The Treasure Island Flea and Me

What would I do without Paula? She's been one of my most ardent supporters and fans, and a faithful chronicler of my shows thus far. This lovely collage is from last weekend's Treasure Island Flea, where I learned that wind and fabric bags just don't mix. Good thing my trusty photographer was there to take some pictures before everything up and blew away. Thanks again, Paula!

As for the venue, I think it's probably not for me. But I had a great time nonetheless and scored some awesome soap from the Faerie Goatmother, a trade for one of my upcycled bags!

I'm going to take a little break from the show circuit for now, but I'm definitely going to keep sewing. With less pressure to produce, I think I'll be able to try some new things and learn a few new tricks!

Little Treasures

With the Treasure Island Flea almost here, I've been working on putting tags on all of my purses and tying zipper bags that go together with cute ribbons. I also sewed some more small bags with Jim's artwork on them and made some scrappy keychains, as shown above. Just three more days!!!

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!

Hippie Bags

Crossbody bags with straps that hit at the hip are all the rage, so I just had to try making a few with the home decor fabric samples (the lining is thrift store fabric) I got last week. The black ones are a little larger, but the ones on the bottom are just big enough for a pack of clove cigarettes and a hacky sack. I'm totally picturing some crunchy granola chicks dancing around on the grass wearing one of my upcycled creations. Is that crazy?

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!