Maccabags!

If You Love Cats (or Engineers?)

Look at this! Love it!

Looking Through My Files

I collect photos of handbags, pouches, applique, and embroidery as I zoom around in the ether. Then when I feel like sewing and need some inspiration, I run a slide show of these photos, - and do either one of two things.

• Mumble to myself as I come across ones I would like to make -  and then do nothing/go make someting else - or
• Get to one of the photos and suddenly - that's it - off to try to make a pattern. Sometimes it's the bit of fabric I just bought that makes me stop on one photo that I never had before. And then I'm into a genuine project .

Here's some of the photos in my  Inspiration Collection - Bags I Haven't Made (yet). If you see printing on a photo then it's from e-Bay and you will find the sellers there - usually with lots of craft books for sale - more than likely Japanese ones.

  Love this idea. I think you would have to make more than just one to get the impact.

 

I like this fastening.

 

 

This is a Denyse Schmit Quilt Bag made from vinyl, but I think this would also look great in linen. 

 

 

I've had this one for such a long time. The fabric is too busy for me but I like the shape of the little purse (left page, front).

 

Love the little purse on the right! My intention is to try this and then do a tutorial.

 

I did use this one as inspiration for a kid's bag I made.

 

 

I'm constantly coming back to this one. The shape is very pleasing to me. I think I should just get busy and do it!

Encouraging Awards and White Cat/White Snow

Look what came my way! I must give a big thanks to Kyoko. She gave me this award. I love her blog and it makes me feel happy, and yes, encouraged, to receive this from her. But I also owe her an apology because she gave me the award over a week ago, and I have not done anything about it until now. I have my excuses, but I can only say that the lateness in doing something about this should NOT be an indication that I didn't care about it. Au contraire - I'm both delighted and flattered.

So - having received the award here is what I am supposed to do next:

1) Put the award on your blog - DONE

2) Put a link on your blog of the blogger who gave you the award - DONE

3) Nominate 5 other bloggers - here is where I thought I would do something a little different. I spent some time on the weekend following links from comments left by others on my usual favorite blogs and sometimes linked onwards from wherever I found myself. I wanted to find some blogs that I had never seen before - and out of those I used my own little ranking criteria to decide who I wanted to pass this award on to.  My criteria: blogs often, shares stuff, lots of photos, instant interest-factor to make me want to read more. I found some good ones - too many to nominate, and the whole very pleasant exercise took ages!

 

So - here are my choices. These people may be a little surprised since they will not know I have ever been to their blog until I leave a comment as I pass on the award. Let me say right up front that if I give you an award and you don't enjoy this process - then I will not be offended in the slightest. I know that some people like doing this and some others don't, and I believe strongly that everyone has a right to feel however they feel and that's the end to it!

 

My choices - in no particular order:

 

Where Ava Dreams  -

Varied topics, great photos, thoughtful and informative; also the author is moving to Canada soon and although I don't live there right now, that is my home - I only hope you'll come to love it like I do!

Turkey Cookies 

Crafts, Life, Cooking, Knitting, shares a lot with links to tuts, recipes, books, etc 

Burrow House

Tutorials, great photos, links to books and how-to's

Renee Knits Too

Books, Knitting, Quilting, Giveaways, Recipes

Zebra Knits

Gorgeous KNITS!!!!!

4) Leave a comment on their blog notifying them - I'm doing this next ...

5) List 5 things that I'm addicted :

a. My kids

b. My cats

c. Japanese craft books and fabric (well, any kind of fabric, really)

d. The Wire (currently working through Seasons 1-5 as slowly as I can make myself go)

4. Cheese, most shellfish, Jif peanut-butter on toast

 

And now for a switcheroo of subject:

SNOWING SNOWING SNOWING

I have lived in the UK for a little while now, and having grown up and spent most of my life in Canada, I have snorted with derision at what has sometimes been called a snowfall here -an inch or so of dryish stuff that disappears by lunchtime. That's up until now; I live in Kent, and it has been snowing great wet clumped together snowflakes for the past day and a half. Even by Canadian standards, this is the REAL THING.

See my middle cat wondering what in the world has happened! Probably the same kind of thoughts that the UK National Rail peeps are having right now. (Although this kitty also was born and partially raised in Canada, I'm quite sure he doesn't really recall the Canadian winter).