Bags and Baskets

I realised today I had forgotten to blog about some recent makes, my baskets and bags. Away back in July I took a quilt to photo at my sister's caravan. Sorry rephrase that, I went to visit my sister and took a quilt with me, or so she thinks! I had been promising her some 1 hour baskets for her caravan for an age, maybe about 3 years or so. Creativity and genius move slowly in this house. I had some VW campervan fabric I thought would be perfect. I couldn't find it, quelle surprise. I found a couple of meters of 1950s bathing belles and gave her the choice, via FB of the belles or some cute pigs. We have an affinity with pigs, our father managed a pig factory and so we have a weird fondness. Weird because it was a pig processing factory, not a cute piggy farm. Anyhows, I didn't hear back within 5 minutes, so I started the bathing belles.

I made these two baskets and a drawstring bag. The baskets and bag are lined with a bright yellow self spot. Bright and jolly as is my sister.

I had originally pulled out this blue flower to use. I have had this blue flower for literally 20 years, it was a sale purchase. It goes with nothing though, and it didn't do anything here either. The yellow makes my heart sing it was the right choice.

Of course you know what is coming next. I had a look at my FB page. How many times a day are adults reckoned to check their social media? A gross underestimate I think! Of course, I saw she would prefer the pigs. It was tempting to say, well you have got the bathing belles, but I have oldest child syndrome. A syndrome (invented by me) that means you always feel responsible for your siblings. The girl wants a pig basket, a pig basket she will get. A pig basket and a pig drawstring bag.

At this stage my husband arrived home, and suggested I keep the bathing belles. They are so appropriate to a seaside caravan I couldn't keep them. I still have another meter or so I think if I feel the need. She was delighted with them, and needless to say, the other day I found the camper van fabric. How many project bags do you think she needs?

Speaking of my sister and project bags. Do you remember a while ago I had made some Alice in Wonder bags and baskets for myself and my daughter, my sister and my niece? Well, I made us another bag each. This was back the end of June. I forgot to blog these too. This time I got smart. I waited until she visited me, and got her to do the threading for me. My niece tells me proudly she uses hers all the time.

Something else I made, back the end of June, were two bread bags. I have been trying hard to live a more sustainable lifestyle and cut down on plastics. My husband is on board too now and we have been making good headway. My dad would say, there she goes, another bandwagon to jump on. Give her a crusade and she'll follow it. Well, dad, yes and yes, but I always did feel this way. Even in my teens I wanted to join Greenpeace but they were a little too political for quiet timid me. We use the supermarket very little now. We have made a real effort with a bit of time find we use the butcher (Allister), the baker (Alan) and if we had a need of a candlestick maker, we would use him too. We do have fruit and veg men, Kieran and his brother. And of course, Andy the vinyl man. How could we forget Andy the vinyl man. I have been using gauze knitting yarn bags from LoveKnitting.com (they post the yarn out in these) for the fruit and veg. I thought the bread needed sole purpose bags, and made these two drawstring bags.

I have lots of friends. Like most women, I have life long friends, work friends, real friends and imaginary friends. Don't knock the imaginary friends. Most little girls have them, or was it just me? A number of years ago I was warning my daughter about friends in her computer, now I have friends in my phone. Life come full circle. My friends Sandra from mmmquilts.com was meeting our friend Sue from instagram in England during Sandra's holiday there. I would have loved to have joined them but sent them a little something instead. I had bought a vintage Ulster linen tablecloth in a charity shop a while back. I hate to think of these things going to landfill, so I rescued it. I was on a scrapbooking weekend and one of them told me it was a sin to cut it up, but it is not. It is repurposing and recycling, giving it a new lease of life. I have no idea if this was hand done or not, it is certainly very neat.

 I made Sandra and Sue a drawstring project bag each, again using Sotak's pattern which explains it so simply. The embroidery could look old fashioned. Let's be frank, it is brown embroidered flowers. I went back to a yellow lining, this lifted the colours.

 I backed both bags in some Liberty print. Both were quite traditional prints and colours, but they just went with the front. I used some vintage yellow ribbon for the drawstring. I will make myself one as well.

Before I had the chance to make myself one I won a drawstring bag in an instagram competition from Sherry Iris. Sherry makes the most exquisite linen drawstring bags, with her own embroidery designs on the front. I have always loved them. Sherry said she enjoyed this online community so much, she wanted to share the joy.

 And full of joy I was, she included an embroidery hoop for working, and lots of embroidery bits and pieces.

I have a wont to do some embroidery, to have a footer at something. A new thing to start? No, not really, just a revival of an old hobby.  Speaking of old, I dug out my mother's embroidery book. It has such exciting things as embroidery for the bachelor girl, knitted knickers, I kid you not. And of course embroidered knickers for the girl who is presumably not a bachelor girl. I always assumed this book to be my mother's from new, she was gifted by her mother or an aunt, I am sorry I can't remember. The book turns out to be printed in 1935, my mother was born in 1931, do I presume it was a loved book which was passed to her. It always lived in a presentation box from the publisher, in our glass fronted bookcase. The smell of smoke was so intense on the box, it went out pretty quickly in arrival in my house, but it lives in my glass fronted dresser. I doubt I will ever make something from it, a knitted swimsuit anybody? But, I will pass it to my daughter.

 

 

And the party in the mail box continued, there was a reassuring plop in the hall a few days later, and there was another surprise. Sue had sent me a beautiful project bag. I love this, it is zipped and big enough to hold a small sweater or shawl. At the minute it is holding my red and red striped sweater. I love it when my knitting coordinates with my project bag! The bag has a really cool cork fabric base.

 

 

 

Sue very generously shared some of her stash of  Liberty fabric with me. Some was fabric she had and some was fabric she won in a recent giveaway. This is like gold dust, these pieces of Liberty. I will in due course cut them all up in little pieces then sew them together again. I am indeed a pig in clover.

 

I don't think I need to make own bag from my table cloth but I think I will anyway. It is fun to have bags to chose from. Happy or sad, thoughtful or full of the joys, there is a bag for every occasion. So much more pleasurable than an old supermarket bag. Now its time to get back to quilt making.

 

Helen x