Monday, January 5, 2009

DO YOU HAVE A SCRAP BAG?

If you work with fabric you should have one. If you don't you better start one! Mine was out of control, all those tiny scraps I could not bear to throw away. So, the project was a tote bag made from some of those scraps. Be warned right now there will be a lot of photos!
The bag "base" was a piece of fabric given to me years ago. The bag covering was created using all of those little scraps. Here is the beginnning where I am working from both ends of a large rectangle of the base fabric. It is large enough that the final finished bag measures about 16 inches square. I hand stitched each one in place and did some layering as well as some decorative embroidery. The hand stamp was also a scrap as it was done as a test piece for another project. Here are some closeup shots of some of the pieces and stitching. Those bright curvy strips are hems from the tee shirts I cut for rug weaving. This is the back of the rectangle of fabric showing my stitches. In addition to using up little scraps, I was also able to use those leftover pieces of embroidery floss, the ones we wind on cardboard for a future need. Now all my cardboard thread holders are empty! The bag lining was a piece of an old skirt I have had for years also. The Velcro strip was left over from another project. You see? The entire bag , in its individual pieces, could have easily ended up in the landfill. Instead, it has morphed into a colorful and roomy tote bag to hold all my stuff! It is large enough to carry my art journal and a current sewing project. Ahh.....tis good!

15 comments:

Sue said...

Gorgeous! And to think I just sent my entire bag of scraps to another artist, who will use the teensiest bit. I have to get busy and make myself some scraps!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Sue and nice to see you here! Yeah, get busy making scraps. You know it won't take long. I had to finish this (took forever with all the hand stitching) because I have fabric bought, washed, folded and ready for cutting. Another quilt is about to happen! But, tomorrow is my first raku pottery class so it will have to wait a bit longer!
(hey)Jude

Ricë said...

fabulous! i love this!

Pam said...

Love it. Wonderful stitching!

arlene said...

Wonderful! What a beautiful metamorphosis. I don't have the patience to hand stitch so much, but I would love to do this on my machine.
Thanks for sharing!

i_b_erin said...

Stunning Jude!!
I am really enjoying reading your blog, and am esp fond of your circles quilt. I have been saving circle fabrics to make a circle quilt.
What a nice way to start your day, feeding the birds..I love the bunny in there also!
Peace and joy to you in this new year! Erin

Anonymous said...

What a great idea to keep scraps in a bag rather than on shelves. Great bag to take to stores so we cut down on the plastic. Did you know there is a plastic glob the size of Texas off the coast of Cal? This is not going to go away!!! So cloth bags are the latest fashion statement to take shopping...Dee

Anonymous said...

Thanks all of you! I carried it today to pottery class and it holds a ton of stuff! Go make one for yourself!
(hey)Jude

violette said...

I love your scrap bags......beautiful! You have tons of patience to do that much stitching!

Love, Violette

Anonymous said...

Thanks Violette!
Do you think I might need some counseling or treatment? (grin)
(hey)Jude

Geree said...

Love the colors! Love the functional art concept yet again surfacing so brilliantly in your work!

Are you selling to boutiques and dept. stores? Or just to friends? Fabulous!

Geree

Anonymous said...

Ahhh Geree, you sweetie! I made this bag for myself. However, since you asked, I have not sold anything in over a year. I have a web site no one can find and nothing is happening locally to facilitate sales. I just make stuff, because I can't NOT make stuff. So, it just piles up in my studio. Someday maybe I will find a good place for it all.

Geree said...

Okay, here's the name for your new line, "Seams Fabulous!" I love it. It suits your wonderful creations. What do your other bloggers think?

Have you tried selling on ebay? They have a catagory for items direct from the artist. It may work for you.
Geree

Anonymous said...

Wow! "Seams Fabulous" is great! Thanks!
Actually, Ebay is so big I assumed stuff would just get lost there. And, the clothing is really hard to sell as the sizing is so wonky. Unless people know the brand well, sizes can't be counted on. However, accessories are always the right size so maybe I will look into that.

Geree said...

Hand bags and other cool things are big on ebay and many people peruse the listings daily. And, clothes aren't that hard to sell either if you can give specific details on the size.

It is cheap to try just a few items as a test. I'd be glad to help you if you decide to try it.

Glad you like 'Seams Fabulous'. I can't stop thinking how perfect it is. Of course, you could change it to 'Seams Jude' or 'Seams Creative'. Or 'Seams something else'. Have fun with it,
Geree