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Wednesday, June 20, 2012

A Gathering of Bags


In preparation for our family vacation next week, I've been working to finish several bags that I'd like to use on our trip. It's been a lot of fun to create items for our getaway, and I know I'll enjoy using them.


For my summer purse, I purchased a pattern from Charlie's Aunt on Etsy. If you've never seen Emma Brennan's delightful patterns before, you must stop by. All of her bags are based on vintage styles from the 1930's and 1940's -- very possibly my favorite historical time period. I chose her Melford Messenger Bag since it looked roomy enough to hold all my things and included a shoulder strap.


The pattern was fantastic...well written, clear, and easy to follow. I love the drawings that accompany each step in the process and her hand drawn pattern pieces as well. This is a purse that I will definitely be making again. The bag is very sturdy, made with fusible interfacing, sew-in interfacing, and a layer of batting on the body. For my fabrics, I used a yard of Melody Miller's viewfinder reels in pastel shades along with some grey linen on the outside pocket and Kona Coal for the lining. I already gave bag a test drive when I went out yesterday, and I was surprised both at how light the bag was and how much I could fit into it.


For a quick project last night, I whipped out a cosmetics bag using part of one of Melody Miller's Ruby Star Shining panels and a little of Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley on the inside.


I love that silhouette of the lady on the front...so fitting for a makeup bag, I thought.


I structured the bag with fusible batting on the lining pieces, but if I had to do it over again, I probably would have used interfacing on the exterior pieces as well. I also had some strange little pleats appearing around the edges of the zipper. Not really sure how that happened, but we'll chalk it up to the fact that I haven't been getting much sleep lately since my girls have been getting me up every other hour during the night for the past week.


Toss in my Zakka Organizer which I'm now using as my wallet, and I'm ready to hit the road!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday.

7 comments:

  1. oh wow - what a nice collection of bags! I especially like your use of the viewfinders! I have the quilt I made with that fabric in my office at work so I can look at it all day long!

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  2. What great fabrics you chose! I love them! Be prepared for lots f compliments!

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  3. I agree what a great set of bags and great fabric choices!

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  4. Your messenger bag is really great. I love everything about it! I will have to check out that etsy shop, I"m always looking to make a new bag.....

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  5. I agree - love that silhouette for the make up bag and that is a very cool purple. I like the messenger bag as well - looks like a great size.

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  6. lovely makes! have a great holiday.

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  7. Your bag is darling and I love the viewfinder fabric : )

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