Thursday, July 8, 2010

So Not a Sewer

The third project in The Artistic Mother  is to create a tote bag to carry your altered journal/poetry book. I wasn't sure if I really wanted to do it because I don't see myself carrying my journal around with me -- but then I thought that it would be fun to try printing on canvas (and it would have been had my computer and printer co-operated with each other!!! Such a simple thing -- and yet it took me hours to make my printer work!), and it would be a good opportunity for me to practise my sewing skills. As you'll see, I need all the practise I can get!

So, after printing an old photo of my mother on some gesso-primed canvas using my inkjet printer, I dug through our stash of scrap fabric (acquired through freecycle -- an amazing resource of free stuff! -- from a lady who makes custom dog collars) and came up with this collection of squares, cut as per the instructions in the book. (You'll notice that I didn't think ahead in planning the size of my printed photo. I could have redone it easily enough -- if my printer had been co-operative! But it was refusing to communicate with my computer effectively, so I stuck with what I had. A little extra white space never hurt anyone.)




 For the back of the bag, I chose a piece that had once been a curtain or something and already had beads attached to it. That turned out to make the project a bit more challenging, but I like the danglies:) I ended up modifying the pattern a bit because I realized that if I followed the instructions exactly, my bag would be too small for my book!




 As you can see, in spite of lines drawn to facilitate perfectly lined up squares, none of my corners matched. I am so not a sewer! I considered ripping out the seams and starting again, but decided I didn't need to have a perfect bag. It has more character this way, right?  



 Ya -- so don't examine the lines too carefully! ;)



This is the fabric I used for the handles. It happened to be the perfectly sized and shaped piece of fabric for the job! This was my first time ever using -- oh, what's it called -- my brain is failing me -- that white backing stuff you iron on to make the fabric stiff. Is it called interfacing?!?!? Anyway -- that stuff is really cool!

 It was shortly after this point (below) -- when I actually started sewing the lining to the bag -- that I began to question my sanity for even beginning the project! I broke a needle on the sewing machine, and for some reason the machine kept coming unthreaded before and after that happened. I ended up going to bed with only about 3 more inches left to sew, thinking that might just be the end of it. However, I rose before the children and tried one more time -- and I was done in a flash! It's amazing what a little sleep can do to make the world look better!



Next was the most exciting part -- the "birthing" of the bag! I've never made a lined anything before, so I wasn't convinced I'd done things right. But I'd made a quilt before -- so I had hope . . .


Sweet! It worked! It was at this point, when I put the lining into the bag where it belonged, that I really learned how an iron is a sewer's best friend! I was worried there for a while because my seams on the inside were making everything ugly!


 But here is the finished  product, of which I'm really rather proud :)

And here's the back. The little pocket was my own addition -- I wanted a place for my little Joy notebook.


And here are the journal and tote together:

BTW -- in case you're wondering, I really HAVE been using my journal :) I even wrote a poem yesterday. As I told my daughter (who was lamenting that a song she wrote wasn't very good), I know it isn't brilliant poetry -- but it felt really good to write it. Sometimes the process is more important than the product.





 These are the other little treasures that are tucked (or rather stuffed) into my little tote (making me wish it were a tad bigger). Just a bit of inspiration . . .



So there it is -- another project completed! It sure had its ups and downs -- but I'm really pleased that I stuck with it and finished it.

Are there any creative endeavours that you started and were glad you finished? Are there any you started and wish you'd finished? Why not pick one up again and follow it through to completion. I'll bet you'll feel good about exercising your creativity :)



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15 comments:

  1. YAHOO! That is a beautiful bag and you will love it all the more because of its birthing story! I am impressed by the extra pocket and all the lovely details. You were smart to make it bigger (which is, believe me, easier to sew in that lining!) and no one will notice the corners not matching - they will be awed by its magnificence :)

    I made a second bag, larger (16 squares) and it was so much easier the second time around. You are so right: putting the lining in and then pulling the outside through IS a thrilling moment.

    Looking forward to seeing more of your projects (I am languishing in the altered storybook project - why? I cannot say!)

    ♥ Lis (coming over from CED and also in Artistic Mother Group!)

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  2. Thank you so much for your kind comments, Lis :) Isn't it funny how elements of the blogging world collide and you start meeting the same people in different places? I think it's cool! LOL

    Have you posted your work from TAM projects? (I haven't joined the official group yet.) I'm going to pop over to your blog to take a peek . . .

    Thank you so much for stopping by and leavin' some love :)LOL

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  3. I find your bag so beautiful!
    What an undertaking to make - it turned out wonderfully. I've been wanting to make myself a bag and I think you've inspired me to finally do it!
    thanks :)

    (I found you through CED - we're both in Ontario!) ☺

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  4. You are inspiring me. My Summers get so chaotic - I stopped working through my Artistic Mother book (though I am told to keep posting related blog posts and then come back to the projects when Summer simmers down.) I have been thinking perhaps I ought to collect everything necessary for the projects during this hiatus time - I have a new printer and I am actually AFRAID to use it for fancy printing. On the project where we made our "to do" on painted paper, my printer made weird noises and coughed and sputtered... so I got a bit spooked.

    I love how your bag turned out and I tend to carry my notebooks and journals with me in a backpack, anyway - but perhaps I ought to rethink and retry this project. I loved your enthusiasm about lining and I love that Lis made a larger bag. I need to try that out, too... since I usually write in larger journals, that way I could carry both.

    YAY for inspiration from one another!

    My CED2010 for this week.

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  5. The combinations is swell! Love the fabrics and purpose! Bravo!

    Happy Creative Everyday!

    love, kelee

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  6. Liberty -- I'm thrilled to have inspired you :) That is my goal with this blog -- cuz if I can do it, others sure can, too! Thanks for letting me know how you found your way here -- for some reason that always interests me. And it's nice to know there are fellow Ontarians in CED:)

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  7. Julie -- I'm glad you were inspired, too! :)And it's so cool to see all these TAM workshoppers popping up here :)Have you posted your creations? I'd love to see them.

    I know what you mean about the printer and being afraid of what you feed through. For my to-do list, I ended up working with the scanned background instead of the actual painted background, since we were meant to scan and print them afterwards anyway. They turned out well -- but I can't say I've been using them! I guess I'm not a planner. (Actually, I know I'm not. I get frustrated when I spend a bunch of time creating a plan and then I don't end up following through on it for whatever reason. That just makes me feel guilty -- so if I don't plan, I don't feel the guilt of not going with my plan:)

    Now I'm going to go check out your link . . .

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  8. Julie -- I'm glad you were inspired, too! :)And it's so cool to see all these TAM workshoppers popping up here :)Have you posted your creations? I'd love to see them.

    I know what you mean about the printer and being afraid of what you feed through. For my to-do list, I ended up working with the scanned background instead of the actual painted background, since we were meant to scan and print them afterwards anyway. They turned out well -- but I can't say I've been using them! I guess I'm not a planner. (Actually, I know I'm not. I get frustrated when I spend a bunch of time creating a plan and then I don't end up following through on it for whatever reason. That just makes me feel guilty -- so if I don't plan, I don't feel the guilt of not going with my plan:)

    Now I'm going to go check out your link . . .

    Thanks for stopping by and commenting!

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  9. Kelee -- thank you for your kind comment. Nice comments go such a long way in boosting my confidence! :)

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  10. You did an amazing job! I love your choice of fabrics. Very bohemian.

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  11. My goodness...this little bag is so cute!

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  12. Your little bag is so beautiful. You did a great job on it. Thanks for sharing.

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