Something old, something new

I made this bag for a lovely lady who saw a similar one on my website. The one she saw was one of the very first bags I ever made and seems like forever ago (really only about 3 years).

When she first asked, I was sure there was none of the fabric left. But double checking is always a good idea and I found some scraps. Not enough to replicate the bag exactly, but enough to make a newer and better version.

I'm really happy with how it turned out and it goes off to its new home tomorrow!

Bags for the rainbow comfort packs

I spent all of my working day yesterday (and some of today) making some bags for the Rainbow Comfort Packs for the bushfire kidlets. Unfortunately, I'm the worlds slowest sewer, so I have only gotten 4 of them done so far. If I get any more time over the next few days I hope to whip up more, but duty calls on the work front as well and there are only so many hours in the day.

So here are the bags so far:

First a backpack for a little guy. The pocket is made from one of my favourite vintage fabrics. I am not good at backpacks, despite Nikki's fabulous instructions, so I have left it at one of those!




Second is a cute girly bag with yo-yo and felt flowers.







Third is another boy bag and my favourite so far. I am seriously considering making one for myself. I LOVE the echino car fabric so much! Hopefully a car mad boy out there will love it too! This one has an adjustable strap with metal slider and d-rings. Just a little fancy...




And last is another girly bag - pretty funky too! You can't go wrong with matryoshkas! This one is hand appliqued on.




I went a little nuts with the rows of stitching on the handles! I decided some extra red was a good idea and it turned out looking really great. Am considering adding a couple of buttons somewhere on this one too.




The good thing about all the bags is that I didn't have to buy anything to make them. Everything I used is stuff I already had here. There's plenty more fabric, so I really hope I can find some time to make a few more.

More pressing issues

This is a little bit exciting! One of my handbags (just sold) is in this month's Virgin Blue Voyeur magazine! They did an article on handmade stuff and I was lucky enough to be featured. Nice huh?



And while we're talking about the 'news', I'm sure everyone heard about the horrific bushfires in Victoria... It is hard to comprehend what has happened there, but amazing to see the generosity of people in such situations. A lot of money has been raised and a lot of fantastic initiatives are up and running to raise money, or give items to the affected people. I have been working on being involved in a few of those.

Firstly, donating a couple of items to the Ozbushfireappeal store on Etsy. The store has raised a tonne of money already and it is amazing to see people from Australia AND abroad, donating items (and postage) to this cause.

Secondly, I've just finished making some woollen pouches and liners for them for WIRES. They are basically sleeping bags for the animals. I can't even guess how many little critters have been killed and injured in the fires, so I hope that this at least helps a few of them to get well again.

And thirdly, I am working on some bags to go in the fabulous Rainbow comfort packs for kids who have lost everything. I have started one, and have a huge pile of fabric ready for more. Just got to find some more hours in the day to get them done, but should have a good crack at it tomorrow. Will post pictures when they're ready!

Third time is the charm?

No, you're not imagining things, this post is almost exactly the same as a previous one which was almost exactly the same as a previous one. ONE OF MY PURSES WAS JUST ON THE FRONT PAGE OF ETSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Soooo cool!



Ohhhh I just caught it! I refreshed and it's gone again. Phew! So glad to have seen it!

Thank you to Spazzy for choosing my purse for your treasury.