Schoolbook Tote Bag

This is the tote bag I made for my niece. She wanted one strong enough for her schoolbooks. Her favorite color is purple, so she chose the few pieces of fabric in my collection that had purple in them. I combined them with recycled jeans and lined it on the inside with remnants from a fleece sweatshirt I made myself many years ago. The handles were made from a thrifted belt. The one downside of using fabric samples and remnants is that I can’t make multiples of the items. I really really really liked this tote bag and had a hard time giving it up to her once it was done.

I Love Repurposing Things

I was thrift shopping last week and spotted a cute summer top, it was even 50% off, but it was too small for me. I was going to put it back, but was just in love with the print.  I also decide I liked the gathered straps and then decided it would make a cute shopping tote. So I brought it home, ripped out the seams and remade it. Look for it in my Etsy Shop. I hate plastic bags and I’m so into the  reuseables now, I keep 2 in my purse all the time and hope to make some more for my shop soon.

Making Gifts

There are always so many birthdays and other occasions I need gifts for. More and more lately I’m hand making my gifts. Here are just a few I’ve created lately. A small handbag, a pair of button earrings, a hand painted hat and an upcycled totebag.

Passing on the Knowledge

The last few weeks I spent some time giving my niece her first sewing lessons. She’s never sewn before, even by hand. We decided to start with a tote bag, I thought it would be a fairly simple shape for a beginner. The original pattern had grommets and a drawstring through the top, but after she chose her fabric, I was concerned about the grommets on the satiny fabric, so we left them out. We then added the handmade flowers for a decoration. I had to help with a few things like making the piping that went around the bottom, but she amazed me how quickly she learned to get the right pressure on the foot pedal. I remember that being very difficult for me when I was a child. Anyway, she made a great tote bag. I’m very proud of her.