Custom ordered backpack

I finished the custom order for Etsy....now I want one!!

Original design backpack

My husband has started referring to me as "the bag lady"! Not much wonder since lately backpacks have been leaving my sewing room at the rate of one every couple of days. When a customer on Etsy saw one that I had listed there she asked for one just a bit larger. This is the prototype that I made using fabric that I had on hand. Hers will be in a purple, green and blue paisley. I can't wait to see it!

Green and blue backpack

Yesterday I went to a going out of business sale at a local fabric store. Today I made this backpack using a couple of the prints I bought there. The fabric is a change from the much more traditional prints I have been using for years.

What do you think?

Birdy Backpack

It's for the birds again today! I just completed a backpack using the Rosemary Millette print that I love. I find a backpack such a handy bag to use while I'm birding or traveling. It's great for a bottle of water, bug repellant, my camera lenses, tissues, field guide. It's amazing what all fits into such a compact little bag! The inside pockets are great for easy access to the things you need quickly.....your phone, notepad and pen, keys......

Table runner and Center mat

For years I have been making chair pads and placemats using the Rail Fence pattern. Recently I saw an adaptation of the pattern which creates a star in the block center. The pattern was for a quilt but I needed to see immdeiate results so I made a runner.

Because I strip-piece the squares for the rail fence blocks there are usually left overs. These I had pushed aside on my ironing board but imagine my surprise when I turned to see them rearranged and begging to be made into something!

It's true!! I heard them!! The little table center piece was the result.

Bird print coasters

While making the fabric luggage handle wraps it was only a natural progression to a set of coasters. What could be simpler or more attractive?

Travel accessories for birders

This blog was started almost 3 years ago and has been gathering dust ever since. Time to reactivate it and show you what I have been working on.

I love to combine my interest in birding with my sewing. Lately there seems to be an increase in the number of fabrics which have birds incorporated into their design. I can't resist them!

As a traveller these luggage handle wraps have been a godsend when collecting our luggage from the baggage carousel. We discovered that tying a brightly coloured ribbon to the handle didn't work......almost everyone else had the same idea! Purchasing a bright red suitcase meant we had fewer suitcases to check out on the belt but it seems there were more and more people doing the same. However a brightly coloured fabric wrap on the luggage handle proved to be the perfect solution.

Of course I couldn't stop with the suitcase identifiers! Every traveller these days needs a passport and so a passport holder with room for all the other necessary travel documents was a must have! A picture of a bird on the front of it wasn't a requirement but it sure does hint to the custom officials why you have all that optical equipment in your carry-on!