The Ol' Skulls And Bones

I am running low on creativity. I find that I am repeating myself. Here's my latest bag - a simple long handled black bag with the skulls and bones motif done in running stitches. My secret agenda was to use up the pink-purple fleece. Oh, the burden....

The lining and flap lining were made using fleece. What else!

 

My son posed for me because my girl didn't want to. He was quite embarrassed. Look how lanky he is. I can't he believe I've had him for 12 years! Seems like only yesterday I had just given birth to him and when the baby was placed in my arms, all I could say was, "Why is his nose so flat?" My gynae said, "You're Chinese, your husbanad is Chinese. Of course your baby has flat nose. Chinese have flat noses." Well, my gynae was wrong. My son's nose is no longer flat. It unflattened.

2009 is a milestone year for my son. It's his last year in primary school. Last week, we went to his primary school to get his exams results. His grades were within expectation. He aced Math, his favourite subject  so we were all happy for him. He obtained As in all the other 3 subjects. We were thrilled he got A for Chinese. After investing so much money and effort in Chinese tuition, I'm glad it paid off. Today, we received a letter that he will get something from the government for his good results. I hope it's real cash and not some voucher. I'm so proud of him!

This is a book I've been studying for the past few days. It seems my son has to submit a selection of 6 choices of secondary schools he prefers. The unpleasant task of selecting the 6 schools fell upon me. It's truly a nightmare. I chose the schools by comparing the aggregate my son obtained against the range of aggregates of the students of each school. So naturally, my first choice went to the best school in my area. On Sunday, we took the bus to the school to see if my son could get there on his own next year. It turned out to be pretty easy. Still we had to take 2 different buses! Hello public transport ministry? I detect some monopoly here. I used the same algorithm to choose the rest of the schools. Wise or wrong, the deed is done. Come 22nd December, we'll know. Hope I don't have to beg some school principal for a transfer! Wish me luck!

I Think I Over-Pleated!

Having recovered from my pleat phobia, I dived back into the pleating scene once again. I was really excited to use my green white stripes uphostery weight cotton fabric. Once I had this skirt which had very large pleats with very large bands and very short and I thought I looked really good it it, a bit like a kilt except the pleats are in front and back as well. So of course I wanted to make a bag of that skirt. Now this is something I thought I would never say. But I think I over-pleated!

The problem is when the pleats are too deep, the flare becomes too wide and the band is unable to support curvature. Am I making sense? Also if I had made the bag longer, it wouldn't have looked so weird.

Trying to use up my pink-purple fleece!

Also, when my husband looked inside and saw I had used my pink-purple fleece, he screamed. In horror. I ask for an Apple computer and he doesn't blink an eye. But put pink-purple with green and he screams. Now you know where his priorities are.

After making this bag, I had an small, odd rectangular length of fabric. So guess what? I made another pleated bag. But having learnt my lesson, I was careful with the pleats.

 

I did not want to give my husband a stroke so I avoided using the pink-purple fleece.

And the large bag said to the small bag fuming, "That lady bag maker! She said I was over-pleated! Can you believe that?"

The Cowardly Baldie

I'm suffering from pleated bag fatigue. So I have temporarily refrained from sewing or even looking at pleats. I've turned my attention to slouchy bags.

This bag is extremely easy to make. Mainly it comprises of rectangles and a couple of curves. It is the handle which is more of a challenge. Because I make the strap adjustable, it has to be very long. Turning it right side out is a lot of work. This time I asked my husband to do it. I'm only sorry I forgot to take photos of his face while he's at it. I think he'd rather climb Mt Everest.

For this bag, I use a Robert Allen fabric. How I scored this fabric is a story worth telling. I was at a fabric store when I noticed a Robert Allen print nicely wrapped up. On it was written the price per metre. I approached a cutter and asked if the fabric was sold by the metre. The male cutter, let's call him Baldie studied the wrapped fabric and told me yes. Then he proceeded to unwrap it and cut off 1 metre's worth for me. I was paying the cashier when she looked closely at the fabric and started yelling at me at the top of her voice. She informed or yelled that the fabric is only sold by the bolt which was over a hundred dollars. She went on and on. Surprisingly I wasn't angry. I just wondered at which point Baldie who was just behind the cashier would come to my rescue. The coward! Finally when I had a chance to speak, I pointed at Baldie and explained he said I could buy by the metre. Baldie received a round of blah blah from the cashier which for me was round 2. I wondered at which point the cashier would realise I was a customer. Finally she did and apologised.

Anyway, whoever buys this bag is one lucky lady!

Get it at myEtsy or projectsbyjane.com