Sew Powerful Purses #207-209 (2025)

I found some more leftover border units to sew into purses. I made 2 vertical and one horizontal this time. 3 more girls to receive purses that I donate to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

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Sew Powerful Purses #205-206 (2025)

I had a Twister Pinwheel block I didn't use in a quilt that was leftover, so I put it on the flap and added strips of fabrics around it to make the flap the correct size. I really like how this flap looks with the pinwheel. I might just need to make some more pinwheels on purpose now 😂. Donated to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

Another flap with an appliqué house. I made several of these house flaps already as I had several house blocks made.

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Sew Powerful Purses # 185-187 (2025)

3 more purses done! These all have front pockets and back pockets, even though I didn't photograph the back pockets, since they are the same as the other purses I shared using this same exterior fabric.

Donated to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

9 patch pieced flaps with added butterfly appliqué in batik fabric.

Front pockets.

Front  pocket.

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Sew Powerful Purses #183-184 (2025)

2 more purses completed to donate to Sew Powerful Purse Project.

Pinwheel purse flap.

Front pocket.

Back pocket and the purse below has same back pocket, but I didn't show it as it is the same for that purse too.

Happy die cut appliqué that I coated with fabric formula Mod Pod Podge to prevent fraying.

Front pocket.

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Sew Powerful Purses #347-354 (2024)

8 purses done. 5 with appliqué on the flaps and 3 scrappy pieced flaps. Donated to Sew Powerful.

Appliqué on these 5 purse flaps. The flap material is different from the purse body material, but it went well together. Both red fabrics for the flaps and the purse bodies were donated fabrics.

Flaps up showing front with notecards in pockets. The red fabric is a sturdy home dec type fabric.

Scrappy pieced purse flaps using sewing machine theme fabrics and other fabrics.

Notecards in pockets. Sewing theme purse bodies.

Backs of purses, 2 with added back pockets.

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I am a Bronze Level Prize Sponsor for the 2024 Sew Powerful Sew-a-thon

Hello everyone, I wanted to let you know that I am one of the sponsors this year for the Sew Powerful Sew-a-thon. As a Bronze level sponsor, the total value of the prize equals $100, but I could divide it into more than one prize and I decided to create 2 prizes (each prize is valued at $50). I created 10 purse flaps for the the Sew Powerful purses and 2 winners will win 5 flaps each.

I used different techniques in creating the purse flaps too. For each prize I made a flap out of selvages, batik pieced flap, a painted flap, a pieced flap with an appliqué butterfly on it, and a raw edge scrappy quilted flap. So, do you want to see the flaps I made for the prizes? Of course you do! Check them out below:

If you would like to join in on the Sew-a-thon & Fundraiser for 2024, you can pre-enroll now and get some fun extras. Check it out here!

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Flap of Friendship #2 (Purse #52 for 2024)

I completed the purse after receiving the 2nd Flap of Friendship that I signed up to do. This one was made by Susan from Florida. She made it scrappy!!! I posted just the flap in the Facebook Group and Susan commented that was her first scrappy flap she ever made! Gosh, I couldn't believe it. It was pieced so perfectly and colorful scraps too, which is just my style! I completed the purse a couple days after I received, but the weather has been windy or rainy or both, so taking a good photo wasn't going to happen for a while. Yesterday the sun came out for a little while, so I was able to snap some photos and here they are. 

Ta-da! I love those sparkly purple buttons too!

This fabric for the body was donated to a group I belong to. There was just about 1/4 yard

 of it and I knew it would make a nice purse, but paired with the flap Susan made, it really made it come together!!! This is the back of the purse that I added a back pocket to.

The flap lining that Susan used, so I knew purple was a great choice for the purse exterior and this beautiful fabric had both purple and pink in it!

Here is the side showing the gusset and rivet. I made the Intermediate purse and the flap is the beginner style flap, which I always make anyhow myself.

I didn't have enough of the fabric to create the full strap, but I love piecing 2 or more fabrics to create a strap if I am not using webbing. I found another purple fabric to go with the scrap I had and completed the strap and stitched a serpentine stitch down the center of the strap in a variegated thread.

The main lining fabric was something I just won at my quilt group. We have a nametag drawing at each meeting and rarely, if ever win, but they called my name and I won 2 different fat quarters and a small box of pins. This fabric made the perfect lining to go with the rest of the purse, yay!

Here is just the flap that I received from Susan. Thanks Susan! We made a great purse making team.

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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 #71-76 (2023)

6 more purses completed during the September Sew-a-thon (SAT). 

The print on the flap was donated to me awhile ago. I made several purses using the same print along with my own scraps. The piece I was given was a border print, so I just cut it into various shapes and scrappy pieced around the shapes. But I had a couple that I wanted to cut into a circle to appliqué onto the flap instead. Using rickrack around the circles added a bit of pop. I also added lots of French knots around the circle on the left. And a few crystals at the top.

The flap lining was also donated to me by the same woman and it is an African print fabric.

These 2 are die cuts from Crafter's Edge. The bird is one of a series of bird die cuts designed by Sue Spargo, who is known for here folksy bird appliqué. Sue usually works with wool.

Tiny buttons to embellish the wing and a crystal eye.

I used a dark crystal eye and a crystal at the tip of the unicorn's horn.

A selvage flap and scrappy brown flap.

Denim body for the selvage flap purse that was made from upcycling denim jeans. A pretty brown print that I had just enough to make the body of the brown purse.

Back pockets! I added the front jean pocket to the back and added a slip pocket on the brown purse.

Won't you please donate any amount to Sew Powerful during their September Fundraiser & Sew-a-thon? It takes $10 to fill a purse with the hygiene items that are reusable. This keeps a girl in school all month and the seamstresses there are employed by Sew Powerful, so they can earn a good wage for making the needed items for the girls. It's a win-win for all. 

Please go to Sew Powerful and click on the Donate Now Button and then use my participation number: 77640 when you make your donation. Every dollar adds up, so whatever amount you can give is much appreciated by me, Sew Powerful & of course the girls who will benefit from your donation. 

Please feel free to pass this info along to your family, friends, church members, etc. so they can donate too. As you can see, I am very passionate about helping these girls who live in extreme poverty in Zambia. Yes, there are prizes from sponsors, but the real prize for me is changing a young girl's life and giving her hope for her future. Thank you so much!!!!

Hugs,

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