Whew! Having finished Artwalk, I have been concentrating on donation commitments made some time ago. The first was a fashion show benefitting women’s scholarships, the challenge being that the donations were to be refashioned from a thrift store. Let me just say that I now have infinite admiration for those of you who do this regularly and well, especially those ladies at Refashion Runway. If you haven’t checked out this blog, Renegade Seamstress, it is similar to Project Runway with weekly challenges, the difference being the projects start with a thrift store or cast off item.
This was a very difficult task for me because, in dismantling the canvas bag purchased from Salvation Army, I had a hard time deciding what to keep. With an armoire full of beautiful fabrics and trims, it is a challenge to use any of the old item. On this particular purse I managed to reclaim the animal print fabric for use on the interior. Knowing that the bag was to be used in a Holiday Fashion Show, I chose to take the fancy route.
BEFORE
AFTER
I know, I know…nothing like the original except inside. This is not my strong suit. Maybe it just takes practice and willpower not to use all new materials. Of “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle,” I guess I “reduced” more than I “reused!) 🙂
The next project was for a Breast Cancer Auction. A CraftApple pattern was chosen to create this handy little bag:
Anxious to try some new patterns, (the clutches are Ali Foster designs) I’ve ventured into small purses this week. Here are a few:
This floral bag was attached to the frame with E6000. The fabric (both interior and exterior) was quilted from a beautiful Hoffman fabric from my stash. It felt good to get the old walking shoe back on Betsy again! 
This last bag “gave me fits!” as they used to say in Indiana. I need to watch a tutorial (OH NO!) on using purse frames, both glueing and stitching. The quilted floral bag above was glued and turned out well. But with this last bag, I redid the stitching two or three times and it’s just okay, in my opinion. (Notice you’re not viewing the interior.) 🙂 The reason I didn’t give up on this bag is because the flower, fashioned from that vintage ruched ribbon, actually looked like I intended and I learned to make upholstery leaves! Yea! AND, they had already been sewn down (sturdily) before arriving at the last step–THE FRAME–yikes!
Yes, I am now Frightened of Frames! (A Halloween movie?) So, I’m off to find a Frame Tutorial! 🙂 (I’m not kidding…) Any recommendations?
It's Sew Anny! 