Intentions

25 March 2014

How many times, I wonder, have you pinned or bookmarked something you have found on the web that one day you would like to make.  Somehow that day has never arrived.  Or what about if you go and buy the materials for a project, but still the day has never arrived.  I have looked through some of the ideas I have earmarked to make one day and realised that many of them are lovely but I cannot imagine them being used in our house or ever making them as a gift.  I just liked them at the time.


I was given a copy of this lovely book for my birthday last year.  I was very familiar with all the patterns as I had had a copy out the library for months.  Having my own copy rekindled my desire to make some more of the projects in the book as presents and I went out and bought some material for one of them, which languished in a drawer until this week.  Finally I cut out the pieces I needed and sewed them up.



This pattern is called a Gathering Bag and mine is not quite the same as the original.  The bag includes a pocket which is meant to be on the outside at the back.  My interpretation of the pattern was incorrect and I have ended up with a pocket on the front which the flap comes down to.  I am good with this, although it would have been better if the pattern on the pocket and flap lined up........you change some, you win some.  I think I will sew a magnetic clasp to keep the bag closed and a friend's son is making me a wooden button to sew on the front of the flap.  I had originally intended to make this to give as a present and I still will, just not sure who yet.  But it is always useful to have a present ready and waiting, right?



I have found another idea for something I want to make next and rather wonderfully I have material in my stash, leftovers from other projects, to make it.  So I am not going to leave it for months and hope to show you what it is very soon.......have you been making anything recently?  If you head over to Frontier Dreams you can see what others have been making.

7 comments:

  1. Love, love, love this! The colour mix is gorgeous and it will no doubt be much appreciated.

    San

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  2. So beautiful! I love how you combined your fabric...

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  3. Great looking bag. I'm currently making a bag for a friends birthday (and it has a wooden button too!) but I'm having a hard time of assembling all the pieces - I'm new to sewing and can only go in a straight line with my machine!!! as the bag is rounded it looks like I'll be doing it all by hand! Did you use a machine for yours?
    How is your Shalom coming along?

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    1. I did sew this on a machine and despite my reservations about the rounded corners it was actually really easy. I pinned everything together very carefully and then sewed very slowly. When you get to the rounded part, as long as you stick to your seam allowance then it is still a 'straight' line in theory. As you go round the corner if you keep you edge line up with your machine, my corner stitching is not perfectly rounded but it is good enough for it to make the finished bag look rounded. The pattern I was using advised cutting wedges of fabric on the corners, as close to but not cutting your stitches, to reduce the amount of fabric bulk there. If you have not done it before it is worth trying it out on some scraps of material which I did before sewing my corners.

      My Shalom? Is going nowhere, I am sewing instead!

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  4. Wonderful rich colours, I do so love purple. You've made a beautiful job of it, and you're right, it is always good to have a gift or two in reserve. CJ xx

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  5. Ooh that purple cord is lovely!
    Your bag turned out great. I have boards and boards of things to make and rarely get around to actioning them lately but I'm thinking of challenging myself to get busy and use those ideas when things quiten down after easter.

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  6. Purples! What a great bag for whoever receives it. Always nice to have gifts ready to go. I like to sew up a pile of cloth gift bags so I have them when I need them.

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