Sew Powerful Purses #33-41 (2023)

9 more purses finished! Yay! I made these from a panel (like some others I already shared here before). The panel was about half flowers half quotes and some were repeated, but most had only one of each. I sewed strips around the quote part to make it large enough for the purse flap. I added buttons and crystals on some. I think this panel was just made to make these purses for the sweet girls in Zambia! Need to work on finishing the flower ones soon too.

Some of the words on these flaps are written in a cursive font, and the girls do not know how to read cursive, so on the notecard that I include in each purse (cards are required, but can be made by someone else), I write what the flap says all in block print letters so they will know. Even if they could read the cursive word(s), some fonts could be difficult for them.

I had to add some crystal bling on this one!

This one can be read by the girls as it is all in block letters.

Buttons and crystals added.

Fraternal twins. Same panel, but sewed the strips in different fabrics as well as the body is different fabrics.

Added small buttons and crystals to both flaps.

The flap lining on the left is all done in cursive writing. Maybe a clever girl who receives this purse can teach herself cursive?

I love this one! I used a star print fabric for the body and star buttons and of course some crystals that twinkle like stars.

Too bad the crystals do not sparkle in the photo like they really do when the light hits it. 

Added buttons and crystals in the centers of some of the print flowers.

This purse and the one below are fraternal twins. Different fabrics strips surround the flap and different body fabrics. Both I added heart buttons and crystals on.

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Shaputto Bag & Little Wallet

When I sent my Aunt the Opera Fabric Cross Body Bag I made for here (Emma Half Moon Bag), I also included a Shaputto Bag (Japanese style folding bag) and a little card wallet to match the Emma bag. 

The Shaputto bag can be folded and rolled up. I used fold-over elastic that I sewed into the bag to wrap around the folded bag to hold it and keep it small until needed. I really like fold-over elastic much better than regular elastic. It comes in lots of colors and widths and is softer and stretchier than regular elastic. I also don't care for how regular elastic rots after a while and loses its elasticity.  I even printed off an instruction sheet for my Aunt so she could better understand how to open and fold the bag. I hope she uses it. She didn't mention it or the matching wallet when she wrote.

The Shaputto bag rolled up here.

The bag is opened here and the pleats expand to make quite a roomy bag. It is hard to photograph it well.

Here it is flat before either opening or folding and rolling the bag up. When you grab the short ends and pull in opposite directions the bag automatically will fold like this. The fold-over elastic is at one end, so you would roll from the opposite end and then stretch the elastic over the rolled bag to keep it small like the first photo.

Looking down into the opened bag. I used a batik fabric for this bag, since the bag is not lined and looks the same on both sides.

Here is the wallet I made to match the Emma Half Moon cross body bag that I made for my Aunt.

The opened wallet with 3 card pockets. The last back pocket is deeper and can also hold cash folded in half.

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Sew Powerful Purses #29-32 (2023)

Four more purses finished for Sew Powerful Purse Project. I made one using raw edge scraps and added yarn couching and embellishments and made the purse body from denim jeans. The rest were made using small panels for the flaps and adding fabric strips to bring them up to the correct size. 

Purse # 29 for 2023. Made with a panel.

On the front and back I used this fabric, but had to piece it, so I added some lace and running stitches and French knots to cover up he seam and add some bling too.

Added bling of hot fix crystals to the flap.

Purses #30-31 are fraternal twins, using the same panel, but different added fabric strips to the flap.

On one I sewed some buttons on like this, which was a fun change of pace. 

Had to bling these flaps up with crystals too, especially with those words! I wrote the wording out on the notecard that I included in each of these purses because the girls do not read cursive and some of these fonts might be hard to read even if they could read cursive. 

The back side of both the purses have an added back slip pocket.

I had fun creating this with raw edge scraps of batik fabrics. Some were very small scraps and now will I be able to throw even the tiniest scrap away? LOL!!! I quilted both vertically and horizontally very close together to hold it all together. I couched yarn too. I hand washed the flap before cutting it to shape to make sure it would hold up and it did beautifully! Then I added some buttons and decided after I took this photo to add a few crystals scattered here and there too.

The body was made from denim jeans. You can see the flat felled seam on the frotn pocket here.

I like to add a rivet to the side gusset to hold the strap in place and more bling. I do sew several times over the strap to hold it as well. That strap isn't going anyhwere!

Added slip pocket on the back. I sewed some batik fabric to the top of the pocket to make it tall enough.

Looking down into the front pocket.

Looking down into the lining, with a peekaboo of the front pocket.

It brings me such joy to create and donate these purses to the girls in Zambia.

The 2nd annual Sew-a-thon (and fundraiser) for Sew Powerful will start this September. I have lots of kits cut out, so I will be able to sew the days and month away. I hope to get more purses finished this year than I did last year, but will I? Last year I made 116 purses during the month of September, so I hope to beat that amount this year. Time will tell whether I can or not. Last year I spent a week testing 2 bag patterns for 2 designers, so this year I won't commit to any tests during September and that will help give me more time to sew for the Sew-a-thon.

Meanwhile, happy purse sewing.

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Rainbows & Unicorns Panel Quilt with Frame & Twist Border

I saw this panel a while back and bought it because I knew right away I wanted to make the Frame & Twist Border for this panel, from Twister Sisters. I used scraps I had for the Twister blocks, using the colors in this panel. I even used white scraps of fabric too. I backed it with a flannel material, which is soft, but even trying to free motion quilt this on my Supreme Slider, it was not wanting to freely move! So I think a walking foot and straight line quilting is the only way to quilt with a flannel for the backing from now on. But even with the struggle I had, I LOVE how this quilt turned out!!!

This measures 38.25" wide x 55.5" high.

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Chevron Knit Blanket (Donated)

I knit this Chevron blanket awhile ago. I wasn't sure about donating it to Project Linus because of the yarn over "holes" created when knitting this. There is info on PL's website stating there should be no holes, yet on the Facebook PL group those who knit or crochet always seem to have "holes" in their blankets, so I asked about it on the FB group and did not get any definitive answer. 

The reason for the no holes is a good one. For babies tiny toes and fingers can get caught and cut off circulation. I learned about this years ago from my friend who is a nurse. The other reason is medical equipment can get caught in the "holes". Some said holes less than 1/2" are fine. But certainly that is for an older child as babies can still get toes and fingers caught in the holes. For those of us donating blankets that are knit or crocheted, we have no idea what child (any age) may be hooked up to medical equipment. So I hope these kind of blankets are given to the children who won't have any issues with the holes. I know I will never again knit any more blankets with any holes to donate to PL, just to be certain. 

If they won't accept them, where do they go? I have heard they donate to other charity groups, but if I am making these for PL specifically, I want to know if they are not accepted and passed on to another group. Maybe I will donate directly to that other group or stop making blankets to donate to PL if they don't end up there?

So after months of working on this Chevron Knit Blanket and more months deciding what I should do with it, I finally just donated it. I measured it and wrote down the measurements at the time, but don't know where I put it. I think it was 43ish inches wide x 50ish inches long. Good size for an older child.

I took photos inside on the floor under where there are 2 skylights. Funny how the colors can look so different. The true color is the dark one with mostly blue and touches of purple in the yarn.

This close up to show the knitting washed out the colors for some reason.

I love how when starting to knit the Chevron stitches, the end naturally makes these scallops.

Washed out colors in this photo too. The true colors are like the darker photos.

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