The Best Day Ever

It happened! The spring Patchwork Modern Handmade Festival was on Sunday and I know that I am prone to hyperbole but it was the BEST DAY EVER. Seriously, I had a terrific time and I did sell more stuff than I ever have before.

It was truly the upcycled upholstery totes seen on the rack below that were the star of the show. I priced them at $39, worried that was going to be too expensive, but ended up selling eight of them! Everyone looked at the neon deer print bags but no one bought one. I sold both of those black and white ones, which didn't surprise me because I have one just like it and people compliment it all the time! Plus I sold some zipper bags and some hot pads, and two of the new leather clutches I made just last week.

Anyway, it's not just sales that make a show: The atmosphere and the organizers were top-notch just like last time and I enjoyed talking with my crafty colleagues, also as you can see from the last two photos my family even stopped by. They (as well as my husband, not pictured because he's camera shy, and my mom, who always comes to my craft fairs and tries to bring along some friends) have been a great support to me.

I was especially glad this show went well because last week I found out that I didn't get into the Renegade Craft Fair. It's a notoriously hard one to land but it made me pretty sad nonetheless and doubt myself just a little bit. But I'm OK now, thanks for asking.

See you in the fall, Patchwork!

A Few More ...

Upcycling My Little Heart Out

One Part Inspiration

One of the great things about selling my bags is that is has brought me into contact with some really amazingly creative people who are an endless source of inspiration. Case in point is the mother-daughter team that runs Multiple Threads, a reincarnated clothing shop on Solano Avenue in Berkeley.

I've been bringing my upcyled upholstery bags to them for a while now, and I love stopping by the shop because I always see something amazing there. Diane and her daughter, whose name escapes me right now, have a studio set up in the back and just about every time I go in there they are sewing something new.

Recently, they told me about some jackets they were making out of vintage floursacks and suggested that some bags from the same material would be great. So I went to the Alameda flea market for the floursacks and here you can see what I came up with: Two totes and a zippered clutch, lined with thrift store finds and flanked with denim accents.

I have to admit I didn't love working with these sacks. They were tough, impossible to cut in a straight line it seemed, and they made a big mess! But they came out pretty well, no? I hope they like them!

Shiny!

So I showed this bag to my sister, who has historically been the only person to really give me any real criticism, or "honesty" about my bags. She's pointed out a few stinkers, and I appreciate it.

But on this one, I think she's wrong. She was turned off by the reflective quality of the bottom on this one, and says she doesn't like the print in the middle. But I'm standing by it.

This bag is a crazy patchwork marriage of FIVE different upcycled upholstery samples, so yeah, it's going to be a little wackadoodle just by its very nature. But I like it. I think it works. To quote Firefly's Capt. Reynolds, "shiny!"

What say ye?

Tote-ally Rad

Some more tote bags, all rad IMHO. A rainbow one (natch), plus two scrappy little numbers and an upcycled upholstery bag accented by a denim bottom.

Rainbow Connection

A few weeks ago I went all OCD with my scraps, sorting them in these clear containers by color. This inspired a bunch of rainbow scrap zipper bags that I don't seem to have any pictures of right now, except for the one that got mixed in with the upcycled zipper bags posted below. But my favorite is this giant beach tote I'll be taking on my Sweet Cozumel Palace Resort vacation.

Sew Little Time, Part 2

These pictures will just have to be worth 1,000 words :)

Stripes and Vines

Here's two more upcycled bags, a lovely set of vine fabric samples with complementary stripes. Stripes go with everything!

More Bags Galore

Can you believe I made all these bags this weekend? (It's only nine, not 10. The one in the middle is the same bag, just reversible.) And yes, I did leave the house a couple of times! My neighbors must be tired of hearing the hum of my sewing machine. These are all made with the upholstery samples, with the occasional thrift store lining thrown in, and I still have a ton left. I'm calling it my bottomless bag of fabric!

Match Made in Upcycling Heaven

Upcycling is so often a case of kismet. I have a crazy giant collection of fabric, about half bought new and half from thrift stores and my friend the Dumpster  Diva. One of the best things about sewing is pawing through what I've got and finding things that will look great together.

This gorgeous thing is  made from home decor fabric samples on the outside, and on the inside a batik fabric Paula found for me at a thrift store (or estate sale? I don't remember which). They are a match made in heaven, don't you agree?

Oh, and the leather-like strap is actually pleather I got in one of my Thrift Town grab bags. I'd have never knowingly brought something like that home but it turned out to be just the perfect thing. No animals were harmed in the making of this tote bag!

Upcycling With People

I hope you're sitting down. This may come as a shock. In honor of Earth Day this year, I decided to ... wait for it ... SEW SOME PURSES. Boy, that came out of nowhere didn't it? Ha ha.

Anyway, a longtime fan of reuse (in theory), I now have the sewing skills to (actually) repurpose tons of stuff. Since I started sewing I've been a regular at Thrift Town, where I am always sure to find bags of fabric for around $2 that hold untold treasures. And the East Bay Center for Creative Reuse is my other mecca, and thankfully closer to my home. There I get fabric and tons of notions, and the last time I was there I got a boatload of zippers for 20 cents each. You know how excited I get about zippers!

Then last week at the Martinez SWAN Day I met a woman who calls herself the Dumpster Diversion Diva and I traded her one of my bags for a bunch of fabric samples she'd collected from an interior designer who was going to throw these gems away!

So this weekend I made a bunch of stuff from that fabric, including my favorites: The three rope bags in navy blue, brown and red/white. The crossbody was pieced together from some smaller samples (strap included) and the larger tote was a sample that I put a grey bottom on from some scraps I had around.

On the left is a patchwork beauty from some thrift store pieces. All in all, a productive weekend of upcyling.

Happy Earth Day everyone!

Two Great Things ...

Jim's art and my sewing: Two great things that go great together.

This is officially my favorite bag ever because it is the first collaboration the Jim and I ever did. Last week we remembered some iron-on transfer paper we'd bought forever ago so we gave this a try. You have to really iron the hell out of it to make it stick but his beautiful drawings and my mad sewing skillz (not to mention ability to pick out the perfect fabric to go with it) are resulting in some really cool bags. We made eight (four zipper bags and three totes) and five of them sold this past weekend at the craft fairs, but I snagged this one for my very own. I will love it forever, I'm sure of it.

Stay tuned, because Jim is working on another drawing so I see more zipper bags in my future. Yay!

Sew Many Bags!

Totes Adorbs

Is it normal for sewists to be inspired by the scraps sitting around their sewing areas? Sometimes when I am just trying to tidy my space I wind up making something, like the quilted panels above that are made with the crazy triangle squares left over from the banners I made two weeks ago. And the second photo, a tote made with the remainders of my lining from the turquoise blue polka dot bags I made last week. Even though they started out as afterthoughts, I think they turned out totally adorable.

P.S. I wish my photography skills were as good!

Rainy Day Blues

It's been raining on and off for the past few weeks and unfortunately it's all but certain that it will be raining for the arts and crafts fair this weekend. Which is really, really sad. But not so sad that I didn't whip up this pair of waterproof blue polka dot totes, with the cutest complimentary fabric inside. When the world gives you rain, make rain-proof purses!