Friday, February 6, 2009

Purses

I got a compliment the other day from the young waitress working the dinner shift at a local restaurant. I’m not much of a fashionista, and pay little attention to current trends, so I was surprised.

She liked my purse! You may remember I blogged about the dearth of interesting pocketbooks a few months. Well I’ve been a personal mission to correct this at least in my own household. Tend to your garden, isn’t that what Voltaire said?

So I’ve been making bags. The purse that caught the waitress’s eye was this one. The pattern is Bow Tucks Tote by Penny Sturges from Quiltsillustrated. I love this bag.



This Miranda bag from Lazy Girl Designs is one I’ve been working on too long. I think I started it in November. I’ve made several of these and am retiring one that I’ve worn out. I thought upholstery fabric would make a great bag. Not really. The layers of fabric, lining and craft fuse got too thick to sew on in spots, requiring two different machines and a zipper foot. But it’s done now and I like it a lot.



The Chubby Charmer pattern is also from Penny Sturges. It’s a large bag, measuring 14"x18". After hearing Kaffe Fasset lecture in last month, I was inspired to use mostly his fabric. Love it! The handles are nylon webbing that felt a little uncomfortable on the hand so I covered them at the top with padded fabric. Feels nice now. Great for carrying books back to the library or for farmer’s market finds.



This bag is being auctioned at the annual Sisters in Crime meeting tomorrow in Oakland. How much would you bid?

11 comments:

Camille Minichino said...

Wow, I can't wait to see it tomorrow, Terri!
My name will be on the list of bids.

Carol Kumer said...

Great purses....c

Kathryn Lilley said...

I love quilted purses--I love anything quilted, in fact. Beautiful work, Terri!

Anonymous said...

Terri...you might be interested in the purse club I have at my shop. Go to www.stitchinheaven.com and find the link for "Perse Anality". Perse is a fictitous friend who is from France but is traveling the USA. Every city where she stops she makes a purse or tote. We are having great fun with it!

Betty Hechtman said...

I love your purses. I used to make purses and even sold them at an art fair when I was in college.

Anonymous said...

I don't ask 'great' or 'beautiful' of my purses. What I want is compact, well-ordered stowage so I can carry my customary load without visible excess. For me, that means lots of pockets, pouches, and zippers.

And I'm Minnesotan. No ostentation allowed!

LuAnn said...

These are wonderful! Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Terri Thayer said...

Thanks all. It's only recently that I've been using my bags for purses. Before they were too impractical. But now with new fusible interfacings, the bags can hold up. And they have lots of pockets inside.

Having said that, my purchased handle on my new bag broke yesterday! Dang. I'm hoping the glue really holds.

Terri Thayer said...

Camille, you left before I saw what happened. Did you get the bag?

Terri Thayer said...

Deb - your website is wonderful. It sounds like you are doing so many cool things in your shop. I love the idea of a quilt and a movie. If I didn't have so many bag patterns already, I'd be up for Perse's adventures. Sounds like great fun!

Allison said...

Oh my gosh! These are darling! I've never wanted to make a purse before, but these are gorgeous! You did a fantastic job on these.