U-handblog

Name the bag sewing pattern - win the bag!!

Hooray finally finished and I'm delighted with her!!  This bag is going to be the newest addition to my paid for PDFs.  It also is going to be used for a bag workshop that I'm holding in May...

  Work that bag baby!  Boobs out and suck tummy in - you're on camera.

  This too cute bag is plenty roomy enough for a book, cardi, water, snacks, and your essentials (phone, keys, money etc.)

Long time readers might recognise this bag from here.  Now, much as I'd like to call this new pattern 'The Gas Bag' I'm thinking that this might cause confusion (and it's not the nicest name, is it really?)

I'm sure you can do a better job of naming the bag pattern - you usually do....

  Front view.  For a sweet summer bag choose romantic fabrics in light frothy colours (as I have done) or for a bag to beat them winter blues, plump for richly coloured wool tweeds or corduroys.

Measurements:

• Width = 16in (40cm)
• Depth = 2 3/4in (7cm)
• Height = 12in (30cm)

I do have a thing for curvey-ness don't I?  This bag has a rounded-off bottom corners and darts to add volume-y shapeliness.  The yoke is trimmed with contrast piping which looks scrummy and it reinforces the bag.

The centre pleat adds interest to the body of the bag and looks pretty darn preppy.  As for the decorative oversized self-cover buttons on the straps?  Well, I just want eat them!  The straps are triple stitched onto  the bag for super-strength.

This bag is secure.  The closure is a concealed top edge zip which has grab-tabs at either end for easy opening and closing.

Undo the zip and inside you'll find a roomy inner pocket.  Add one or two of these pocket to your lining as you wish.  All of the features and techniques on this bag are explained in the instructions on the pattern (except for the self-cover buttons - which are easier to make than sneezing!)

Contest Details (please read carefully)

Okay, hopefully you know the drill by now :)  I'll send the bag featured in this post (which is the 1st working prototype and it is poi-fect!) to one lucky winner.

**UPDATE** I've just remembered I have to keep hold of the bag until 17th May for bag workshop for demo purposes.  Not to worry, I'll keep it in pristine condition for the winner :)

To enter all you have to do is comment on THIS PARTICULAR POST by:

• Picking a name for this PDF PATTERN.  As a couple of pointers I tend NOT to name my items after girls names (such as 'Alice Purse' because IMHO that has little meaning...), instead I tend to lean towards names which in some way describe the item. 
• Please DO NOT focus on the fabric of this bag as this is a pattern only.  Ta!
• Enter as many times as you fancy.

SORRY, THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Contest Official-ness :

1. I'll select the winning name in a weeks time - 3rd May and announce the winner the following day-ish.  Good luck!
   
2. I'll need to ask the winner to make a donation for the postage.
   
3. Sorry I can't notify winners, so please keep an eye for the winner announcement.  This is made easier for you if you subscribe to this blog so you don't have to keep checking back, although it's always great to have you pop-in for a read :0)
4. Prizes which are not claimed within 3 weeks of the winner announcement will be carried forward to the next draw.
5. Sorry I can't reply to contest/draw comments, but I do love reading every single one :)

My Marathon Man

 

• Location = London
• Distance = 26.2 miles
• Time = 3.51 hours
• Raised for charity = £1200.00
• Proud wifey = you betcha!

Horray!! I SHALL go the ball...

...well the 'book signing' ball. Yesterday it was confirmed that my publisher will deffo have copies of my 'b-word' available for me to sign at the Festival of Quilts in the NEC in August. I'll be on The Cotton Patch stand.   I'm sooo utterly excited!  I'll be sure to post days and times as soon as I can.

  Here's a teeny weeny sneaky peeky inside The Bag Making Bible (I thought I'd better not show too much in case I might get told off!).

I bet not too many of you have seen a craft book laid out in pages like this before.  Before going to print the book is laid out in A3 page form (catchily called 'pages').  The pages are sent to the author and the proofreader to check over and correct.  Usually 2 set of 'pages' (the "1st pages" & "2nd pages") are created  (with the 2nd set being an improvement on the 1st set). When edited and corrected the book is finally sent off to print.  What you see in the pic above are the 3rd pages. They created a 3rd set of pages to edit thru because there's just sooooo much going on in my book.  David & Charles have done such a brilliant job of rendering my designs and my scrawl into this book.  They do rock!

Besides my publisher, myself, my close friends and family, one other person has read my book; and that is Amy Butler.  I'm sure you'll have figured out by now that I have this big 'craft-hero-girl-crush' thing on her (and I'm guessing I'm not the only one).  So to have Amy give my book the coolio-thumbs up in her foreword is...um...er...I'm lost for words!

Sooooo I will be book signing on the same stand as the fabled Kaffe Fasset and Amy Butler.  No wait, that didn't come out right let me re-phrase: "I will be signing on the same stand as the fabled Kaffe Fasset and Amy Butler (and other craft rock star legends)".  Holy Moses!  Our planet must be going thorough a phase of misalignment because I am going to feel very wonky when I not only to see them in person, but...y' know...do the book signing thing...just like they will be?!   Because I'll be new gibbering-fool-idiot-girl on the block I'd love to have your support.  If any of you are in that neck of the woods in Aug it would be really lovely to see you and have a crafty chin-wag.  Previous owners say that I have a good temperament, I'm very approachable and I don't jump up on people  :)

Squeal! What am I going to wear?

PS: New development!!  I have wangled it so that readers are permitted to HAND make designs from my book to sell if they so wish.  I know loooads of you asked me about this - so that's good news eh?  Full copyright details are outlined in the book.

On my cutting mat this Tuesday is...

Blimey! The book is now at the printers, my work is done.  I'm sooo glad it's over, but I will write again - after a year break.  For now I can get on with the other stuff that I do...

 My current WIP.  Can you tell what it is yet?  If you need a clue look here.

Loooooads of you have asked me when I am going to get off my butt and have this pattern drawn up.  So I'm working on it now and I'm also going to use it for a bag making work shop that I am holding in May with Sewing World Magazine.

I am kerr-rapping myself a bit about teaching in person for the first time, but I have to step out from behind the Mac eventually.  This pattern will become part of my paid for PDF patterns (cos it's more of an involved design) as soon as I finish it I will start work on a cutie freebie pattern.  It never stops...thank goodness!

...and the winner of the U-Handbag Crafty Clear out #3 is...

Thanks for your entries to the U-Handbag Crafty Clear out #3. You're doing me a favour believe me :)  If you didn't get lucky this time, I will be doing lots more of these.  I have a whole load of crafty gear that needs to go to good homes.

 
The contents of the U-handbag Crafty Clear Out #3

I really loved reading your guilty pleasures.  You ladies sure know how to have yourselves a good time (more 'luxe-out' than chill-out!)   :)

The winner this time round is Comment number 99!

 

Which means that Uva who said:

"in summer... walking in my house stark naked (when my parents and my brother aren't in, of course!); well, consider tha I live in Italy, it's very hot!!!

in other seasons... food! In particular... eating italian icecream on the sofa watching tv :) "

Wins the crafty gear.  Uva will you please email us (see address at blog top right hand corner)  so we can organise sending you your goodies.

There will be a new Crafty Clearout just around the corner...

U-Handbag Crafty Clear Out #3

Hi!  I hope you all had a lovely sunny weekend.  Ours was nice, we went house hunting in Brighton, Al ran a half marathon (like you do), and I worked with Jen to finish editing the book. Jen is a diamond; she's bent over backwards lavishing love onto my book.  It makes all the difference!   Thank you again to everyone who has been so encouraging about the b-word. You are so openly lovely **hugs**.

**UPDATE**  Check out the 1st part of an interesting interview with Jen in which she gives the low down on the 'behind-the-scenes' of craft book writing. 

Then I finished the weekend off by having a candle lit bath, reading Kafa on the shore, and munching on a bag of pork rinds.  Yes, it is possible to love tofu, vegetables, and pulses (as I do) and be partial to the wrongness that is pork rinds.

The closer we get to having to move house the more there is the need to shift this crafty goodness that I've amassed over the last 5 years.  It's all lovely crafty gear, I just can't take it all with me.  I'll keep having these Crafty Clear Outs until it's all gone.

It's all yours if you want it and you stump up for the postage :)  Click on photo to enlarge.

 
OoooKaaay, this time we have:

• 1 x finished chambray blue Cookie Clutch Purse.
• 1 x new copy of Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick
  
• 1 x Gucci Style Bamboo Handle with 1 set of 1" Silver Flat Rings attached.
  
• A  bundle of black & brown 1.5cm wide leather strapping of various lengths. Great for making straps and handles. 
  
• 1 x leather bag strap with trigger hooks & rings made from the above leather strapping.

Contest Details (please read carefully)

I'll send the all of the crafty gear in the picture to one winner.

To enter all you have to do is comment on THIS PARTICULAR POST by:

• Telling us one of your guilty pleasures.  It can be anything (we're all friends here, and friends don't judge).  I admit I love curling up on the sofa to watch crappy TV whilst snacking on pork rinds.  Gross, but at least I never have to share  :D

Contest Official-ness :

1. I'll randomly draw the winner in 4 days time - 16th April and announce the winner the following day-ish.  Good luck!
   
2. I'll need to ask the winner to make a donation for the postage.
   
3. Sorry I can't notify winners, so please keep an eye for the winner announcement.  This is made easier for you if you subscribe to this blog so you don't have to keep checking back, although it's always great to have you pop-in for a read :0)
4. Prizes which are not claimed within 3 weeks of the winner announcement will be carried forward to the next draw.
5. Sorry I can't reply to contest/draw comments, but I do love reading every single one :)

Ohhhh boy! Amy Butler knits!

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  Ours was lovely.  We went to Dublin to visit Al's Aunty who is unwell.  We took her out for a nice pub dinner close to her home and she seemed to have a great time listening to Al & his bother Paul telling tall Irish tales.  I'll never tire of the Irish accent and sense of humour.

At the mo I'm up to my eyeballs doing the final edit for my book.  I really have concentrate this time because this is the last chance saloon for ironing out any mistakes before the book goes to print later this month - Eeeeeeeek!  On the subject of said book I just wanted to show you an email I got from Amazon this morning...

 
Haha!   How very nice & weird is that?  Amazon emailing me with craft book suggestions - where one of them is a book wot I wrote.  Cool bananas!

I did promise that the U-Handbag Crafty Clear out #3 is around the corner and it is, but please gimme a day or two (to do some more book editing and), to get the booty together, and photograph it.  Meanwhile here is some luscious drool-age courtesy of Amy Butler's soon be launched Rowan yarn and knit designs.

  Yum yum yum. Dreamy vid isn't it?   I wish I wasn't such a knitting numpty.

Back soon with details of the U-Handbag Crafty Clear out #3

...and the winner of the U-Handbag Crafty Clear out #2 is...

OK, so I really loved the pic of me drumming (because in my head I am actually a rock chick drummer), but in real-life I sew stuff so I've changed my blog pic.  Not sure if the new pic will stay. Just trying it on for size :)

Thanks for your entries to the U-Handbag Crafty Clear out #2.  You're doing me a favour believe me :)  If you didn't get lucky this time, I will be doing lots more of these.  I have a whole load of crafty gear that needs to go to good homes.

Wow some very cool questions!  I would've like to have answered loads of 'em!  Your questions gave me an idea as to what you would be like to have a coffee and a cake with. So I'll get my coat then!   :D

I read thru every one of your questions and it was VERY hard to pick one. In the end I chose this one because it was part of a recurring theme:

gREtebirgitte said...

I wonder how much time you take to try and re-try a pattern? Do you make many trial-bags before you get to the finished one?
And I really wonder if you find it hard to stick with the pattern?

Which means that gREtebirgitte:

Wins the crafty loot.  Will you please email me (see blog right-hand top corner for address) so we can send you your goodies.

Answer:

"On average I'll make a given design no more than twice. By the time I've had to make the bag/purse a 3rd time I've lost patience interest and I've unpicked it to salvage the fabric and bits and bobs for another time.  I am very impatient with myself and I'm also way too lazy to make lots of samples.

Fortunately my limited background in shoe making has left me with the ability to plan out bag designs in my head.  Rather than spend more time physically making samples I spend much more time, sketching,  planning, and 'constructing' a bag step by step in my head (something I like to do when I'm cooking dinner or when Al is trying to explain some exotic medical condition to me - hehe!)  Not making samples doesn't always work and occasionally I end up with mutations, but as the years have gone by I can get my designs to work out good, more times than not.

That said, I never stick to a pattern plan - partly because I don't plan for the finer details. I need the freedom to allow things to evolve or I can't get excited about a project.  In the same way I never follow recipes to a tee I don't completely follow shop bought patterns, or my own designs.  I like changing things up a bit.  True, I regularly screw-up along the way, but I learn lots in the meantime.  I think as long as you are consistent with stuff like seam allowances and using good quality threads etc. it's good to throw some caution to the wind.  Have confidence in yourself to experiment.  The worst thing that could happen is  that it won't work out - hardly a reason to call the fire brigade/911"

Does this describe the way you like to create and craft? Do you like to deviate or do you prefer to stick to the plan, Stan?

Look out for the next post which will contain details of the next Crafty Clear out.