Size small

In Great Condition!

There's been a sale on Net-a-Porter for some time and I've been putting off surfing on it because I do not want to be reminded of the lovely bags out there which I still can't buy (because I've burst my shopping budget for Fall/Winter!).

Now that I have looked, here are the beauties I've spied:

Can you blame me for loving the Miu Miu Aged Leather bag in pink? Every single time I've walked into Miu Miu I'd lovingly stroke this bag, until the sales assistant glared at me suspiciously of intensive bag obsession... and then painfully the bag was sold out. *rattles fingers at Miu Miu buyer* Bring in more of these, please!

The never-ending love between frame bags and me ensues with the Oscar Larrabe bag. The gold and black combination almost killed me at first glance. Afterall, one might suspect a frame bag can be sturdier than say, a man?

The Marni Pailette embellished bag is yes once again, another framed bag. Glitzy and making me weak in the knees with dizziness, I think it is safe to say that this one is yet another rockable bag on my very discerning arm.

The Fendi Mamma bag is quite a looker. Its pristine white surface and painful looking chain does not put me off at all, but in fact draws me even closer to want to examine just how much of my daily wares can I dump into this one without looking less of a lady!

It even comes in a Mini edition (Fendi Mini Mamma) and this one looks great but could just be a tad too small for me.

(All pictures from Net-a-Porter)

love & kisses
Stephie

When faced with the dilemma of making this quilted bag into a really weird hat, or biting the bullet and just finishing it - I chose to finish it.  And you can see why!  :) 

Man,  I am such a dork.  Definitely not my best look ever!

But, seriously, I did finally finish the darned thing.  I had a really difficult time wrestling the bag under the presser foot of my machine.  With the stiffening from the timtex and the boning along the back, it was really difficult to get the lining sewn in.  Attaching the handles on the sides was no picnic either.

When I put in the magnetic clasp, I could not sew completely around the outside edge of the flap, so I added a large button to cover the break in the stitching.  I was planning to do this anyway to dress up the front, but I got the added benefit of covering the "blank" spot.

Here are some more photos of the bag in progress.

I am NEVER EVER EVER making this bag again. 

Really.

Ever.

Amen.

I'M STILL TRYING TO FINISH POSTING ALL THE OLD STUFF
SO I CAN START POSTING NEW STUFF.
THESE ARE 3 OF MY FAVORITE BAGS I'VE MADE

FOR RAIN

I WAS GOING TO GIVE THESE 2 AWAY AND ENDED UP KEEPING THEM

MADE ONE OF THESE FOR THE SISTER AND ONE FOR ME
BACK IN APRIL FOR EARTH DAY IN SAN DIEGO

AND IN MAY I MADE ME ONE OF THESE FOR MY TRIP TO WASHINGTON D.C.

ANOTHER SET OF PILLOW CASES
I KNOW I GAVE THEM AWAY BUT I CAN'T REMEMBER TO WHO LOL

MISS BECKY WAS IN TOWN LAST JUNE FOR WORK.
I WANTED TO MAKE HER SOMETHING SO I BOUGHT THIS FABRIC

AND MADE HER THIS

PILLOW CASES AND A TOTE!

I really enjoyed sewing this bag - beautiful fabric (Amy Butler, from the Nigella line), both in pattern and quality, and a terrific pattern (also Amy Butler - the Frenchy Bag).

Once again, it has many of my construction alterations, although the pattern is very comprehensive.  I used thin fusible wadding throughout, but didn't add interfacing, since the fabric weight was heavy enough.  I added a key fob, and divided the interior pockets into two (thanks to handy tips from those who'd already made it and added their review to the Pattern Review website).  The pattern included the use of a magnetic catch.

This is the shoulder bag size - the pattern also includes a smaller handbag.  Another tip I gained from the Pattern Review website was that it is difficult to effectively topstitch around the top of the bag to join the lining to the outer - after trying briefly on the machine, I ended up handstitching the two layers together.  It gave a much nicer result.

And I made a matching cosmetic purse and tissue cosy.

Donna says that when not using it she is going to hang it up in her house as an ornament!  What a great way to think about bags (especially when you have a few) - they are not only useful, but can be ornaments!

This little bag was my present to my daughter even though I didn't wrap it or even call it a present. Because December was so full of presents my daughter started expecting them everyday--well before christmas--and when there weren't any she demanded More! Presents! But I still wanted to give her something. We did a lot of traveling for christmas, which if you have kids means schlepping an amazing amount of stuff around. I though it would be nice if my daughter could carry some of her own things. I followed one of the millions of tutorials on craftster (does anyone else remember when it was in it's infancy?) for a simple bag. I'm new to making bags, not being a bag person myself, but it wasn't all that hard really. I used a sew in interfacing, which made for a lot more cutting and sewing but I didn't think to put it in the flap or the strap and I should have. Two year olds get frustrated easily (and all the time, ugh) so I think it's important that the bag has some structure. I used a magnet closure thinking that it would be easy for her to use, but damn those are some strong magnets! It was filled with almost all handmade toys, which made me incredibly happy and very proud. And it meant that I didn't have to shove even more crap in the diaper bag. She carried it the whole way.

The fabric (because a couple people have asked) is Alexander Henry and I'm not much for little kids prints, but I really like this one. And the inspiration for making the bag in the first place came from Beth at writemamawrite. She has a great list of things to pack for toddlers in that post as well, but let's hope you have no more traveling to do--this year at least! We have one more plane ride home (home!) tomorrow and we'll see if the excitement of "my new purse!" can last until then. Hell, I hope I last until then.

 A great site I recently discovered was the fashion design blog, Project Rooftop! Fashion Divas and Gurus take their talent to the skies and ally ways and design some crazy good uniforms and costumes!

Check it out!

Talia Klein on La La, photo by Justin Campbell

Talia Klein wasn't just an accomplished rider...she was also a "clothes horse"....she could put an outfit together and had so much class and was so chic that she reminded me of a young Audrey Hepburn, and I'm talking about her casual outfits!! Read the rest of this page »

I'm just trying to write
Think of something to write about
Then, I look down at my torn pants
and presto Modesto
I see this hole that is staring at me
It is actually kinda freaky
Because it started talking to me
for me, and I know it has a lot to say
Then, suddenly I hear a burp
I jump
Then, as I look down at my pants
They don't even say excuse me
I guess they are trying to tell me there is no excuse for ripped pants
All I could do after that moment is;
Just stick my finger in the hole and play with it.