Monday 30 July 2012

Purse finished! At last!

Don't the days speed past when you have a puppy and other things to distract you?  







If I were a brilliant or organised mama for the In the Frame Purse Swap I would have finished my purse ages ago and would have sent it off at the beginning of the swap posting window, however it turns out that I am as big a prevaricator as ever and have left everything till the last minute!


Ah well I cannot change the habits of a lifetime I suppose but I hope the wait will be worth it for my partner.

I decided early on to go with big balls for my partner and that got me making the baguette purse designed by Lisa Lam from her kit!  




I liked it but thought the purse frame could cope with a bigger purse - more bang for those bucks if you like!   Well this started me playing and trying to see how to make a puffy purse but bigger to fit this frame.  

In the meantime I played with hexagons and star stitching on my front and backside!   Painful believe me!  I added compressed foam ( from lovely Lisa Lam's u-handbag website) and stitched in cotton perle through both layers. 








I got those done in good time but still hadn't quite got the pattern shape right!  Oh no tragedy in the making??  Well what would you do?  Go back to a pattern that works of course - made by an expert like Lisa and work from there!   So I did go back to the baguette pattern and enlarged it !  Then I made a prototype just to check it was working and this is what I made!  Could be ready for next year's Fat Quarterly Retreat??




Taking my new pattern I tried to fit it to my worked front and back  - big oops!  They didn't seem to fit.  Lots of frustration but later a bit of clarity - I would just add more fabric in the right place!  It worked, not without birthing pains, but here it is...

Big and mouthy for easy access - I can imagine some stitching project stored in here - different balls of cotton perle perhaps, all easily seen ....




It took quite a while to pick my lining fabrics but I hope I got them right.  The fabric in the middle just seemed to echo the stars on the outside of the purse!

This is the quiet side of my purse  - a lone stitched star surrounding a hexy....







This is the loud side - a rainbow coloured ring of hexies with a star stitched  inside.  I am happy with the result and hope my partner will be too!








What about the extra you ask?  Well, that is finished too - in fact that was finished first and took quite a while to make but you will just need to wait as I think it gives too much away to my partner!  







21 comments:

  1. Love your purses and the Puppy - it's lovely :-)

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  2. really lovely purse-fest! And puppy = adorable, of course!

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  3. Whew, glad you were able to battle through and get your big balls out in the end... loving the rainbow hexies and stitching

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  4. Beautiful purses!! I adore those hexies :)

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  5. I think all the purses you've made look mad. Did you post the London one in the group? I missed it if you did and think it's very cool with that map fabric. Oh and I love the hexie/embroidery one fab!

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  6. Ok I have an infection at the moment and it's making me type more gibberish than usual. Mad? Not sure where that came from I meant 'fab' duh!

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  7. And that purse was totally worth the wait! wish I knew how to make one...no clue here! Love that baby puppy...what a darling!

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  8. These are all delicious - I love the stitching around the hexies..........I loke the big balls too...............

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  9. What a fun post! Your purses are amazing!! I covet them all!

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  10. Eee! I love each and every one of them! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

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  11. I absolutely adore all these purses but the hexies have stolen my heart!
    P.S. Maddie is gorgeous but you may want to cut the eyes out of that soft toy - you don't want her swallowing them!

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  12. Stuff Maddie in that purse and send the lot to me! I could use a puppy pick me up.

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  13. Oh puppies are busy little critters! And everything is a toy! Love that little purse - so darn cute!

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  14. That purse is a sweetie, and so are you! Oh Mama, you should have been leading the way! never mind, you have arrived!
    The puppy is gorgeous too, I can see how you got distracted...

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  15. Can I be your partner and you send that purse my way? Lol kidding. Your partner is sooooo lucky!! =D

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  16. Your partner would be a difficult person to please if they didn't like it. What a great project bag it would make. Puppy most gorgeous.

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  17. Your purse is just so gorgeous. If it was winging it's way to my house you know it would be well loved and treasured. (I am sure it will be at whichever house it arrives at) They are all amazing!

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  18. Wow! Stunning purse N! Well worth the angst I'd say! I'd laugh if FQR is in Birmingham next year!! Jxo

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  19. How cute is maddie ! I love the london purse too :)

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  21. That London purse is definitely an eye-catcher. When you finally use this bag, you can save yourself from the hassle of rummaging through the items in this bag by getting a handbag organizer.

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