The Learning Curve

As I have mentioned a time or two, I'm currently taking a class from Quilt University Http://www.quiltuniversity.com called "Design Your Perfect Purse" taught by Lily Kerns This is an online class, where the instructor presents the lessons in written format with a lot of photos, graphics and drawings. She also includes links that might interest us and sometimes a video too!  There is also a discussion forum where we can interact with the other students. The students in this class are from all over the world, literally!!

I, as the student, am encouraged to print out all of the lessons for future reference.  I have done that and more! Ever the organizer, I have a binder, with appropriate tabs and placed all of my "lessons" in protector sheets. Already my binder is quite full!! So, my first thought was to design a binder carryall and never mind the purse! I've got way too many purses already! 

Then came Lesson Three. I gotta tell ya, that started my engines!! I have learned a new method for designing a pattern, along with the steps to take to test to see if it works. I have created a whole new looking purse!  Now, I just have to make that purse!  What fun I am having! This is only a four week class, therefore the LAST class is next Friday ~ oh, I wish it could go on forever! The important thing is that I have acquired some new skills~ not just a few ~ a lot!!  If you get a chance, check out their website, link provided above, and see what classes are being offered.  There is a class for everyone! I plan to take more! 

Back to the binder carryall - I did design one and I'm working on getting it made up along with a patten to publish and sell. And, now, this new purse too! Oh, so many ideas, so little time!

Thrift Shop Finds

I mentioned in my last post that I'm taking a class called "Designing Your Perfect Purse" from Quilt University, taught by Lily Kerns. http://www.quiltuniversity.com This past weekend I was in a local thrift shop so I decided to take a look at the purses and see if I could find any with some interesting hardware that wouldn't cost too much.  I found these 2 pictured here for $1.99 each. I would not be able to purchase the hardware for that! After I photographed them I took them all apart to see how they were stitched together and to determine what types of stabilizers were used in the construction. WOW! Lots of stitching and lots of different stabilizers too! No wonder some of the purses you see in Boutiques are so expensive!!  I salvaged all of the leather, the straps and the hardware. I really liked the tourquoise leather purse. It had some unique nickel hardware that I have not seen before and I was able to save some of the leather. I made a pattern out of the various pieces from the other one. The leather was in really good shape! The fabric was a silky brocade, very pretty but very soiled! So were the zippers! What I found fascinating about the brocade purse was an outside zippered pocket, with so many sections it could really be called an attached wallet! I kept it intact so the I can study it and learn the construction of it!. It even had a removable mirror! I kept that too! I noticed that the zippers had 2 pulls that met in the middle on the top of the bag. I've learned that these types of zippers are called "two-slider closed bottom" purse zippers and can be found at some fabric and craft stores in different colors and lengths. They can also be found online. I have a couple made by Coats & Clark ~ 22 inches long! I need some shorter ones! 

I've done it again!

Oh, how time does fly! I haven't posted since August! My only real excuse is I just didn't take the time! I do manage to keep quite busy with my sewing, quilting and designing and sometimes there are days when I don't do anything more on the computer than check my email. To be truthful, I delete most of that without even reading it! I swear I'm on every online quilt magazine, fabric shop,online catalog and embroidery design website ~ well, you get the picture! It just gets overwhelming sometimes!

I have managed to do some clearing out of stuff I've had in storage. The local Goodwill shops were the largest beneficiaries! I have condensed everything into just ONE storage unit. I have repacked all of my overflow of fabrics into plastic tubs, numbered them and done an inventory. I found things I forgot I had and some things I've been looking for!  I found finished quilt tops, with backing stored neatly in bags waiting to be quilted! I also found a few (?) UFO's!! I found a whole bunch of finished quilts too!

My goal this year is to get my UFO's finished.  I have them all bagged and tagged with what needs to be done to each. Some only need a border to be called RTQ - Ready to quilt!!

My good friend Sue gave me a class at Quilt University for a Christmas gift! WOW! That started last evening and I am so excited to get going! It is called "Design Your Perfect Purse" which is right up my alley! I love the idea designing and developing new ideas to create that  unique purse.

As I sit here and type, I'm looking out the window to a slight blanket of snow that fell yesterday. This winter has been unique in that the temperatures have been all over the map! In the 40's one day and the 20's the next.  Almost no snow so far! The pond is frozen over but the ice is still not thick enough for snowmobiles and wheelers! My honey is a fisherman and he is chomping at the bit to get his ice shack out so he can go fishing! He has a snowmobile but can't run it on the dirt in the driveway to get it down across the lawn to the pond - yes, I still see green grass peeking through the snow! I never thought I'd say this, but I'm hoping for a big, well not too big, snow storm soon! He has been in the house since November 1st! when he pulled his boat because we had a freak snowstorm on Halloween! Who knew that the temps in November would be in the 50's and 60's? Come to think of it, December was quite warm too! Soon the conditions will be right to get that shack out and him out of the house!
LOLOLOLOL!!!!

Time to get busy in the studio! I have a couple of commissioned purses to finish  and deliver to the gals that ordered them! Today I shall complete them!



   

My Latest Patten

I've  have been really busy these past few months and I've not taken the time to post for ages and ages! This is my latest creation.  It started as a mystery quilt for my local quilt chapter "Tacoma Lakes Quilters" ~ we did it as a group and displayed the results at Maine Quilts in July.  It has become so popular that I decided to publish it as a whole pattern and here it is!

Corn Husk Dolls

My cousin here in Arizona gave me a lesson on how to make these dolls! I was so excited to learn this craft! She wanted me to be sure that everyone understands she does not, as a rule, do crafty things.!  Having said that, she and her fellow volunteers at the Sedona Heritage Museum conducted a workshop on how to make these adorable dolls and it was well received by the adults and children that participated.  

The process is fun and the materials are readily available in any grocery store that sells "tamale" wraps.  They would be found in the Mexican food isle. I can't wait to show all my friends how to make them!  

The Handcrafter's Barn

My Friend Koleen has rented a booth at the Handcrafter's Barn in N. Conway, NH. She invited my friend Sherry and me to put some of our handcrafted items in the booth as well. We took a ride up last Thursday to add more items. I was unable to get a complete photo of the booth ~ I needed to take several in order to get everything as space is tight! The booth is 6 feet wide; 2 feet deep and 8 feet tall! Koleen has put in quite a lot of her small quilts, wallhangings and table runners, plus several wool candle mats and table toppers. Sherry has contributed her famous "Wool" mittens and I put in several of my purses. You would be amazed at how much stuff you can fit in this space!   

As I mentioned, I took several photos ~ the top one is of the left side of the booth ~ this one is the center.

This one is of the right showcasing my purses. Not everything at the Handcrafter's Barn is hand crafted ~ some are factory manufactured. So, Koleen decided to add some of her puzzles and signs that she had left over from when she used to be a vendor at local quilt shows.

This is the top right of the booth ~ you can see some of Sherry's mittens hanging up  and more of Koleen's quilts on the top shelf.

This is the left top of the booth ~ there is quite a variety of items for sale!  The Handcrafter's Barn is located on Route 16 in North Conway, NH.  It is huge!! I'm not sure how many individual booths there are, but there are 3 floors with a wide variety of both handcrafted and factory manufactured items for sale!

It is a popular tourist stop.  Koleen rented this booth in July and has already had some sales, including several pair of Sherry's mittens!  Imagine that ~ people buying wool mittens in July!  

Here a purse, there a purse..........

I have been busy making purses to put in my friend Koleen's booth in a shop in NH. I just love using novelty prints for purses as it gives them a lot of personality! I have even given them each a name ~ not very original but it helps me keep track! These are(from L to R) Cattle Brands, Cappuccino and Basket Weave. 

(From L to R) These are named Elvis, Koi and Patriotic Chickens.  I have made some variations to each with decorative buttons and tab closures.  My favorite is Cappuccino!! I used leather for the tab. I have more in the works! Guess I'd better get them done!
More to come. . . . . . . .