Bags for men

I was asked to make some more masculine grocery bags to sell at my congregation fund raising table. So I composed one with green corduroy and a GM old truck scrap of fabric for the pocket. The bottom I reinforced with black and white race fabric. So, it is definitely masculine, but it doesn't really go with the "save the environment by using cloth bag grocery bags" theme. Ah, we must live with irony I guess. This one just may have to go to my brother, the GM truck scrap is from a pillow that I made for him. I know he will find a use for it and won't mind the irony. So, I guess I still need to make those masculine grocery bags, it may be awhile till I make any more. I am going to the American Sewing expo for the next two days. I am looking forward to getting inspired about sewing!

My son Nathan's birthday is Oct 7, between his schedule and ours last Sunday was the day to celebrate. He is a record collector, so I made him a record bag. It's just the right size for an LP, I made it narrow in width, thinking he could use this for special records or light shopping. Although I am not sure if Nathan does "light" record shopping.

I had covered a canvas conference bag with black and white polka dot and domino fabric, Nathan's girlfriend admired it, and so it went home with her. It's nice to be able to give a useful gift!

I realized that my grocery bag tutorial does not include how I put the handles on my bags. So I took some pictures of the process and added them to the tutorial.

Art U Wear vest and jacket

I made a wool vest at a class led by Debra Youngs last week. Her web site is here. Debra is a great teacher for inspiring creativity. This vest is based on her right sided jacket pattern 101. I love the asymmetry of this garment. The pocket on the front will be very handy. I put one polished rock bead at the end of the button hole cord, you can see it if you click on the photo. I want to add more beads there. The polished rock is one that my father made, one of his many hobbies was rock polishing and jewelry making. I have several of these polished rocks and am always looking for a place to use them.

At the class Debra mentioned that she has a book coming out soon that will include this patter adaption. I don't see it mentioned on her web site yet.


I took her quilted jacket class last year. The uncut, unwashed fabric and muslin are quilted and then washed in hot water and dried, this makes it pucker up nicely. Her instructions for the quilting are to sew so that there was no more than 2 fingers width between any stitching. This makes a quilted jacket that is not too heavy or hot to wear. It is lined with regular garment lining.
Here is a photo of it, I made it to wear on my anniversary trip to Stratford, Ontario. Here I am with Will Shakesphere.

Jeans to grocery bag

My friend Cathy gave me several jean scraps and worn out jeans to play around with. Here is what I had left of this pair.


And here is the bag that they became. I transferred one of the hip pockets to the outside of the bag and used some other blue denim to finish the top. All of the inside seams were done on the serger.


So, off I go. (Sorry for the over exposed photo.)

Diaper bag gift

Here are a couple of pictures of Jessica receiving the diaper bag. She was very happy with it. The second picture is of Jessica and Merrill. Granddaughter Alexis Mary is due to arrive on October 1st.
You can see more of the making of the bag here and here. This is a really nice design, lots of pockets: open, zippered and with elastic tops. In all, this bag has 10 pockets! The pattern is from Bar-Bee Designs.

Blue jeans grocrery bag

Here is one very quick and easy way to make a recycled grocery bag. I got these boys size 10 jean shorts at a garage sale for 50 cents. I used the serger to connect the front and back legs into a center seam and then sewed across the bottom. The straps are two pieces of corduroy. This one has a pretty narrow top since the pants were a boys size, if you used adult pants it would be roomier at the top. I have noticed that small to medium grocery bags work best, as the large ones can get pretty heavy when loaded up.

Favorite Fall Flower

Japanese Anemone - I couldn't resist sharing this photo of a bloom in my garden. I just love this plant, the colors are wonderful and the structure of the plant looks kind of odd to me, reminds me of something from outer space. But the face of this little bloom, isn't it so sweet?

The diaper bag comes to life!

I have finished the diaper bag, what a fun project. This bag has 4 outer pockets, 4 inner pockets, and 2 zipper pockets - one underneath the fancy outer pocket and one in the lining. That should cover all the needed spots for mom and baby stuff.

Here are some more shots along the way. Here is the lining with all the pockets attached, ready to sew up the sides and bottom.


This is the outer bag, all done and waiting for the lining to be finished.

This is the birthing of the bag! (sorry I could not resist including this) The lining is sewn to the outer bag at the top and then the whole thing gets turned inside out through a 6 inch hole in the side of the lining. This is the funnest part of making a lined bag. : )

Anyway, here she is all done, hanging out in the garden with the dahlias.




The back view and inside views follow...