As the result of some enforced domestication (due to a stinker of a cold), and being gifted some lovely vintage fabric by a work colleague... I woke up on Saturday with an urge to design..
a book bag!
What do you think? - it's just big enough to take a couple of paperbacks or a nice hardback, with handles big enough to loop over a forearm - perhaps for a literary nosebag for a long journey?
The fabric given to me was some wonderful old suiting that Anne-Marie reckoned was 1930's or 40's - and this amazing lining fabric - which appropriately reminded me of fireworks...
While sewing, the combination of fabrics reminded me of wartime, as the pattern could be fireworks or lights from the blitz - again all quite relevant to this Remembrance weekend.
I wanted the lining to start further down inside the bag, so then had to think how the handles would come out - so they are also recessed. I quite like the idea of finding a use for that slot - perhaps to hold a pen?
The original idea was to sew right round the mouth of the bag in a contrasting thread to fasten the handles further up - but the suiting fabric was so fine, it looked better with as little stitching as possible.
In the end I just did a stitch line on the outside. The handles have a little flash of the lining sewn in as a detail. I'm intending to give the bag to the lady who donated the fabric, as she had held on to it for so long, I felt she should have something from it, plus it has inspired me to move along with this design I have been ruminating about for a while!
Coincidentally - while I was cutting out my patterns - this parcel arrived from Ginny. I was fortunate enough to win one of her Morsbags in the recent giveaway. So give a bag, gain a bag!
I used it today Ginny and it is great - big and strong to hold a lot of shopping!
By the way, Ginny is also running a series of posts about gratitude and being grateful throughout November... a Thanksgiving if you will. I hope to be joining her, as I have found it hard to get time to do many creative or extracurricular things to blog about - and this will be a nice simplistic way to blog and to bring me back to that noticing space.
Today I am grateful for the wonderful connections and serendipity blogging and making through the patchwork dress has brought me xx
It's great to see how that marvelous fabric inspired you to get that design drawn, cut, sewn and finished!
I particularly love the fireworks lining fabric. Really timeless design, even though it's clear when it got printed.
Every time that I visit your site, I see something that makes me want to make something, too.
Thank you! xo
Posted by: frances | November 09, 2009 at 11:25 PM
gorgeous fabic- and i really love reading your thought and design process. so interesting! the finished object is beautiful. xx
Posted by: melissa | November 13, 2009 at 10:35 PM
... we always seem to have these wonderful coincidences... glad you like the bag and i love the fireworks fabric... so now you are set to go to the library and buy your groceries... have 2 bags... can go to town!
hope your weekend is good x
Posted by: ginny | November 14, 2009 at 10:54 PM