New Bags: Tiny Trash = Creative Juice

What is it about small bits of fabric and yarn and beads that make a crafty queen's heart go thump?

There is just this insatiable pull towards using someone ELSE'S cast offs that excites me (and many others) to the core!



My mom has a group of ladies that she sews with, and they love to give her little scraps of fabric. They all share little scraps, but my mom is typically the one who actually does something with them.



So a few weeks ago she got a bunch of scraps of vintage fabric from one of her dear friends, Maxine. Like a true crazy crafter, she took them home and immediately made 40 crazy quilt pieced basket blocks. FORTY in just a few hours.



She also made me an adorable wall hanging decked out with vintage buttons sashed in a gorgeous brown linen. So I wanted to see all the other blocks she made, and I started drooling. I asked if I could have a few - and the generous lady that my Mom is, she gave me almost all of them!



Back to the beginning - this circle of small bits of trash = love. I took her blocks and made some bags. I have been playing with Yarn applique on bags lately, and trying to "free craft" - make bags without a plan. Just make and design as you go.



I am pretty pleased with the result! But the best part is the history behind the bags. The lucky lady who gets one will have the result of many generations and families of women hanging from her arm. Maxine's stash included fabrics from HER mother's stash; fabrics saved from dresses, quilts, aprons and all kinds of crafts. Two families, four generations, tiny bits of fabric = love, art, craft - the true beauty behind sewing.

xo, Ambie
Etsy
AnneMarieBeard
TheBeardedLadiesPresent

Photoblog: From Luggage to Art to New Spring Bags!

I am off to San Diego tomorrow! I have been so uber busy sewing and cleaning and making hangtags etc.... that I kept forgetting to blog. So to make things easy on myself tonight, I emptied my camera of images and chose a few to share with you!

First off, I finally finished my display luggage. That's right folks, I made this sweet puppy all on my own - it's really just an envelope style bag with lots of velcro and fancy webbing and buckles to hold everything in... 2 pieces of gridwall, shelving, etc...





Next, a sneak peek at my pattern development. I am working on a line of patterns to publish for other crafty people - and a big part of the process is started. Soon enough I will be teaching classes, so to prepare I took pictures of my pattern pieces on fabric for a cutting layout and to determine the amount of yardage to use.



I also snapped lots of photos of my new Spring Bags!!! I have been working on them for a few weeks, and they are all finally finished. I took a huge batch to Parts & Labour today, and packed the rest for San Diego. I will post some for sale on Etsy next week, but you can see a sneak peek preview below!

The Rosie Bag...


The Paige Bag...


Finally, after a lot of hard work, I relaxed and made some art. I wanted to show you how messy making a tiny piece of art can be - paint, fabric scraps, glue, glitter.... how do I fit all of those crafting supplies in my tiny apartment?



Then - the finished piece of art - just a fun little canvas square to let my creative juices flow.



Wish me luck at Appel & Frank!
Anne Marie