Five Polka dot purses.....

I am back from a week up north on vacation and had some wonderful sewing time. Anticipating one or two grand-nieces coming by, I took along my clown & polka dot fabric collection. I am pleased to say that my sisters and 2 grand nieces had a great time selecting fabrics and making purses.

I had made up three purses as prototypes, so that they could select the style they wanted to make.
The Bias Purse bag, shown in the previous post.
A shoulder bag based on Tiny Happy's tutorial, here.
And a quilted patchwork purse, the tutorial is here.


The quilted patchwork won out with most of us. For 9 year old Miranda this was her first sewing project. She was really excited about selecting the fabrics and as she put it together she just kept saying, "I love how this looks". This was a great pattern for a first project because it is all straight sewing. She was great to coach, she was even a good sport about having to rip out some of the seams that had wandered too far from straight.











What a wonderful look of pride on her face, she made this herself!



Miranda's grandma, my sister Bonnie, made this version of the patchwork purse. The two side stripes of denim give the bag a nice look. Note the one strip of bobby pin fabric, I selected this especially for Bonnie, as she is a hairdresser.




Here we are, what a trio!






Next came Makenzie and my sister Karen. Makenzie wanted to make the bias tape bag shape with the quilted stripes. Makenzie has experience sewing quilting squares together and has a note book of designs for doll clothes that she wants to sew.

A budding designer, what fun to work with her. We did make one doll outfit together but I forgot to get a picture.

I made this bag for my sister Karen, Makenzie's grandma.






The second batch of polka dot purses...
Sharing this creative time with my family was a highlight of my vacation. I can't help but think that my mother, the late Suzie the Love Clown, would be thrilled to see her offspring sewing and enjoying polka dots and clowns as we all did last week.

Am I tired of polka dots or this purse pattern? No. I have plans to make one for my sister in law. : )