Bag Lady

Here is a vintage apron that a child-who-shall-not-be-named got silver paint and tacky substances on.  To be fair, the apron was given to this child in desperation that clothing not be ruined in experiments that parents generally despaired of, but still.  I salvaged some unstained parts, including the pocket, and made it into a produce bag for my market cart. I have a lot of pretty bias tape, and I've been using it on purpose recently I guess so I can feel free to find more at the thrift store. That's a weird little mind trap!

I did a sewing-for-massage trade with a friend (so wonderful!).  The piece she asked me to resize was from Nepal and when the scraps where tumbled on my floor, I suddenly saw a bag to make.  The solid colors are so great and strong together, and that pretty ruffle is just right.  I actually used the scraps entirely to make this bag.  Satisfying.

The last bag ushers in a new era: an e-reader.  Oh my.  I do adore books, but I could not picture fitting enough books in my luggage and carry-on to keep me happy for an upcoming trip.  Obviously an e-reader is the way to take 40 books along, most for me but a few for my husband and kids just in case.  I only bought two with a coupon that came with the e-reader.  The rest are free downloads, mostly old books whose copyright has expired and have been digitized for such a time as this. Here is the helpful article that led me to books I wanted to read.

The e-reader seems sturdy enough, but I still feel pretty protective towards any screens I have purchased (and let me tell you, it has been a new phone and a new iPad recently, too, and I am sick of it). So I made a little padded bag - sturdy upholstery fabric on the outside, batting scraps in the middle, and lined with a flannel shirt scrap from my husband - with the pocket positioned to hold the charger.  I'm very pleased with it. 

Ben Goes to Camp

I offered to make him a bag of sorts to hold his toiletries (try explaining that word to a kid, eh?) and he chose the whimsical leopards. 

We've tried to coax as many details and stories out of Ben as possible, but the tangible evidence of camp is the amount of clothing that did not return with him.  He had a smattering of other boys' socks and undies. The sunscreen disappeared too, even though I had scrawled our name on it with Sharpie. 

However, this is nothing compared to my brother's camp experience when he was a boy.  He left for wilderness camp for a week with a neatly-packed duffle bag and returned home with it at the end of the week, untouched.  Still packed.  Not one thing used out of it.  Kids and camp!

Solving the Pencil Bag Issue for the Big Girl

One day it finally registered with me that Genevieve was carrying her school pencils in a ziploc bag, punctured by their points and ugly as those bags always are.  I asked her if she wanted me to make her a pencil bag.  Yes! And since she was playing with the baby, she gave me carte blanche to pick the fabrics, too.  Fun! I suddenly had an inspiration and asked her if it would be helpful if the bag was on a big elastic that held it in place on her binder. Oh yes!  Fortunately I had some frilly yellow elastic on hand - I thought I might see if I could make some sagging knee socks stay up.  But in the meantime, Genevieve has a sweet little pencil bag that is convenient and much nicer to look at than a filmy, pockmarked plastic bag.   

I realized that I haven't been blogging about my kitchen work.  I believe it's mostly because Phoebe is urgently hungry at meals, so I feel pleased to just get food on the table and into her mouth and I don't have much time to photograph anything (I like to put pictures with my posts).  I'm going to try to be more deliberate about that.

I Rescue the Bags and Set Them on a New Path

A little happy thing that I do is take an ugly, reusable shopping bag and sew some scraps of fabric over its logos to make it look better.

And sometimes to fix holes.

Only a few minutes of time on my part, a helpful reduction in my scrap bag, and a much nicer bag to carry around.

I guess I don't like logos and graphics on my bags for the same reason I don't put bumper stickers on my car:  I like to fly under the radar.  I'm pretty talkative about my pet issues, sure, but I don't announce them on my bags, tees, or car.

Then, one of the beach girls admired this bag when we traveled in August, and I realized that I could rescue some of the poor sad tote bags at the creative reuse store.  There they were, all neglected and ugly, advertising things that no one wanted to claim.

So I rescued them! I covered up their logos and graphics with great pleasure.  I had fun picking colors and buttons and perle cotton.

There are four bags in the shop and I have a missionary feeling about them:  the need to convert ugly bags into nice ones, to give them a new sense of purpose as they get into daily carrying, to bring them into crafty heaven as their reward.

Go look!  There are four of them in the shop!

Other Christmas Gifts

Unlike probably everybody, I do not seem to find the time or head space to make Christmas gifts even though I love to make things.  December basically overwhelms me and I have to retreat to my inner sanctum to stay sane. However, this was a good year, as you will see (this was also the year of my mother's raspberry quilt - still slightly astonishing to me).

We made Jennifer's hot chocolate mix for Sunday school teachers and school teachers.  The children helped to measure and mix, then I packaged the mix in bags with a little slip of instructions.  I wrapped the bags in scrap fabric with construction paper holly leaves and curly gold ribbon.  The  children wrote the notes and delivered the bags.  I am grateful for the time teachers invest in their students. . . would be nice to give gifts to all the lovely people who offer their talents and time, come to think of it.

Then I made a bag from a failed little girl dress cut from a woman's dress; into the pocket, I slipped a postcard of Christmas greetings (the horse is a joke for the family) and into the bag I slipped a loaf of Grandma's Christmas bread.   

I got a lovely, unexpected package in the mail, an absolute treat from one of my blog readers!  It was a pretty pile of fabric and notions, plus four wee stones covered in crochet.  They look so charming sitting in the plant nursery that passes as our living room windowsills.  I've started three baby jade plants from the mother plant, and started three spider plants in water.

Finally, my children outdid themselves with homemade gifts.  Ben took a pair of soda tabs that he found to my husband and begged to make a pair of earrings for me.  With Daddy's help, he checked with his aunts for a pair of old earrings to scavenge for parts. Then they spray-painted the tabs metallic blue.  When the earrings were assembled, he put them in a tiny box and we were all so proud and pleased on Christmas morning.  Genevieve gave me a beautiful beaded ring in green and blue, so I dressed in my children's jewelry on Christmas - you can see the earrings and ring in this photo. 

Little Bags That Solve Problems

Exhibit A
Remember the wristlet I sewed for the beach?  Well, I accidentally left it at home one beach weekend and that simply cannot happen again.  That wristlet is is essential to my beach happiness.  So I am keeping it at the beach cottage with the toothbrushes we leave there, too.

But I needed a home wristlet to dangle from my bike handlebars, stuff in the pool bag, and run across town with, so I used two more upholstery samples to sew a new one.  Chartreuse and spring green with an olive zipper.

Exhibit B
I got a new-to-me cellphone (not a smart phone, but with a keyboard so I can get in the texting loop with the people I love who text).   I liked the tidiness of the charger envelope instead of the cord sprawling in my drawer or purse, so I made a new one.  It's a spot of pleasantness in the ugly cell phone world.

Exhibit C
After the teeth were duly lost from their mouths, our children kept losing teeth in their beds and our Tooth Fairy was getting frustrated (because on the odd night that he actually remembered his duties - why yes, the Fairy is male at our house - he couldn't find the darn tooth under the pillow and had fend off indignant or sad children the next morning).  Finally I see the point of those cutesy tooth fairy pillows:  the tooth does not get lost!

 We haven't actually tested this little bag yet.  The white felt tooth is only appliqued on the sides, making a pocket for the tooth and then the magical gold dollar (Tooth Fairy is lavish at our house, methinks).  It was fun to make, and the children are enchanted with it.  Ben asked me again today to get corn on the cob so he could force his wiggly tooth to come out.

And finally, when I wrote about coupons earlier, A pointed out that upholstery samples make perfect coupon envelopes.  She is right, and here is the photo of the actual envelope. Cute, right?

I'm on a bag kick.  You got some clever bags at your house or some clever bag ideas to share with me?

Bags from Upholstery Samples

My husband brought home a pile of beautiful upholstery samples from the interior decorator at his firm.  She gets new ones each year, so the old ones go the trash (sigh), to a maker like me, or (thankfully) to the local creative reuse store. 

On a tip from A, I made one square into a sleeve for my coupons (fold in half, sew up one short and one long side) and made another sleeve for a pair of sunglasses.  Because these are upholstery samples, they are sturdy and somewhat stiff and the edges are finished.  So fast and easy to work with!

Then I needed an evening bag for a treat at our local opera house.  My friend took me to a show her fiance didn't care to see.

I used 4 shiny upholstery squares to mimic the popular zippered clutch - it's nothing but a rectangle with a zipper on a long side, folded in half to carry.  I lined it with some odd geometric knit scraps that I found in my stash (from a bag of odds and ends my aunt gave me, I think).

I made the tassel from the scraps of leftover upholstery.  I hope you can see the colors - three shades of coppery brown and one of lavender.  I topstitched the joining seams of the squares and the zipper so they would lay nicely.  I used all regular settings on my machine and no pins - simply held things firmly in place as I sewed (you could use binder clips or clothespins).  I'm very pleased with this clutch!

All evening clutch photos by Genevieve! 

We slipped down to the beach for a day already this summer, and I planned this next bag as I tried, yet again, to carry and conceal my legal tender in my bathing suit and pocket-less yoga skirt.  Silly!  But sometimes it takes a while to hatch just the right solution, right?

So, I made this bag the right size to carry my cash, credit card, and phone when I run up to the boardwalk to fetch fries, milkshakes, pizza, and whatnot.  The loop is elastic so it stays on my wrist by itself as I haul all these things back to our umbrella while fending off seagulls.  I'll put the bag to the test next time we go the beach, but I'm pretty sure it will fit the bill.

So far, these upholstery samples are proving to be very helpful!  Our local creative reuse store has samples like this for very cheap, and most interior decorators will be throwing out scads of these every year.

Sewing Flops with a Happy Ending

Exhibit A:  The Skirt with Backbone

My trusty yellow skirt is worn out, so I bought new yellow (unknown) fabric from the fabric outlet to replace it.  After much travail and repeated washings of the fabric in vinegar and salt, I realized I was trying to use canvas to make a skirt.  Canvas may soften over time, but what on earth do I do with a skirt that stands up by itself until then?  (Off to Goodwill - couldn't stand to look at it and I hope someone has a better idea for it).

Exhibit B:  Made-up Tea Cosies

I tried to sew a teapot cosy from my own design.  It was supposed to be a warm little bag with a drawstring top with places for the spout and handle to peep out.  The drawstring was too long and awkward and out of frustration and impatience, I sewed faster and consequently, the work is sloppy. (Stuffed these in my scrap boxes, where my daughter pounced on them and started using them as bags until I pointed out that things were falling out the holes.  She pinned the holes closed.  Hello, Grandma Weaver!)

Exhibit C:  Slippers

First I used this pattern and made a horrible, strange slipper with pretty fabric and a red leather bottom (no photo - couldn't bear to look at it).  Then I used this tutorial, scavenging the red leather soles from the first failure.  These slippers do not match and need some tweaks (thicker cushioning on the sole, 2 layers of fabric on the upper), but I see possibilities here.  Genevieve has claimed them for her own.  I offered to cut them down and remake them for her, but she insists on pinning them to her size with pink plastic clothespins.

In the meantime, I found a pair of Goody Bon Bon slippers on ebay that I love - so whimsical, cushy, and pretty. My husband was commenting on how I wear these slippers with irony and I had to ponder that (out loud, of course) for a while, until I understood that, yes, I am wearing them ironically.  I think they're fun, but they're definitely a joke for me, and I am definitely channeling an ageing Southern belle with a whispery sweet voice and a cool shadowy house with tall ferns at the shuttered windows.

In all of this, I kept asking myself why I was pursuing these projects instead of buying ready-made things. It's because I like solving the problem, figuring things out on my own, and experimenting.  Sewing is really a hobby for me.  There are times when I sew for thrifty reasons, but the thrift is largely a side benefit, and the real reason is my deep satisfaction and pleasure when I sew something just right.  Stay tuned for a happy lot of "just rights" coming up!

How I Refuse Plastic Bags

When the idea for this post first occurred to me, I thought it was silly and trivial.  But it has taken me years to perfect the skill of getting out of a store without a plastic bag!

So many cashiers want to be generous and helpful when they insist I take a plastic bag, so I want to be nice in return.  And very, very firm.  

Consequently, I decided to write this post to share the actual lines I use when I refuse plastic bags.

Look, I'm not morally opposed to plastic.  There are useful plastic items in my home.  But I am opposed to the thoughtless use of plastic when there are easy ways to avoid it.  Plastic is petroleum-based.  It doesn't biodegrade.  It gives off harmful chemicals. 

My normal approach when I'm shopping is to say hi to the cashier and as soon as he/she touches the item I'm buying, I say clearly, "I don't need a bag." Clear diction is important because I'm introducing a new idea into the standard shopper/cashier interaction. Most of the time, this line works, especially if I am obviously holding a cloth bag.

However. . .

1.  To the market standholder looking at my cloth bag of lettuce dripping water:

"It's just water - it'll dry. I really don't want a plastic bag, thank you."

2.  To the cashier who is bagging my groceries in my cloth bags and wants to put my dish soap in a separate plastic bag:

"I really don't want a plastic bag.  It won't leak.  If it does, I'll take the blame.  Thank you for taking such care with my groceries."

3.  To the cashier without a bagger:

"I brought my own bags - I'm happy to do the bagging."

4.  To the cashier who starts to explain all the ways he/she reuses the plastic bags at home so that I will understand the golden opportunity I am refusing:

"I have way more plastic bags at home than I can use.  I'm overflowing with plastic bags."

If the cashier keeps going, I will extend myself and say,

"I'm trying to cut down on the amount of plastic I use."

5. To the thrift store cashier who looks nervously at the pile of purchases I want to carry in my arms:

"I've got a bag in the car."

6. To the cashier who absentmindedly put my items in a plastic bag already,

"I really don't want a bag.  Will you be able to use this one again? [as I remove my items from the bag and push the bag back towards the cashier] 

If the cashier seems to be scooting the (barely used!) bag towards a trash can, I will scoop it up and say,
"I'm sorry - I didn't realize you were going to throw it away; I'll take it home and use it."

I'll leave you with this anecdote:  my husband bought a pair of shoes at the mall recently.  I was standing nearby as he paid for them.  I was keeping the puppies (children) under control.  My husband clearly told the cashier he didn't need a bag - it was one shoe box and we knew we were walking the puppies directly out to the car and going home.

At the very end of the transaction, just as he was about to hand the shoe box to my husband, the cashier suddenly threw the box in a store bag, muttering "just in case."  We were dumbfounded.  We collected the bag in silence and walked away.

Then we began to giggle and invent the scenarios to go with "just in case" the whole way out to the car.  Probably there was a bug in the box - the bag could keep it in.  Probably the roof would fall in.  Maybe the cashier earned commission on the bags he issued.  Or maybe he was just using the bag instead of a "paid" sticker and was worried that we would lose our receipt between the cash register and the door.

There are rare occasions when it's just easier to take the bag - I'm really not a preacher or a perfectionist.

Do you have more stock answers (or pet peeves) to add to the bag issue?