This lady single-handedly changed the way I thought about patchwork, quilting, bag-making, all sewing really.
I first fell in love with Amy Butler's fabrics, and then moved onto her patterns. You know that Listerine advert on the tv, the one that blows all the barnacles off the hull of a sailing boat. That kinda happened in my mind when I first saw Amy's fabrics. It sounds rather ridiculous, but her colours and fresh, modern but retro designs allowed me to think outside what I though patchwork and quilting was all about. AND it allowed me to think that perhaps I could at least try it for myself. It gave me the confidence to experiment. Wow. I have not looked back. I still like traditional fabrics and traditional patterns. But now I look at fabric through different eyes, and have so many more options than I used too. Hang on, maybe that's another reason The Stash has grown to the proportions it has. Oh well, there are worse things to be obsessed about.
Moving on to other things...................
I've failed to say before, that my local village, truly gorgeous shopping place, Sage, has bought a few of my bags to to sell. I don't know how I found the courage to talk to Rexine, I think I must have been riding high on my success at 'The Falls Art Festival'. Because, I have the shy gene, and have on quite a few occasions, especially when I feel out of my depth, turned a vivid shade of red all on my neck and chest. Mortifying. But, talk to her I did! And, what a thrill that she liked what she saw. I also took some fabric samples and she ordered a couple of bags to be made.
This one
is the one she ordered. If you ever see this fabric, 'Country Roads' by Robyn Pandolph, touch it! It is oh so soft, you'd be forgiven if you thought it was flannel. This is the only fabric to get 'the nod' from Tim, and I have, of course, sourced some more for a quilt for our bed.
Back to the bag.
This bag is all my own. I first made this bag, which I've called 'Simply Shopping' from some 6 1/2" odd squares I found at Ribbons & Rainbows in Blackheath. I just designed that bag from what fabric I had, and basically followed the method of Rosalie Quinlan's 'Naomi's Bag'. This time though, I thought what about a log cabin center, and voila, there you have it.
This is the back
The center for this one is just all the left over, odd cut pieces, sewn together, and then cut down to the correct size. I like to think it has added a Ying/Yang - order/disorder aspect to the bag.
Anyhow, the second bag that went to Sage today was a bag I started maybe a year ago! I'd made the outer bag and the lining, and then gone, oops not sure if I like that, and had to stop. I found it again last week, and looking again at the colour compostition, I decided that yes I did like it after all.
And so to bed.......
