Spring days and free time = a new bag

Am doing this post using the blogger app so fingers crossed it doesn't go horribly wrong!

I made myself a bit of a promise the other day... to make time for crafting.

Lets face it, life with a boisterous one year old is never going afford me much time to do much of anything for myself unless I make a point of carving it out. So when i had the house all to myself for a bit this afternoon, instead of cleaning and sleeping or one of the exciting things i would normally do, I pulled out my machine and got on with something a bit more creative...

...I made myself a new bag.

Its all linen and uses a triangle folding pattern. I used an additional piece of black linen sewn over the top as a handle. Totally inspired by Between the Lines (love that blog!)

I love it! Its the perfect size. Am going to experiment  with a few different colours to create myself the perfect 'go to' summer bag, although I have a feeling that I may just keeping coming back to this one. :-)

Babies on the brain

When crafting, I tend to make stuff that will either be pretty/cute or practical/useful. So... whereas in the past  I have made things like bags, coffee cup holders, camera cases, badges and bunting, I now find myself orientated to making things for babies (natch!).

Up til now, I've been doing rather dull things like making sheets, lining nursery curtains and covering the moses basket etc, but this week I came across the cutest dinosaur fabric which I knew would end up being put to good use...and it was!

Firstly it got made into a little dribble neckerchief type bib, modelled beautifully by little Owen!

It has a terry towelling backing and a simple elastic hook and button at the back.

Next it got made into a little draw string bag (to house a spare set of clothes for the inevitable 'out and about' nappy accident!).

A super cute addition to Owen's nappy bag, even if I do say so myself!

To see what some other crafty peops have been up to this week, head on over to Our Creative Spaces new home on Kidspot.

My Creative Space – cheating slightly...

Photos: Second ever bag, first dress and top

In my creative space this week (today in fact) my blog has turned 2! Who knew! I had a shock when I realised. Saying that I don’t actually count it as a proper blogging birthday, as I didn’t really start blogging in earnest until the start of this year. So, instead of doing a traditional blogger ‘what I’ve learnt/ things I’m proud of’ birthday, I am tenuously using the occasion (and cheating slightly as I'm not going to show any crafting from this week) to share with you some of my earliest crafty/ blogging offerings. These are things so deeply buried that they’ll never see the light of day otherwise.

So here's my first and second bags.The first was made completely off piste and I basically made it up as I went along. The second (pictured above) was slightly more restrained affair and actually used a pattern. It was soooo easy to make that I have now made and given away quite a few!

Theres also my first ever top and first ever dress. I wear them both constantly and they are still holding together which makes me feel quite proud.

Finally, if you want a giggle take a look at my first ever post. I didnt have a clue what to write, and it shows! :-)

To hear from people who are undoubtably showing some more recent creative offerings than I have, pay a visit to Our Creative Space.

My (Lazy) Creative Space

So it turns out that I’ve been enjoying holidays, time in the sun and family giggles too much to do any new crafting. Not that I'm complaining – I’ve had a couple of awesome bank holidays!

So instead here’s a belated post about the other bag (the one I said I’d put up at the weekend – oops!).

As you can see, its much closer to the ‘design’ I had originally had in my head, but it morphed into a summer tote bag instead. I put a zipped pocket on the inside of the bag and it is has a lovely 'not to big, but not to small' dimension to it.

I have mixed feelings about this one though: loving the blue and pink panels on the linen, but I decided to use all three of the Indian cottons I bought, including the orange one in the middle. Now I'm not quite so keen. It feels like the orange in the middle was a step to far. Mr T approves though, so we are divided on opinion! Not that it matters much as I’m probably too lazy to take it out again, but what do you reckon?

Orange in the middle - love or loath?

To see what other creative peops have been up to, pop along to Kootoyoo

My Creative Space – Completed work!!!

In my creative space this week, I have actually been creative! Woo Hoo!!!!!!

It comes as a very welcome relief after quite a long break between me and my sewing machine to actually of had time to finally finish several of the projects I’ve been working on for what has felt like an eternity!

First up, do you remember I bought some linens to use for a new bag (I put my ‘design’ up a few weeks ago)?

Well, I started work on the linen bag. As it turned out it wasn’t sturdy enough (even with a sturdy interfacing) for the messenger bag I wanted to sport this summer, so I started again. This time I used some denim and some left over scraps of a very cute flower fairy cotton print. Heres the result...

As you can see, I put the detail which I had planned to hide under the front cover, on top. I also went for stripes rather than panels. So actually, the bag I ended up with is nothing really like my original design, but I LOVE it anyway. Its the perfect size, shape etc etc. I cant wait to use it and get some ‘bag in action’ shots.

Buying the bright linens didnt turn out to be a complete waste of time as I used them to make a bit more of a tote type bag instead. But I’ll pop that up over the weekend.

In other news I am still working on my shrug...

Its definately getting there, but I still have a way to go!

I hope you are all having a similarly crafty week. For more creative spaces you know where to go - Kootoyoo

Bags, bags and more bags

Been making a lot of foldable shopping bags/ book bags for friends and family:

No.1


No.2



No. 3


They hold up much better than my first attempt too - thicker cotton!

My Second Bag

This time I followed someones instructions.


It worked out much better :-) The finished product...

I found these cutesy little tags the other day and thought they would be perfect for the stuff I'm making right now.



The button detail is a. because its pretty and b. to be used to tie the bag up nice and small.



Ta Da!

As it was a pressy for my sister I wrapped it up very nicely (I'm trying to get away from commercial things and love jazzed up brown paper wrapping). She loved it!

My first bag

My first bag design, although I probably should have started with a simpler pattern... or even a pattern! Ha!