Finally finished my new purse (and accessories)!

My old purse was really showing its wear and I have been wanting to make a new one for quite a while.  I even bought fabric a while ago, but decided it wasn't what I wanted anymore.
Here it is with the fabric I bought for the lining:

I'll have to figure out what to do with that fabric, now.

Here is the post that shows my now old purse (and matching laptop bag).

 I was at JoAnn's a week or two ago (I go there pretty much weekly) and found some heavy fabric - not quite as heavy as home decor, but still heavy so I broke down and bought some.  I should have bought more, but I think I had three yards.  Next time I think I'll just buy it all, because I went back to get some more and it was gone!

I've been thinking of how I want to make my new purse for a while.  I liked the last one, but it was too small (it started out larger, but the corners wore and I had to re-do it and cut an inch off each side).

I also knew I wanted a separate compartment for my Kindle Fire, and the top needed to be closed instead of open.  That way if it falls over in the car it doesn't all spill out.  I also knew for sure that I wanted to put small pockets on the short sides, because that's were I put my cell phone.

I had made another one a couple weeks ago, but it was too big.  So I thought maybe I'd use it for a carry on bag when  we go to Hawaii in December.  Turns out, I ended up purchasing a set of luggage that has the smallest bag that resembles a purse, so I'll just use that.  Anyway, that bag was too big, so this one I reduced the size by a couple inches each way and it's much better!
Here it is!!!




It has a zippered compartment on the back to hold my Kindle Fire.


The inside has all the small pockets I always put in, in addition to a zippered compartment!!  That was something new!


Of course, I also had to make some "accessories" - sun glass holder, tissue holder, small pouch for my dental floss/tooth pick things, and a business card holder.


And a wallet!  Made a few changes to this, too.  I added more slots for cards, etc and it's not quite as wide as the other one.  I also kept a plastic slot on the front for my drivers license.


The back has a zippered compartment for change, and behind that is where I keep my money.




The inside (with a place for my pen!):  (Yes, that is an AARP card!  Todd turned 50 this year so we're now members!  lol )

Think we have enough checking accounts?  We have a total of four - they are all joint accounts, but a couple we use specifically for Todd's business, I have one for my sewing business and then the regular one for household bills.

There's also space underneath the cards for more storage (deposit slips, etc).



(That long list is what we can purchase for Todd's business that are tax deductions.)

Everything is still pretty stiff, but as I use it more and more, it will loosen up.

And speaking of my Kindle Fire - I just HAD to make a new cover for it to match!!! lol It's not quite as bulky as the other one, so it fits in my purse a lot better.




I did still make the front so I can fold it over and it props up itself.  The other one I was using had elastic that covered up the speakers, so I made sure this one doesn't do that.


Overall I'm very pleased with everything.  I really LOVE this fabric!!!!

Have a wonderful week!!!!!

I've done LOTS of sewing lately.

Sadly, most of what I've sewn are for gifts, so I can't post pictures yet.  The only thing that I can post is the lastest baby quilt I made for our newest grandson who's due on the 12th, but can come any day.  I've made each one of our grandkids one of these, so I hand-quilt them.

Front


Back


And yesterday I had the best trip to JoAnn's Fabric!!!!  They had coupons out and would let you use more than one, so I decided to splurge.  One coupon was 50% off any regular priced item, one was 40% off one regular price item and the other one was 20% off your total purchase!  So even though I spent over $100, I saved $45!

I've been looking for some home decor fabric to make another purse.  And of course, that also means I'll need to make another laptop bag, book cover, cosmetic bag, and other stuff that I have in the black that I'm using now.  So this is the fabric I came home with:


and with the fabric I'll use for the lining:


Since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, I bought a pink "Survivor" patch for my mom, and today decided to make a tote bag for her.  At first it started really easy, but quickly became more intricate, so it took me all day.  But it turned out really cute!!!  If it wasn't for the "Survivor" patch on it, I'd keep it!  Once I figure out if they are coming to visit soon or if I need to mail it, I'll post pictures.

So keep checking back!

A New Purse and Laptop Case!!!! :D

I'm going on a trip next week and have been thinking of making a matching purse and laptop case for a while, so finally started them this week.  I finished the purse Tuesday and started on the laptop case right away.  I made the "Samantha" design purse (my favorite) and used it for the laptop case with some adjustments.  The design for the laptop case has been floating around in my head for a few months, and I made a list of what all I need to carry in it and how to make it.  I also quickly made a zippered cosmetic bag and small carrier for the ear buds for my Blackberry.

Here is the whole set:

The purse has pockets on all four sides, the small sides are perfect to carry my phone in!

Inside of the purse (sorry it's messy, I already changed everything from my old purse):

I always make pockets on the inside of the purse, two different sizes.

And the laptop case (Front - no pockets on the outside of this except for the back)

Back with the pocket - I also have two small handles and one large, adjustable and removable shoulder strap.

Inside of the laptop case - this is what really stumped me.  I have a large padded pocket for the computer, pockets for the mouse, ear buds, cords and books for my Blackberry (I'm supposed to be able to use it as a modem for the laptop, so I'm taking everything w/ me on my trip), and places for business cards and pens.

 

And this is how they look on my shoulder - handles perfect to be able to carry them both!  They look kind of odd here because the laptop bag is practically empty, but I'm happy with them!!!

I also made these this afternoon - I need to do one more to carry coins, then I'm done with my whole set!
Zippered Cosmetic bag:

And the pouch for my BB Ear Buds:

Comments are greatly appreciated!!!!!  Thanks for looking!!!

Finished another purse!!!! :D 1/24/10

So another one of my aunts requested a purse a few months ago.  I was supposed to take the fabric samples to Mom at Christmas, but since we didn't get there, I had to mail them when we got back home.  She picked out the fabric and I started the purse a few days ago and finished this afternoon.  I really like the fabric, it's a pretty brown with blue.  I used blue for the lining of the outside pockets and a tan material for the inside.  It turned out really nice!

Here are the pictures:
Front:


Inside - I used my MIL's Bernina for the decorative stitches on the pockets:



Inside:



Outside:

Another commissioned purse!

I had my aunt Eunice request a purse, so when I was on my trip last week, I took along fabric samples for her to decide what she wanted it made out of. I also had the purse that I made for Todd's grandma along, so took that for her to see. She decided she wanted the "Samantha" design (which is my favorite one to make), and the brown fabric that I'm also going to cover the wing-back chair in (I have LOTS of it). I had some really pretty gold fabric that I used for the inside. I spent the yesterday afternoon on it and finally finished it right after supper last night. Today I'll put it in the mail, then spend the rest of the day job-searching.

Here are the pictures of her purse:












The purse is 10.5" by 4.5" and is 7.5" tall. The straps have a 13" fall. There are outside pockets on all four sides (velcro closure on the long sides), 6 various sized pockets on the inside and has a d-ring on the inside to hang keys.

I hope she likes it! All I need to do is print off an invoice and get it packaged up. I'm mailing it to my Mom since I don't have Eunice's address.

And a funny story about the purse I made for Todd's grandma - she was changing purses in her room at the nursing home, and figured out the pockets were too small for her to put her wallet and checkbook in. (Had I known she puts them in pockets, I would have made them larger.) One of her favorite nurses came in (the one who she says saved her life when she had her last heart attack and sat with her the entire day) and was looking at it, said they could rip a seam out so that it would fit and Grandma said she was really admiring the purse. So Grandma just decided to give it to her! Grandma was worried that I would be upset about her giving it away, but I told her that it's her purse to do with what she wants, so it was fine. She's really worried about Todd's parents (update on my personal blog here).

If anyone is interested in a purse, bag or anything else I make, please feel free to contact me! I can be reached at jylslife@gmail.com or via my etsy shop here.

Thanks for stopping by! Comments are always welcome!