The Great Tote Bag Challenge

Today I cut the fabric for 5 Christmas gift tote bags. The below picture is the stack of cut fabric, with the makings of three pillows in there as well. I decided that the Great Tote Bag Challenge would give me some incentive to get moving on this pile and put some check marks on the "to make" list. Originally, the challenge involved me making one bag per day this week. Then, I remembered I like sewing and do not hate myself.

Sometimes deadlines on the things I love create resentment towards something I once enjoyed. Its like the people who kill them selves around the holidays to make dozens upon dozens of holiday cookies for everyone from the bus driver to dear friends. (Note to my cookie factory friends...come holidays, despite what I have said here, please leave me on the list. I live for the ones with the jam in the middle. And the almond crescents.) I lowered the bar to three bags this week, a much more realistic target.


Here is to another week of crafting :)

Eye candy pictures: flowering tree, Union Square





Despite these summery pictures, taken this week at lunch, I am getting in the fall and holiday spirit with pumpkin pies! I bought some cream puffs from Beard Papas (a Japanese cream puff bakery of AMAZING caliber) for dessert on Saturday, including the daily special, a pumpkin flavored puff. It was amazing, and inspired me to bake a pumpkin pie today. Almost the time of year to make my favorite fudge, sugar cookies, and celebrate uninhibited sweets intake.

New Fabric

Britex, the fabric sanctuary of SF, had its semi annual sale Monday and Tuesday. Four stories of glorious, beautiful sale fabric. Britex has a ton of designer fabric, fabulous home decor type fabrics, etc. Their wools are to die for, but it is much more economical to just buy wool clothes vs. the gorgeous $90/yard hounds tooth at Britex. I drool over them every time.

I was keeping an eye out for sari fabric for Sew Bella, but again, at $150 a yard, the selection was gorgeous, but a bit out of reach!


I picked up two half yards of simple cotton, for a whopping 9 bucks, for Christmas present tote bags. I have people in mind for both these fabrics! Yaaay holiday time :)

Bag Parade

We have bags! My effort to learn how to sew while simultaneously spicing up my bag life continues, with the following results:




I sewed a liner with a pocket into the first bag I made. There is some bunching at one of the liner's seams, so I might go back and rip it out, but I might not. At the moment, the bag is housing the materials for my 3rd turn a square hat.

My yummy Asian print bag is completed! My reversible bag with bottom panel action was a success!




The fat bottomed bag has a fall colors side, and a cool purple, green and blue side.


I loooove it!




This is my new purse of the moment, and all my junk has been transferred into it. Its a good size (12" wide x 9" tall, with 22" handles.)





Now in the works is a slightly larger bag, in a red and black Spanish fan print:



In this same fabric I have a skirt cut, pinned and ready to sew, but I thought I would continue to practice on bags for a bit (read i am now addicted to bags. If you know me personally and are female, expect one at Christmas). I bought a bunch of small bits of fabric to make piecework pillows, but I fear they might succumb to the bag craze.

And a little taste of the season from a Sonoma County farm...enjoy your weekends!

Where has my knitting gone?

First and foremost--knitting news (this is a knitting blog, isn't it?!?) I frogged my third Turn A Square hat because I did not have enough grey yarn to go on, and the Noro was turning a gorgeous shade of pink and magenta, but the recipient is a man who does not love pink and has a firey red beard... not sure hot magenta would look so awesome.


Good bye first Noro project (in its third iteration)..... I loved you so. I will move on to some more grey stash yarn, and throw in some Rowan natural silk aran (same as my cowl) for the stripes. I am visiting this mountainous recipient this weekend, so hopefully I can get most of the hat done on the car ride there.











In sewing news...


My bag plan seems to be working. I wanted to make a small reversible tote, with a bottom panel that I can use as a fun purse. My plan was to make two bags sans handle, of the same measurements, then put there wrong sides together, and sew the top.



This is completely fly by the seat of my pants, and it seems to be working. I labored over how to sew the bottom panel in last night, and after an hour we had this:








I love the sewing. It has such a different process that knitting, but is still as just as intensely process oriented. In sewing it seems to be in the prep, the geometry, the pressing, the pinning, the cutting. The actual time using the machine has comprised a surprisingly small amount of my sewing time--its mostly prep.



Did you know Chinatown is colorful and vibrant on a dark morning at 6am? Please forgive crappy ISO...it was early...



PS. Dearest Swallotwail, I have not forgotten or forsaken you. I have come to the conclusion that lace knitting might not be my favorite kind of knitting. Perhaps I will like knitting lace in a chunkier sock type weight. I will finish you, I will. --rosa

Purse in Progress

I have made the possibly unwise decision to jump directly from basic tote to reversible tote with a bottom panel... and I am not giving up! Here are my chosen fabrics, cut, pressed and pinned.














I love the fabrics, and have decided that rather than continue to carry professional black purses (read borrrrrrring), I want a handcrafted set of bags made from gorgeous and colorful fabrics. Everyone could use a little more color and beauty!