end hiatus

After a very long and much needed break from my short career in blogging, I am back.

I had started this blog as a way to put my creativity "out there" in hopes that maybe it would inspire someone else, (and maybe because it always feels nice when someone compliments your hard work!)  At the time, I was working in a job that I did not enjoy in an environment that left me feeling uninspired and even a little hopeless.  I was also very sick with an inner ear disorder and all of that added up to me neglecting my space.

So, a fresh start, a fresh name - everything but a fresh address!  In the last 13 months, a lot has changed. Jobs, houses, roommates, pets.  (More on that another time.)  What hasn't changed is that I love sewing.  I've even started keeping up my Flickr account and joined a few more swaps.

I think that in order to get back into the swing of things, I am going to spend my next few posts sharing some of the projects I've been working on (in no specific order), so lessons I have learned along the way (LOTS!) and some things I hope to add to my list of skills and endeavors in the (hopefully very near) future.

So here goes:

I've been trying to branch out a little bit and have completed some small projects as gifts for friends and family.  First up: the gorgeous and very popular Buttercup Bag!  This bag is a free pattern posted on the fabulous Rae Hoekstra's blog and my goodness was it fun to make!  I am by no means a person who reads or follows instructions very well, and this was EASY!  My only trouble came when I (of course) didn't read the instructions thoroughly and tried to attach the lining and outer shell together.  It came out backwards or inside out or both several times before I finally got it right.  But no worries, it came out perfectly.


(sidenote: YAY!  I just learned how to add my images through Flickr!)

The exterior of the back is a home dec weight fabric from Ikea.  I believe the name is Bladd, or something like that. Anyways, I love the fabric so much I have some of it framed in the house.  I modified my version a teeny bit because I didn't have a magnetic clasp laying around.  I added a tab with velcro for closing it up and stitched a big grey button on the tab just to clean it up.

The inside is a rich purple solid cotton.  Not Kona, but something I found at my local Fabricland store (ugh.  I hate going there, but you can't beat their prices on solids.)  I ended up adding 2 pockets because I generally feel the more the merrier when it comes to pockets.

Since this was a birthday present for a dear friend of mine, there is a Smart Set gift card tucked into one of the interior pockets, just for an added surprise.

Overall, this bag was super fun to make.  I am absolutely in love with the finished product and will surely be making more in the near future.  I am also considering buying the license to sell because 1. It's SO cute and I know plenty of people that would want one and 2. I want the bigger size!

Lessons learned: READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY AND COMPLETELY BEFORE BEGINNING PROJECT.  Oh well.