I'm Back!

 I wish I had a really good excuse for taking so long to blog again, but, well..............life, I guess!  I just reread my last post which was mostly about bags, so maybe we'll just continue with more bags!  (Last comment NOT related to this photo at all!)

Here is Mercedes with Sarah and I (yes, we are wearing our matching pumpkin patch t-shirts).  Mercedes loved her mondo bag.  (I have even made another since then, but didn't get a photo before it was gone.  I seem to change up the making of each one and just like each one better and better.)  We had a great family reunion over Labor Day weekend.  Mercedes even bought chances on our guild raffle quilt.  Guess I'll have to go to Spain if she wins!

Mercedes had been making bags as well.  I got this adorable zipper bag that her mom handstitched the cat on. 

 My Dad liked his bag for church as well, but wanted to know where the little matching zipper bag was???  I had used it for keeping all my charging cords in, so I just emptied it out into my new cat zipper bag and gave it to him.  He wanted to keep his pens and pencils in it with his other bag.

And all those other zipper bags............were put to use when I attended a retreat at Missouri Star the week before Labor Day.  At the retreat, I purchased (ok, I was there for 4 whole days, I HAD to buy something!) a Sallie Tomato purse kit.  I decided to really challenge myself on this one.  After watching the video about 3 times, I headed to the sewing room and started to work.  It wasn't long before I had the video pulled up on my tablet and I just let her talk and show a little then paused it and went to do it for myself.  This was how I put the entire purse together (over a span of 3-4 days).

It's really hard to take a good picture of a purse.  

I only bent one needle so badly that it wouldn't go down in the plate while I was doing the leather corners on the bottom.  It also has 2 inside zipper pockets.  I love it.

I might be addicted!  On a recent trip to Hamilton, the only thing I purchased was more purse parts and leather to make more purses.  And I ordered cork fabric to try as well.  Stay tuned!

I had also been pinning bags and purses made from old jeans to my pinterest board.  This past week, I made this cute little bag.

First I should explain that I didn't do the Pooh block.  We had a white elephant show and steal at the Missouri Star retreat and I received this block as well as A-G in the Pooh alphabet.  I was a little uncertain as to what to do with only 8 alphabet blocks, but made this for a cute little girl named Jenna!

I used the cut off legs from some of Sarah's jeans we had turned into shorts a few years ago.  Jenna LOVES pockets, so I took a pocket from another pair of Sarah's jeans and put it on the other side.  The lining (which you can't see) is a red polka dot.  

It turned out way cute, if I do say so myself!  I have a pile of old jeans to sort through for more bags and plenty of ideas pinned.  As for the rest of the Pooh blocks, there is an idea in the works for the remainder, so stay tuned.  

And if you have now picked yourself up off the floor from the surprise you received at a new blog post, I wish you a delightful day!

Christi