…and more purses!

I really had a blast making these purses.  I used webbing for the first time, tried my hand at using hardware for the clips and d rings, and had my first experience with a magnetic clasp.

Purses…

Now that Christmas has come and gone I can finally post a few pictures of some of my purses that were purchased as gifts.  Cousin Cathy lent an artistic hand with her beautiful choices of fabric for some of these.

my very first zippered coin purse

I’ve added a new “small” size to my herbal hot/cold packs

As soon as I download my pictures from the camera, I’ll have a few more of my most recently completed purses and zippered pouches.  Stay tuned…

The Machines

Remember when I said I have been busy?  Well, I have been TOO busy, it seems because just the other day I chopped off the top of my finger, while being busy.  Let me go back to before the incident and explain because this one is probably blog worthy (and if it isn’t of interest to everyone else, I will want to remember this experience and maybe even laugh over it one day).

My Viking sewing machine and I have a love/hate relationship.  My trusty old Kenmore and I get along famously, but only because I understand she is old and really doesn’t sew so well these days and therefore I try hard not to overtax her.  But my Viking…she’s another story altogether.  She sews beautiful lines, fabric flows like water through her needle, but make her angry and there is no going back.  I am missing a chunk of flesh from my forehead to prove it.  But that happened weeks ago, and I have healed and learned to be more cautious and so I have moved on.  Perhaps I should have seen this as a sign and I could have avoided the death trap that is my sewing room.

If you’ve been reading my blog, then you know I have recently launched a new business (Inspired Moments Gifts) and it involves sewing.  Many hours in front of my beautiful, but slightly vicious machine.  It also involves a great deal of time using sharp (much emphasis on SHARP) objects.  In my enthusiasm to complete my two recent orders of 7 purses, I lost focus on how dangerous it can be in my sewing shop.  And then it happened.  It was late at night, I was happily singing along with my tunes, my little angelic child was sleeping blissfully, my darling husband was doing what he loves most – watching hockey, and the house was quiet when I piled up layer upon layer beneath my trusty ruler and began to cut with the ever-so-deadly rotatory blade.  At first it felt like a little sting.  No big deal.  I thought, that will probably hurt later.  Then I saw the blood.

And I thought for a moment I would bleed to death from this silly little wound. But I’m dramatic like that.

Once I came to my senses, I wrapped it in kleenex and taking my life into my hands for the second time that night, I risked interrupting hockey for a professional opinion on the damage.  I got a look (like, seriously, you tried to cut your finger off sewing?) and  it will quit bleeding eventually and no you won’t die and there’s nothing to do but clean it up response and then he stuck a pressure bandage on it which hurt like the dickens and went back to his game.  I quit sewing for the night but only because I couldn’t figure out how you stuff fabric under the pressure foot without a working index finger.

I finished the purses the next day.

My sweet husband’s final advice…respect the blade.

My well-meaning little boy’s advice…mommy, don’t sew anymore.

I’m ready for my next project.