Sew Powerful Purses #282-288 for 2026

These 7 purses were finished in August, so they don't count for the Sew-a-thon in September. I wanted to share them before I start sharing my finishes from the Sew-a-thon. 

Please donate in my honor for the Sew-a-thon. Click here and then choose the amount to donate. $10 fills one purse to keep one girl in school. Thank you so much for your support!🤗

Use this QR code to donate to the Fundraiser during the month of September or the link below. Thanks so much! 🤗

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Sew Powerful Purses #155-157 for 2026

I have been busy making flaps and cutting the fabrics for the purse body, lining and interfacing and making purse kits to have ready to sew for Sew Powerful Purse Project.

These 3 purse flaps were made using only ribbons that I sewed around the squares on point. I used a variety of ribbon widths, colors and prints. I have a lot of ribbon and thought this might be a fun way to use them. I might make some more like these another time to use up some more ribbons I have.

I added some French Knots around the appliqué embroidered flower.

More French knots were added in the tiny holes of the blue lace around the center cotton fabric print. Wool appliqué in the center of the cotton print was stitched by hand.

The wool heart was stitched by hand. The heart got slightly crooked and didn't notice it until later when it was too late to fix 😜. Oh well, wonky is good too 😉.

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Sew Powerful Purses #310-311 (for 2025)

For this purse, I had a scrappy neutral background already made, that I was going to use for something quilted, like a small wall quilt. I never did anything with it though. I found it recently and decided to make a purse flap, so I added the appliqués and stitched around them. I like the large circle with the decorative stitching around it as it really pops, and the center flowers add the focal point. I added some crystals to the flowers.

Denim jean upcycled into the purse body.

I sewed denim scraps with machine decorative stitches to create this flap background and then added the appliqué flower. I added some French knots around the flower.

Denim jeans for the purse body too.

Thank you to all who have donated to the Sew Powerful fundraiser. Go HERE to make a donation in my honor. Thank you for your support, it means a lot! Sharing this post would really help too!

Hugs!!!

Or use QR Code: 

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Sew Powerful Purse #180 for 2025

I made this purse for last month's June Bee Challenge in the Facebook group for Sew Powerful Purse Project. I saw the bee made out of buttons on Pinterest, so I tried it, but I used a piece of embroidered trim for the wings. I made a few purses with the bee button and a partial Dresden Plate quilt block like this one.

Bee button and other buttons I sewed little flowers on to hold them in place.

This pretty exterior fabric was donated to me. I pieced webbing scraps together

with ribbon to cover the joins in order to make a longer strap.

No pockets on this purse on the back or the front. Next month a new pattern comes out without pockets added on. I think they meant to announce it later, but it got mentioned. So this was the first one I tried without pockets and it was much quicker to sew, which was the idea behind the no pocket version. Also, September is the annual Sew-a-thon Fundraiser for Sew Powerful and I think they wanted to come up with ways to make sewing the purses faster so they would receive more purses. We can still make any version we want to make and the 3 flaps are still interchangeable too. I can tell you it is so much easier and faster not to add the pockets, so I will be making more this way for sure. Plus, it saves on fabric and interfacing and that means less cost as well. Yay!

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Sew Powerful Purses #222-225 (2024)

These were fun purses to make. I upcycled denim jeans for the purse bodies and I fussy cut the motifs from a large print fabric to appliqué onto the purse flaps. I painted one flap (2nd from the left), added buttons for a bit of bling and even added a couple of appliqué from the same fabric as the teapots & chicken on the back of 2 pockets. I hope the girls receiving these see them as fun and whimsical as I do.

3 teapots and a chicken or a rooster?

Back of purses with pockets and a couple of appliqué.

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Sunflower Quilt Blocks I Donated

I just got back yesterday from a Southwest vacation of a few days. First stop was the Garden of Quilts Show in Lehi, Utah. I took a ton of photos that I need to sort through and add to a album on Shutterfly. That will take a few days to do. 

The day before we left, I looked up the vendors that will be at the show (in a Show Barn building away from the gardens) and there were several charities listed. One of them was Wrap the World with Quilts and on their website they were collecting 12" finished quilt blocks (12 1.2" unfinished size). So I made 2 quilt blocks to take with me to donate to them when I saw them at the vendor show. These were the blocks that I donated to them.

I used my "Love" die cut and a sunflower appliqué that I cut out by hand. All batik fabric.

For this block I used a large flower appliqué die cut and a circle appliqué die cut to create the flower, along with the "Hope" die cut too. Batik fabric on a hand dyed fabric background.

When I handed the blocks in at the booth, the woman loved them, especially the words. She had other block that were hung on a folding clothes drying rack and she clipped mine in the front. I took a photo of it.

I donated the 2 blocks that said "Love" and "Hope".

Please click on this website and go to the SUNFLOWER BLOCKS page (at the top heading) and read about this project and help out by making a block or 2 or 3 or more! You can mail your blocks to the address provided. 

#SUNFLOWERQUILTFOR
UKRAINE PROJECT

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Sew Powerful Purse #174 (2024)

A good friend of mine passed away about 12 years ago or so. I cannot remember how long it really has been? I was fortunate to receive some of her fabric and this Hmong reverse appliqué piece was one of them. I had no idea what to use it for so it sat and sat for years. I came across it recently and decided it should be made into a purse flap for a sweet girl in Zambia to have. My friend would have loved that I used it for a purse as she was all for empowering women with education. She was a teacher herself for deaf students. So I think she would highly approve that I made this purse to give to a girl to help her stay in school all year because it will be filled with her monthly hygiene needs. 

This purse was made with love by me and in memory of my friend, Gloria. 

This style of reverse appliqué is made by the Hmong people who mainly reside in Laos and Thailand now. All handstitched, it is truly a work of art.

Look at how intricate the stitching is on this Hmong reverse appliqué. Truly a labor of love and appropriate I should post this on Labor Day.

This purse was made using upcycled denim jeans.

I added a slip pocket on the back.

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(Purse) Flaps of Friendship for International Friendship Month

Hello my sweet friends. February is International Friendship Month and the Sew Powerful Purse Project group on Facebook had an optional thing to do to celebrate friendship which is called Flaps of Friendship. If you want to participate you sign up on the SP website and you will be sent a name and address of who to send your flap to. The cost to participate is $10 and that money goes to fill the purse with the hygiene items that the girl needs. You will also receive a completed flap from someone who got your name.  We also answer some questions so the recipient of your flap gets to know you a little. Maybe we make a friend whom we can continue to get to know through emails or maybe not? It's up to them.

I am sending this flap to someone in Washington state, but she is not on the Facebook group, so I don't know anything about her. 

I sure hope she emails me a photo of the finished purse she makes using the flap I made here. 

The Flap of Friendship I made. Pieced background, added appliqué, a button, & some crystals too.

Closer look.

This is the lining that I used that a friend recently gave to me. I thought it was a great choice for a lining.

If I see a photo of the finished purse using my flap, I will post it here later.

*UPDATE:

Mickey finished the purse from the flap I had sent her and it came out great! Thanks Mickey!

Mickey chose an orange and a floral fabric to complete the purse.

Inside is a pocket using both exterior fabrics too.

I will also share the flap I receive and the finished purse I make using the flap I get. So as soon as I get the flap, I will start working on the rest of the purse. 

Happy Sewing!

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Sew Powerful Purses for March 2021 (1-6)

These are the purses that I have made so far in March this year (2021) for Sew Powerful Purse Project. I am still using up some miscellaneous quilt blocks that I made a while ago and I added more strips to make it larger enough for the flaps. I added applique to some of the flaps too.

I have 10 more purses all cut out and ready to sew. Once those are made, I can cut up more purse kits and sew them when I have time. Even though I am using up a lot of my fabric, I still don't see the pile of fabric shrinking down very fast. But the scraps are piling up again, so that means even more scrappy flaps or bag exteriors lol!!

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