She's on a roll!

...and another bag sold! Woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!

....and she's off!

After putting up new items, I had 2 orders! One person bought a new, awesome style and another made a request for a custom order.

Here's the new bag that sold!

Yayayayayayayayay!!!!!

Keep those orders comin' people. :-)

New items!

Yay! I'm making major progress on my fall items. Below is a preview (and a picture of my some of my leftover fabric) of some items that will be available soon in the shop. The third photograph features my first bag of original design - woohoo!

What a process

I'm guessing that for those of you who don't sew, you aren't fully aware of the the entire process, start of finish of how I make bags. I thought I'd enlighten you today!

First and foremost, choosing fabric is no small feat. Personally (as you can see from my shop) I lean toward bold, modern fabrics or fabrics with ethnic flair. Most bags that I make require about 2 yards of fabric total, which isn't very much. Other items needed to actually make the bags are magnetic snaps and lobster hooks (purchased from suppliers, usually on Etsy), interfacing to line the fabric (from a fabric store, usually Joann Fabrics) as well as coordinating thread. Then I have to choose a pattern. I'm currently in the beginning stages of designing my own bags! Right now, I use patterns that allow me to sell the finished products (usually crediting the author) and am working on designing my own, stemming from all that I've learned from the patterns I've already used. Then I have to wash, dry and iron the fabric. This is actually a nice part - there is something wonderful about simply handling the fabric! Then it's time to place the pattern, pin, and cut. I must do the same for the interfacing. Then, since I used fusible interfacing, I iron the coordinating pieces to the fabric cuts and voila! Ready to sew. As you can see, most of the work that goes into making a bag is actually prep work. The actual sewing doesn't take too long! While I sew, I like to listen to NPR or music, though lately I've been sewing in silence. I've found it's a wonderful, calming time. I'm INCREDIBLY fortunate to have a whole separate room in my house that's just for sewing and other crafts. It really makes the exercise of going to sew and meditation/escape. The room colored in a warm, soothing brown, which a couch and a window air conditioner to keep it cool.

Once the bags are done, it's time for pictures for Etsy. Stay tuned - LOTS of new items will be appearing in my shop over the holiday weekend.

Hope you enjoyed today's lesson. :-)

I've got the bug

...the travel bug, that is! I've been very fortunate in my life to have had many opportunities to travel. As a child, my family had a time share in the Caribbean, which spoiled me on warm ocean waters. I've lived in Europe and Africa and have traveled all over the US. My sweetie is heading to India this fall, as he too loves to travel. My sister is studying in Italy and we're planning to go see her in November! I can't wait!

My favorite trips have definitely been to Africa, and I have a special place in my heart for African crafts/textiles. I always loved the brightly colored fabrics and prints that are worn by many African women. There was an amazing little fabric shop near my house when I lived there that I purchased a number of bags from - and am now sorry I didn't stock up on fabric! I've purchased some beautiful African fabric from Etsy to make fall items - mostly wax prints, but am looking for shwe shwe too. Here are some previews! (P.S. No wonder I love Tina Givens - she's from Southern Africa!)