmm... Bubblegumlove by Anna Maria Horner

I found this intriguing George Washington print on fabric.com

So I will be hunting for just the right fabrics to begin this adventure. If you see an indecisive woman sighing over bolts and bolts of fabric in a local craft supply store in Madison, Wisc., yeah, that would be me. ;)

–Cassandra

Hot Buttons!

The past few weeks have been a roller-coaster of emotion and concern for Alex and I. The political climate in Madison, Wis. (where we live) has the city's residents either polarized, mobilized, or paralyzed. Whether you have been pounding the pavement with picket signs or slavishly following the news updates on your computer... it has become all-consuming and frankly, we've said it a few times already, exhausting.

The Japanese earthquake horrors and tsunami today have sort of woken me out of the political fatigue I was feeling. A natural disaster of that magnitude has made me step back and put all things into perspective. I need to find my center again. I need to find my quiet.

Thinking about the peonies blooming soon is helping bring the happy.

Alex's post from Wednesday about knitting basics is on-track with where my focus needs to lie - back to the building blocks of my creativity. I want to simplify by thinking about the construction of things (like the baby-room draperies I need to make), and breaking down projects into manageable bits.

With that said, I'll share one of the most basic (and misunderstood) fundamentals of handwork. The button. I am shocked by how many times have I been asked to sew a button for someone who thought it was some complicated adventure. It's so basic, and actually quite fun. I found this funny video tutorial created by Esquire magazine specifically targeted towards men. Even if you've sewn a hundred buttons in your lifetime I think you'll find it worthwhile.

So, I'm going to keep it short and sweet today. There are many crafting projects on my plate that I will be sharing with you very soon. But, for today, I am keeping it simple.

–Cassandra