Finally a completed project!

Last year Kaitlin & her friend, Aria, starting sketching clothing designs so I took them to Hart's fabrics to expand their creative juices by looking at all the different types of fabrics, colors and prints. Seeing bolts of fabric is like viewing shelves of yarn for me - although I don't need any new pieces at home I'm salivating! Gotta have it! I have a thing for MunkiMunki/Lightning Bugs (orange upper-right) having a dear friend be Heather's sister, my girls were spoiled with the whimsical line of children's clothing.I also am a hoarder/collector (?) of dresses I adored on my daughters that are too precious to pass on because they are connected to so many memories, so I have let them stack up. Some I've cut into squares for a quilt (some day), some I'll leave as is to pass onto my Granddaughters and some I am hoping to find uses for them. I dream of how I can reuse the sweet material but putting the scissors to fabric is a hard thing for me.
Then one day Breana inspired me: I pushed aside my books, my ever-pending knitting, even a load of laundry and got to work.

Uh huh...

Yes I did! :D

Now remember both of my sewing machines are in need of attention so Breana & I have been working with a simple needle & thread. I was fortunate to be given all of Grandma Felisa's sewing baskets & sewing machine after she passed away. My Grandmother (both actually) was a gifted seamstress. She tried to sit tomboy me down to learn stitching. Unfortunately I didn't have the ability to see myself 30 years down the road so I grumbled my way through our sewing lessons and bolted out the door once they were through. Yes, I completely denied myself of learning the tricks of the trade from the Master Herself.

With Grandma's needles and the little knowledge that was bestowed on me, this is what I did...

a completed piece - continued

This dress was handed down by Kylie. It's the first dress that I've cut in to. It was easier than I thought - I took a deep breath, opened up the scissors and made the first cut. After that first snip the rest of the fabric didn't have a chance!
More salvaging:
Someone tried to hand a pair of cotton/linen pants down to me. The pants never fit me but I kept it for it's fabric. A few years ago I did cut one leg up to use for lavender/rose geranium satchets for Christmas gifts. For this bag, my sister, Tisha, suggested I line it. I considered using the fabric that I started out with but changed my mind, I didn't want it to be that busy. This time I chuckled when I cut a piece out. Do you see it?

Here's a closer look: Yes, a pocket for my cellphone, lipstick & keys - no digging around in this bag!
I even added a gusset to give the bag more shape.
The finished product - finally a finished piece!

This bag took me a total of 3 1/2 days. Time-wise it only took me 4-5 hours.

A perfect summer bag!

Breana's Work In Progress

Breana started off by cutting 9 3x3 squares out of fabric she picked out at Hart's Fabrics.
While my sewing machines are out of commission (from broken needles to tension problems) she is sewing this one by hand. After sewing 6 squares she had to put this project aside to tend to other activites (i.e book reports, Year-long Community Service Write-up, soccer try-outs...yeah know, 5th grade stuff!)

Getting inspired

Sunday afternoon we spent some time in one of our favorite bookstores. While Dan was looking for gifts, Kaitlin was hunting to spend her gift cards and Breana was scoping out the stationary section, I was getting inspired in the craft section.

I'm thinking after the school play and cleaning out the studio, this could be a great project for me - just in time for summer, too!