Sunday, April 6, 2014

In My Sewing Room and We're Talking Bags

After the dress dummy I fell into the world of 'bags', grocery and hand to be exact.  In the midst of sewing my timing gears wore out and the machine was in the shop for a week.  In a previous post I shared I got my first Singer in 1980.  There was a flurry of initial sewing but then only minimal action for about 31 years.  Since 2011 I've worn out the timing gears twice with A LOT of sewing but also, more likely, yanking heavier materials than is wise between the feed dogs and needle.

Yet, I have not been deterred but more surprisingly rewarded!  My attentive husband, D.; patiently watching me spin and thread, cut and construct, curse and kick spied a Brother Laura Ashley CX155A sewing machine on Amazon's Daily Hot Deals.  Their selling point, "goes through 5 layers of material" caught his eye, the selling point to me "99 decorative programmable stitches"!

I am eager to start the Dog rag quilt but I needed to finish up the bag projects which today, are complete.

The reversible grocery bags from a t-shirt and fabric were a breeze and very useful.





A regional sweatshirt was headed to a pillow case but turned into a tote instead.
The initial large bottom seemed plain and uninspired (not to mention the pockets inside were wrong).  A revamp fixed the pockets, rounded up the bottom and became a test for 2 of the 99 stitches.  The craftsmanship is clearly first-round but a lot was learned in the process.



This smaller purse received the bonus of lessons learned.  From a sweater to a handbag
I love how this purse turned out.  Handbags are a project that will definitely be revisited.

 
The sewing room has been cleaned and restocked, fabric picked out and pattern prepared.

Let the quilting begin.