Category: bags

hats, Hats, HATS!!! Whew! They’re in the Bag

The hats and one bag are all finished for Eiko’s show this weekend. I hope the hurricanes and lesser showers stay away from Aiken, South Carolina, and Aiken’s Makin.  Good luck, Eiko! 

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I have to say I really like some of these. I will have to use these patterns again. I love the berets with the refashioned knit bands. The brown band on this latest beret is SOOOOO soft! I cut it from a ladies’ t-shirt that I found at a thrift store and it’s almost buttery soft. 

Broad-brimmed Sunhat turned-up brim

The broad-brimmed sun hat is light and airy in the crown, but the brim is interlined with a foam that’s used to pad and stiffen purses without too much stiffness or weight. It holds its shape well and turns up nicely all the way around or just half-way.  I will be using more of this for stiffening. 

Front of cap

The adult and child caps are cut on the bias and it gives them a great shape. It was a little fidgety to get sewn, but by serging the edges before sewing them it helped hold them in shape better. 

I think I invented the pleated brim, but, who knows? There is nothing new under the sun, after all. I like it. Hope someone else does. 

Hat with pleated brim.
Detail of pleat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These pictures don’t do it justice. I was in a hurry. The pleats make the brim looks a little like the edges of a morning glory flower. 

The bag was just a whimsy. Eiko had woven some wide stripes and I couldn’t bear to cut into them, so I used the full width and made a tote from them. 

If you’re in the Aiken, South Carolina, area this weekend try to take in the festival. It looks like a lot of fun and Eiko is very cute and friendly!

White orchid blossoms and some more bloomin’ handbags

Please send prayers and good thoughts to the Houston area. My friends and family are safe so far, thank God, but the flooding is getting worse. Thank you!

One of my phals has been budding for several weeks and I couldn’t remember what color it was. It finally blossomed last week and it is a beautiful white with a yellow throat.

It was a Kroger rescue. It looked pretty bad when I bought it (half price). It had rotting roots and some fungus on the potting medium. I pulled it out of its pot, cut away the rotting roots, sprayed it well with Listerine, and sprinkled them with cinnamon. Then I gently repotted it with new growing medium. I also cut bigger holes in the sides of the clear pot to let it get some air to the roots. I have to water it twice a week, but it’s worth it to get these blooms.

While the phal was growing its buds I was making hats and purses and one wallet. The hats aren’t ready yet. They’re by my sewing machine about half-done. I did get two purses finished and to the Appalachian Arts Craft Center last week. 

Buttercup Bag pattern by Made by Rae.
Necessary Clutch Wallet and Marichel Hobo bag by RLR Creations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Marichel Hobo by RLR Creations is made from an outdoor fabric and a very soft black vinyl. I used the same fabric and vinyl on the wallet and a wonderful map fabric–Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements Expedition Multi–on the interior. I used repurposed cotton webbing belts for the straps on both bags. I love these for straps because they are reusing something discarded and they don’t slip on your shoulder like quilting cotton or vinyl. 

 

The smaller striped bag is the Buttercup Bag from Made by Rae.    It’s a small bag and won’t get too heavy, but it’s large enough to hold the necessities. 

The Necessary Clutch Wallet by EmmalineBags is one of my favorites. It holds everything I need in a wallet and more. However, my daughter says it’s too big. I’m going to force myself to make some smaller bifold wallets and some trifolds for men. 

Eiko and I have about one more week before Eiko’s show. I’d better get back to sewing.

Rockstar Bag progress

Sara Lawson’s Rockstar Bag is taking longer than I  had hoped. I’ve had several interruptions. Mostly the grands Trick-or-Treating last night. But totally worth it!

Here is what I have finished. It may not look like very much, but it is. I’m getting pretty good at sewing vinyl, if I do say so myself. I guess it’s like everything else–practice makes perfect. I’ve also set the rivets although it doesn’t show that in this picture.

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Meanwhile, when I’m tired I take up my genealogy again. I am in possession of one very old tin-type of an ancestor. The back has the name Mary Everhart Blair and tell the relationship to my gggrandfather, Jesse Green Blair. I know her name isn’t correct. The baby is supposed to be Emma, but if it’s Mary Seagraves (not Everhart) the baby can’t be Emma. It may be Cora, the eldest daughter of Elizabeth Jane Culp Blair. I wish I knew.

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Are you Mary or Elizabeth? Emma (Lettie) or Cora?