Category Archives: Bags

I’ve made a number of Swoon bags. (Explore my Swoon posts.) And I’ve purchased four Blue Calla bag patterns, that haven’t made it to the top of my to-do list yet. In early August, I learned that Alicia Miller, who is the designer behind Swoon Patterns, and Celine Allaert, who designs the Blue Calla bag patterns, had put their heads together and formed the Carried Away Pattern Collective. They’ve had a brilliant idea. These bags are available by subscription only. The designers, Alicia and Celine, take turns designing a bag each month for six months—three bags each in six months. … Continue reading →

I’m heading to Southern California next week for a special wedding on April 15. The bride is my great-niece, my half-sister’s granddaughter. The mother of the bride, the grandmother of the bride, and I will be traveling together on Wednesday, and the aunt of the bride will be following on Friday evening. My sister has been most gracious in including me in all the planning—including turning to me for wardrobe consults. You know I loved that!! Today I whipped up a little evening bag that might be used by either the MOB or the AOB. It’s based upon the Big … Continue reading →

Today was a snow day and in my neighborhood, the snowplows come around infrequently. I had a “Music at Noon” performance scheduled with a Dana School of Music musical theatre student, but morning classes were cancelled, and the head of the musical theatre department wisely cancelled the Music at Noon performance. I was supposed to go to an activity with my granddaughter, but knew with the six or so inches of snow we got last night and the dearth of snowplows, I’d never get out of my neighborhood. So snow day = sew day. Have you seen the cork fabric … Continue reading →

Yes, it’s true that I haven’t posted in a very long time. I’ll tell you another time what all I’ve been up to. One thing I’ve done is take Joan Hawley’s “Zip It Up: Easy Techniques for Zippered Bags” class on Craftsy. If you’re just getting interested in crafting cool bags for yourself, friends, and craft shows, I highly recommend this class. The fabric is hand dyed using Shibori techniques by my friend, MaryLou Alexander. You can see the beautiful art quilts she makes with her hand-dyed fabrics on her website. Aren’t I lucky that she calls me when she’s … Continue reading →