Custom Project

PLenox (of Lenox Knits at http://www.plenox.etsy.com) commissioned a bag from this cape. Since she's my sister-in-law (we're married to twins, how cool, eh?) she was able to be patient while I persisted with holiday inventory.
I've handled the fabric a good many times, trying to figure out how to mastermind the transformation, but walked away again and again. The problems had to do with the existing shape of the fabric and the odd sizing, since a cape features more fabric in the front panel than the rear panel, minus the v-neck. The other trick was to figure out how to work with the boxy pattern. It met the trim diagonally/crooked so I couldn't use the bottom of the cape as the top of the purse.

Tonight, I figured it out, though not without some unforeseen tassel issues and seam-ripping. I made it as large as the fabric allowed (17" across and 20" tall) with a couple of pockets inside and a magnet closure. I'm pleased with the bag, and I sure hope she likes it! I even named it.

Next project: a t-shirt quilt for my husband. Once that's done, I'm on to making art-quilt wall hangings and some scoodies, which I learned about from a Thread Heads video on YouTube, via the ThreadBanger website (http://www.threadbanger.com/). Please check it out--you'll be amazed at, and grateful for, the DIY power they wield!

Scattered Thoughts

I haven't made the time to create anything new in more than a week. Between grading papers and attending holiday functions with my family, I'd have to sacrifice a lot of sleep to work on my crafts, and with all the viruses floating around at work, I know I need to sleep each night.

Fortunately, I have inventory galore from craft show prep, and can list one or two items a day for a while. Key fobs and pendants (like those pictured above) are now on my Etsy page, http://grayeyedscorpio.etsy.com.

I have a snow day (ice day, actually) today and am all caught up on grading, so if Booper naps this afternoon, I'll begin work on a custom purse order. My sister-in-law gave me a beautiful cape made of a woven suiting material that she wants transformed into a bag. I've been rolling ideas around in my brain for more than a month now and feel ready to begin. I am enthusiastic about it, though I generally dislike custom work. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, for I'm flattered by requests, but the constraints of an assignment take the fun out of the process--just like with reading. I love to read and will often finish a book in days, but if it's assigned reading I approach each page with reluctance.

Also, with a custom order, there is fear about "messing up". When I make my one-offs, I'm just playing around with fabric and seeing what happens, but when I'm working on something specific, there's pressure.

On an unrelated note, I recently discovered that seat belts are expensive. I had planned to integrate seat belts from wrecked cars into my designs as straps, handles, and embellishment, but a trip to a salvage yard demolished that plan. To cut one seat belt from a wrecked car was going to run me $30 or more. No thanks, I'll stick with my suppliers of nylon and cotton webbing. Seriously--$30!?