I dont know what to say about this bag.

FIRST:  Don't scroll down!  You will ruin the story.

WARNING!!  This bag is R-Rated. 

ALSO:  I don't want to use any "suggestive" words as I don't want that kind of web traffic so these words will be substituted with words that rhyme with said "bad word".

For those that don't know the "Bye Bye Love Bag", it's Sara Lawson's (from Sew Sweetness) January bag for the Bag of the Month Club, and it's really a nice large cute bag and she did hers in some adorable strawberry print. I chose a lovely linen, by Anna Maria Horner. I have been hoarding this fabric for the "right" bag and knew/thought this was IT.  Perhaps I should have thought a bit more....  Oh this bag has made me laugh, sigh, cry, and raise my eyebrows - more than once.

I am not going to write a huge story... but just get right into it.  ahem.

Here is a photo of the pretty butterflies on the back of the bag. I decided to opt out of the zipper pocket because I wanted to show the full butterflies in all of their... glory. Nothing wrong with that, I think the back looks great! Nothing to see here, move on...


I made up the front and the back pieces of the bags with no problems.  Although I skipped the recommended byAnnie's Soft and Stable in the pockets. With the added leather, all of the layers were too thick and I ended up hand stitching the pockets onto the front of the bag. It was slightly tedious.

Here is the pocket I finished first. What do you see?


My first thoughts:
DOOBS!  (ryhming word)  Oh my, there are big droopy orange "DOOBS" on my bag.
I send a quick text to Sheila and Carloyne that went something like this:

Me:  There are doobs on my pocket.
Sheila: Where, I don't see them.  Are you "corny" or something?
Me: NO!  They are right there, big orange "doobs"!
Thoughts: Is there something wrong with me? Is my mind in the gutter?
Sheila: Your mind is in the gutter.
Me: NO!
Finally Carolyne: WTH is that?
Me: See, I told you!

But then I looked at it again. My mind WAS in the gutter.  I saw more. Look at the pocket? There are knees and bums and "splotches" and, they look all stacked up. OMG there is a massive "Porgy" on my pocket!

Me: There is more, there is a porgy on my pocket.
Sheila: My daughter says there are nasty websites for people like you! lol!

Moving on. I kept going. Sheila reminded me the pocket flap would cover the doobs.
I did the other pocket, and it was not as bad, but still not "optimal". There is a suggestive bit, I suppose, but luckily it is hidden in the pleat. ?



I was wondering though, am I just seeing things now, because I am traumatized by the first pocket?  Is this like an ink blot test, and if so, am I passing or failing? I added the magnetic snaps, that seemed to help distract the blatant parts a bit.

So I spent the evening hand stitching on these ink blot butterflies. I decided, I was going to finish this bag anyway! Yes, I was.

In the morning, I cut out the pocket flaps and tried to use the most abstract pieces of fabric as I could. I do so love the colours of this fabric, and I decided that my gutter mind was not going to wreck it for me.

Until I saw THIS:

Click to Enlarge.

Tell me you see THAT.

More messages:
So I just sent Sheila that picture only, no words to accompany and she replied:
Sheila: You must have been really perverted when you cut that fabric! lol
Me: There is a "weenis" on my bag.
Sheila: I couldn't help but notice that.
Thoughts: HA! My mind is not in the gutter.

So, end of story, I made up these photos and sent them to my husband and he says:
Husband: I don't see it!
Me: You don't see it? Are you kidding me?
Husband: Sorry babe I think you have a dirty mind!

Okay then, moving on.

Here is the completed bag, it's very serious and very proper, very proper indeed! I have used a lovely linen and complementing leather trim. 



I am debuting one of my new metal bag labels today, isn't it perfectly lovely and proper! It says Handcrafted, Made in Canada and YES, I do have ones that say Handcrafted, Made in the USA, and they will be arriving next week. I have literally been waiting for them to get made for months. 



Oh, why the crying?  I broke my sewing machine sewing the bottom of this bag. My new sewing machine. I should have cut out the Soft and stable out of the seam, I really don't know what I was thinking. I will take it to get repaired on Friday and Mr. Repair Guy, will likely say "What did you do this time?"

This is my bag. These are my photos. There is nothing to see here, move on.



 

The first pattern of the 2014 Bag of the Month Club is here!  If you haven't seen it yet, here is the January pattern, the Bye Bye Love Bag by Sara from Sew Sweetness.  This is a gorgeous, roomy tote with plenty of room for books, gym gear or anything you need to cart around.  I think I would like this as an overnight bag or something to help me take my supplies to the new sewing guild.

If you are not familiar with the Bag of the Month Club, it's a great club that has just begun and it's not too late to join. My new pattern is going to be the February one and I can't wait to share it with you because.. umm... I love it!

Go here to join the club or get more details.  It's never too late to join, you will get any previously released PDFs upon joining.

Remember to join the Facebook page to follow along with any updates, and I've just started a FLICKR group.  We (the designers) would all love for you to share all of your beautiful bags on here, so please add all of your Bag of the Month finished bags to this group. I can't wait to see them. It's really pretty cool to think that there are so many of us around the world dreaming of fabric combinations, and sitting down to sew the same bag. I love this idea and I feel so honoured to be a part of it.

And now for some more Bye Bye Love Bags! More of Sara's version:



These gorgeous bags are Tracy's of I've Got a Notion. They are superb.

Read Tracy's pattern review here.

Love these fabrics and the double stitching looks great.

And Cyndi from The Nosy Pepper has done it again. This yellow and blue bag makes me dream of summer.

Read Cyndi's Review

Gorgeous work! I can't wait to get started on mine.  I've picked out some of my Anna Maria Horner linen and I think it's going to work beautifully.


 

The Bag of the Month Club

Have you ever heard of a Bag of the Month Club? I hadn't either, but after hearing all of the details, I didn't hesitate to jump right on board and now I am so excited to get started!If you love making bags or are wanting to get started with your first bag project, this is going to be a fantastic opportunity to get 6 brand new, exclusive, patterns from some great bag designers in your inbox every month. 


How it works:

The club runs from January-June of 2014. Each month, you will receive an exclusive and never seen before PDF bag sewing pattern from that month's designer. These are going to be high-quality and easy to understand sewing patterns each month. The designer line up is amazing and I am so proud to be working with these ladies! There will be plenty of help along the way and I am sure you will find plenty of new tips and tricks that will help you sew amazing bags in your own personal style.

I've taken all of the pertinent details from Sara's blog (from Sew Sweetness) and shared it here with you.  Here is what Sara has to say:

The bag designs will be a mystery until each pattern is revealed every month. We promise, they will definitely be worth the wait! Each pdf pattern will be delivered on the 1st of the month, and will include detailed instructions, illustrations/photos, and templates needed to make the bag pattern.

If you join after the club begins, you will receive all patterns released to the club up until that point (for instance, if you join on February 14th, you will receive the patterns for January and February within 24 hours of joining).


We are all so excited for you to join us! The one-time fee for 6 months of Bag of the Month Club is $40, during which time you will receive 6 pdf bag sewing patterns. The club runs from January through June of 2014. The club is a great value; pdf bag sewing patterns usually cost around $10 each, and you will be receiving 6 patterns for only $40.

My new Christmas coffee table runner.

I've been having some great fun with my new sewing machine. This is a cute and table runner I made from an old charm pack I got years ago.  All it needed was some binding and my Juki zipped through it like lightening.

Yes, that's right, I have another machine. My Pfaff Ambition 1.5 and I are on a break. That's right, the Brain has be kicked to the curb and designated "back up" machine. I know, our relationship is only 1 year old, but although I have heard raving reviews about the IDT, mine was not quilting great for me and it always pushed the top layer. So frustrating!! I changed the presser foot tension, I pinned and pinned AND spray basted at the same time. Still sliding. Also, being a bag maker, I needed a better motor that would go through anything and I got that with my new Juki TL2010Q. Love her!

Pinky and the Brain are still part of my life and will be used often. Pinky for heavy leather, the Brain for free arm, zig zag, button holes and every other stitch. But, after reading review after review about this great straight stitch, mechanical, Juki - I knew I had to have one.

Sara from Sew Sweetness's sewing machine review tipped me over the edge and put me on the google search war path. Yes, I am keeping up with the Joneses, or Saras. Being in Canada, I could not order from Sew Vac Direct, but after much searching, I did find a machine at Sewing and Embroidery Warehouse out of Winnipeg.  The call was made, and after requesting a discount and extra bobbins, the lovely ladies in sales sent me out the machine the same day and I had it from Winnipeg 3 days later. I have to say, my life has changed.  It just.. is.. wow!!

Secret Handbags:
After finally setting up my "Bag Makers Sewing Supplies" section in my website shop, I am finally able to get to some sewing today. I am working on a bag pattern for a Spring issue of a Canadian quilting magazine.  It's a bit of a secret.... and I'm pretty excited about it because: a) I love the bag and b) I am going to be in a magazine! Whoop!

I've already made one sample and I'm working on another to send while doing instructions.  Instructions will mostly be digital diagrams, so not too many photos to take and that's good because the lighting is terrible today. Here is poor quality teaser:


OH my gosh I have to tell you what happened this morning.  It's hard having a husband working away because I can't just run and tell him something when I want to, but this is cute so you will have to hear it.

I was working on this blog post this morning before my son woke up for school and after I got him up, I put it aside and got him off to school.  Now I am back at it, with a smile on my face because that kid is so darn funny and OH MY we need to teach him about the birds and the bees.  I am just NOT READY!

My girls are 21 and 23 and on their own and poor Jace (8) is on his own here. He was saying he wished he had a brother, because he is bored and this is the conversation that happened:

Me:    "Well hon, Daddy and I wanted you to have a brother or sister and we really tried but we just couldn't."  Immediately I knew that this was going to lead to more questions because I didn't phrase that one quite right.  I thought that it was time I was straight with him.  I need to provide him with a little more knowledge, but not too much quite yet.

Jace:  "Well why not?"
Me:    "Well, I was just too old to have more kids."
Jace:  "How do you make the baby anyway?"
Thoughts:  Crap, Crap... darn it... I am not ready for this 10 minutes before he is supposed to get on the school bus, or ever. Delay, delay... deal with this later.  Oh darn, I have put this off long enough!
Me:    "....stammer..... uh....uh... well the Mom and Dad make it together."
Thoughts:  Ooops bad, bad.  No time for this!! Ack.  Please don't ask, please don't ask!
Jace:   "Do you drink special baby juice?"
Me:     "What?!"  pause.... gulp.... "Drink it? No, you don't drink it."
Thoughts:  Why did I say that?
Jace:    "What?!"
Thoughts:  Oh my!  What am I going to say now?
Jace:    "Can I have an orange in my lunch? Can you peel it?"
Me:      "Yes, I'll send a Christmas napkin with it! How about cookies!"

I did not handle that well. Again.
Can any of you recommend an age appropriate reproduction book for me to read to him??  I can't do this!

Okay, I am going to fill my hardware orders and SEW!!