Bag Lady

Hello readers!  It seems I am finding more time to blog whilst on holiday, usually when I am awake early before anyone else stirs.  I like to make the most of these few hours to myself and today, I'd like to show you one of my recent makes.

So last week, with the annual pilgrimage to the Festival of Quilts on the horizon, packing and sorting for a week away thereafter and well, just lots to do, I had the urge to spend a day sewing something completely new.  Does this happen to you?  Inconvenient, isn't it, but very enjoyable and a tad indulgent all the same.  I'd created a new display on my inspirational "Bagpuss table" (sorry, I forgot to take a pic before I left), and the fabrics I'd brought together on there were calling to me.  I'd been collecting them a while.  Truth be told, they're not the colour palette I usually work with but I loved them just the same.  Whenever I think of 1940's style, this colour palette always comes to mind.  (I did fiddle around with this selection, and discard a few I felt weren't working, before I started.)

I was hankering after a new bag.  I've always loved the patchwork bag I made a few years ago and had been meaning to make myself another.  You can never have too many bags, right?  So I began cutting squares of these gorgeous vintage fabrics.  I also wanted to incorporate some bits of vintage embroidery, as I had with my other bag, and so I rooted in my "cutters" drawer.  I found one cloth with a complimentary colour scheme which already had a nice ivory coloured background.  The other cloth I found, which was damaged and thereby suitable for chopping, had a white background which I felt would look too stark.  So I hacked a section off.  A large bowl and some tea bags and hot water later saw me doing this...

Yes, tea dying the vintage cloth.  It came out looking great after about half an hour's soak and a quick rinse and dry in the sun.

Time to get patchworking.  Arranging the fabrics and piecing them together is my favourite bit.

I didn't want to waste pretty and costly vintage fabric on the base so I decided to make this as a separate piece and used corduroy as I know from experience that this area needs to be made from something hard wearing and not too easy to get dirty.  I also felt it was sort of utilitarian enough to go with the '40's vibe, too and finally, and importantly, it was available there and then from The Stash.

It wasn't too long before it began to take shape.  

I wanted to add some purchased handles and managed to find what I wanted at The Festival of Quilts on Thursday.  Guess what I did in my hotel room on Thursday night before the boys arrived to join me?

I used a pretty vintage feedsack for the lining.

So by Friday morning, my bags were ready to shop, shop, shop!

Here in Derbyshire, we're enjoying some lovely moochy days around the Peak District.  We enjoyed market day in Bakewell and a wander around its pretty streets.

We went to Monsal Head for a gigantic Sunday lunch (the portions up here are amazing!) but more importantly, to savour the breathtaking view.

To accompany a little late afternoon crafty time, there has been this, of course...

And time to look at that new bag.

I decided a handmade posy would be a good finishing touch.

Just so you know, my bag goes well with the vintage wardrobe!

There are often stalls at the 1940's events where you can purchase vintage clothes and the like, so it's nice not to have to ruin your carefully planned outfit with a modern carrier bag!

 Thanks for reading. Xxx