Day twenty eight: come play with me

So this is where I used the last scrap of the fabric with a giraffe pattern. I'm getting very fond of these striped cosmetics bags: they don't require a lot of fabric, so I can easily use up all the leftovers from other projects, plus they are quite easy to make, still the result looks both, pretty and smart. The basis is the same wonderful easy cosmetics bag pattern I've been using all this time, it just takes a bit more time and hustle to cut the main fabric pieces into strips and to stitch them back together. Nevertheless, I like this technique a lot and there are more scrap bags on the way.

Day twenty seven: giraffe in the wind

I know people sometimes complain about all the fabric leftovers and have hard time figuring out what to do with the scraps filling up their drawers, shelves and corners. Well, I'm not one of them (so far) - 'my scraps' inspire me. For instance, two tiny pieces of the giraffe fabric in my mind suddenly materialised into a tote and a make-up bag. I started with the tote, as I was impatient to try out the window concept and to see the result.

When the bag was ready and all the windows closed, I invited Mr Giraffe to accompany me on the balcony for a quick windy photo-shoot. He even wore his fancy tie for this occasion :)

Day twenty six: cute and cuddly

After spending half a day choosing Christmas fabrics (and then doing it all over again after my virtual shopping cart magically emptied itself) I'm ready to admit: having no choice sometimes can be easier than having too many options. If we lived in a world where there is just one kind of Christmas print, I'm sure we would all just take it and make the best of it. But instead we can (and we do!) spend hours and hours browsing and wondering until some of us just end up overwhelmed and overinspired and/or broke :] Anyway, I have done my best to scrap a bit from everything: I'll have my trees, my hearts, my candles, some dwarfs and an occasional reindeer, so I should be all set for seasonal sewing. While I'm waiting for all that to arrive (oh my) I spend my days creating these cute zip pouches and dreaming of all those friendly-looking forest creatures entering our home. 

Day twenty five: an apple a day

Yes, I'm back to sewing Deby's makeup bags since I really like making those and I also got incredibly inspired by the bunch of colourful zippers I received as a gift from my mother-in-law. Apparently, she found them on sale in a small shop in Latvia for EUR 0.14 a piece which is simply a dream come true for me who otherwise would have to buy them for 2 euros or more.

In other news: autumn is here and so are the local apples and pears - juicy, healthy and lovely. One of the [extremely few] reasons to wait for autumn every year. Fruit and colours... how lucky we are, the autumn package includes these two items :)

Day twenty four: two cups of tea

I always start my day with a cup of tea and I like to end it with one as well. Sometimes it's just fascinating to look back on the day and realise how many different and amazing things have happened in between the two cups. Holding the warm mug just filled with sweet-scented infusion brings me joy and promise of a new morning and helps to regain the peace of mind at the end of a long day. I need this more in the dark months of the year - that's time when the tea shelf in our kitchen cupboard suddenly gets really packed  :) 
However, if you are not much of a teaholic yourself, but still would like to keep a small tea collection just in case one of your teaholic friends comes over, I guess you could easily store it (the tea collection, not your friend!) in a sweet bag like this one. 

Day twenty three: owls and foxes

How about two birthdays every year? Yes, please :) Since we do celebrate our name days, I feel like having a 1.5 birthdays every year, but I still wouldn't mind having one more day to embrace all the love and joy in the world (oh yeah, I'm a birthday spirit, a huge fan of flowers, gifts and surprises, both give and take). But these things happen! For instance, one of my friends is officially entitled to celebrate her birthday two days in a row since she was born on one day, but her birth certificate states it was the next one - as unbelievable as it may seem, a  bureaucratic mix-up can eventually lead to something good. This friend of mine has a soft spot for owls and foxes. Since the 'double birthday' is coming up, I went into the fabric shop hoping to find something foxy or owly there and imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this adorable fabric featuring both animals and an occasional hedgehog :) Splendid! And after sewing a cosmetics bag I still have enough fabric left over to make a smaller bag or a pencil case for the birthday girl's daughter.

Day twenty two: butterfly effect

So I got seriously intrigued by this oval messenger bag. I am much obliged to the Stitching Scientist for sharing her pattern and providing the crystal clear instructions with photos. My favourite feature of this bag is the front pocket - what a delicious curve! For it to really stand out I decided to use the base fabric for the overlay as well. I also added an inside pocket and chose to use handles instead of a shoulder strap since my bag came off as a rather slim and stiff one, which I don't mind, but maybe next time (and I am quite positive there will be one) I should slow down with the interfacing just a bit :)

Day twenty one: pocket-sized rock 'n' roll

Let's resume the day count, because I'm back on track with my sewing projects. The first thing in line was this phone pouch I created with a very special man in mind who also happens to be my husband and the first follower of this blog in one person :) He used to play guitar some time ago and was getting pretty good at it. I really wish he'd pick it up again.
 I do hope you're reading this :)

Speaking of picking up guitars, my all time favourite band has just released their latest album. I can't wait to get my hands and ears on it.

Postcards from Paris

My personal 'month of sewing every day' had to be paused on day twenty due to rather pleasant circumstances, namely having friends over from Finland and leaving for Paris right after that. Oh, Paris... Being a nature person who normally avoids cities and crowds and prefers sitting on a rock to spending 2 hours in a museum or shopping centre, I'm always astonished when I am in Paris: it's a 2.5 million metropolis, but doesn't feel like one. At least not in May or September. The white city is always on the move, embracing everything and everyone, buzzing here and fizzing there. It inspires me in so many levels and I feel at ease with its multiplicity. Standing at the foot of the Eiffel tower excites me every time and so do the hundreds of candles in Sacré-Cœur and delicacy of the Notre Dame. I admire the paintings in Montmartre, the bridges across the Seine, the breathtaking views from the top of the Arc de Triomphe and fragility of architecture all over the place. If only my French was better...

Day twenty: say 'queso'

I always bring my camera along when I go hiking and it is very important for me to be able to reach it quickly and make a shot whenever I feel like it, so I often wear a waist bag - it may not be the classiest accessory in the world, but it's very convenient for a person like me who likes to keep their hands free. The only problem with this arrangement is (or should I say - was) the high risk of getting your camera scratched by other random objects in the bag. One day I got really fed up with muffling the camera in a shawl and I came up with an idea of a simple protective pouch. For the lining I used the softest fabric I could find (it's very cute, too, with birds and cows and stuff). The bag was quickly finished and it serves very well.

Day nineteen: a crocodumpling

 
'Let's make dumplings,' Michelle said, and adventurous me thought 'Let's indeed'. Great was my astonishment when I printed the pattern and realised that it's much smaller than I anticipated, but I didn't mind too much since it was my first attempt anyway. Then I discovered that this XS creature requires a pretty long zip (yep, 30 cm), but the longest one in my stash was a sturdy 28 cm (and red!) - maybe not the best option, but just to keep my spirits high I decided to proceed :) The zip length was more than sufficient, but the sewing turned out to be rather tricky. Two hours and one bent needle later I ended up with this funky croco[dile]dumpling. I still cannot believe how tiny it is!

Day eighteen: oldtimers' parade

I really like this fabric, so I made another tote. This one isn't supposed to be reversible though, because I added an inside pocket with a zipper. Took me a while to figure out the most logical way to insert it, but I managed somehow (and will manage even better next time). 

Day seventeen: who's gonna drive you home tonight?

I got my driver's licence when I was 26 and I really considered it a big achievement, since my first attempt in the age of 18 was a complete disaster. Basically, it took me 8 years to get over it, but I did thanks to my amazing driving instructor Vladimir who really deserves a monument somewhere because he managed to pull me out of the 'ditch' my first instructor had left me in and it turned out I am capable of driving after all :) 
Now I'm a proud owner of a 10 years old Citroen and I'm totally cool with that, but I won't deny that fast cars excite me a well (from afar of course). I'm a huge fan of Formula 1. Just this weekend all the petrol-heads will be turning towards Singapore and I will be keeping fingers crossed for my team.

Day sixteen: rustle of leaves

So I received my first 'order' :) After seeing the family portrait of the make-up bags I've created, my mum asked me to make a small pouch for her cell phone. Well, why not? After googling the model of the phone I made a prototype from paper to have an idea about actual dimensions - looked silly, but helped a lot. What a perfect mini-project for an evening when one doesn't feel too inspired for 3 hours of sewing. The One is pleased :)

Day fifteen: serious business

A while ago, I promised to make a toiletries bag for my husband and today just seemed like a perfect day to keep the promise.
OK, no time for flowers and bunnies - let's get down to serious business. I decided to use a piece of leatherette for this project, hoping the end-result will be masculine enough. The material is very stubborn, but thankfully I am too :) It took me quite a while, but I made it work. Here we go.