Lilly of the Valley - Flowers for my mum

My mum's favourite flowers have always been Lilly of the Valley. 

The first time she saw them, I think, was when she went to Paris, France, in her early twenties. They don't grow in Portugal, where she comes from and lives, so they are very special, and exotic,  to her. Everytime I see the first Lilly of the Valley delicate flowers shooting up in the late Swedish Spring, I always call her to tell her about it!

When I found this fabulous floral fabric on Retrodepot I just knew I had to make something out of it for my mum. So I made this bag.

 

It is of course yet another size variation of  the Charming Handbag, pattern by Amy Karol, from Bend the Rules Sewing. Only here I have exchanged the handle for a shoulder strap. This is the third size (original size here and XL here!) I Have used for this same pattern. It is definitely a perfect pattern to use in different sizes.

 

The lining is a recycled old, but almost unused shirt that my partner had, literally, grown out of. It's a lovely thin, smooth cotton of very good quality!

The three little buttons I stiched to the decorative ribbon on the outside were new, but they have a very old-fashioned, vintage look to them, which was what I really liked about them. And they went perfectly with the Lilly of the Valley fabric.

Commission - Bags and Purses

I was commissioned 3 bags and 4 purses to be given away as Christmas presents.

I had a pattern in mind with pleats. Pleats have always been a bit of a scary thought, but in the end it's just folding the fabric. I put a simple pleat on each side of the bag and it gives the bag a bit of volume.

Because of the "A" shaped effect of the pleat and the slight "A" shape of the actual bag, I thought "A-Line" Shoulder Bag would be an appropriate name for this pattern. What do you think?

"A-Line" Shoulder bag
Pattern by Miss Pelicano
Fabric by Åhléns

"A-Line" Shoulder bag
Pattern by Miss Pelicano
Fabric from IKEA

This one is the Amy Karol Charming Handbag, from Bend the Rules Sewing, but in an expanded XL version. So now it's more of a shoulder bag, but still quite charming, I think. This is a fun pattern to try in many sizes. The fabric is also from Åhléns.

The orange and the lime green polka dot linings are from a small local fabric shop in Lisbon, Portugal. The light blue polka dot lining is from Panduro.


These are the 4 little purses:

Fabric for purses - left to right: 1. Åhléns 2. Vera Bradley fabric from local shop in Lisbon, Portugal 3. Traditional Portuguese "Chita", from local shop in Portugal 4."Willow" pattern, from local shop in England.
Polka dot linings are from Portugal and Sweden.

I think I like polka dot linings!

Note: The lucky ladies getting these presents don't know about this blog. That's why I can publish the photos ahead of time!

Note: Let me know if you are interested in a tutorial for the "A-Line" shoulder bag! You are welcome to use these ideas but I would really appreciate it if you link to my blog/post! Thank you! And have fun!

2nd of Advent

To celebrate the 2nd of Advent we of course lit the second candle of our Advent candles.

And to celebrate this Season with you have a laugh with my entry for Amy Karol's
Angry Chicken Tie One On - Peppermint Candy Apron gallery.

Here I am!

And here are more photos:

A birthday present for my sister

It's my sister's birthday and I've sent her a Charming Handbag.


The pattern is by Amy Karol, from her book Bend the Rules Sewing which has lots of fun sewing projects.

The outer fabric is from Åhléns. The lining is vintage fabric.



Hidden inside is a matching necklace.


I hope she likes it!

Happy Birthday Ana!

This is the first project I've made from Amy Karol's book but there are lots of other projects I can't wait to try!
Sewing is a new interest, so while all the talented and experienced craftspeople out in the craftosphere who have inspired me to start sewing have already "been there, done that", I am running trying to catch up. But I'm having lots of fun!

More Bibs for Babies

Yesterday I finished and gave away these two new bibs.

One for a beautiful girl

and one for a beautiful boy.


I hope they enjoy them!
I think she does!

The fabric was bought at Panduro.

I know that Amy Karol has a pattern for a bib like this in her inspiring book Bend the Rules Sewing.
But I had actually traced an old shop bought bib from one of my children before I got her book.
A project from Bend the Rules Sewing will come up soon on my blog!