I got to meet Amy Butler!

Ok it is horrendous that I have not blogged since May 5th. I guess two in a row just wiped me out or something. Actually, this month has been a whirlwind of activity and practically none of it involved sewing. Business trips to Texas (8 planes in 5 days, whew!), so busy at work I barely check my work email, spring cleaning and planting, etc etc. I did make two bags so far, both new designs! I only have pictures of one of them. Currently still looking for a name though, I'm open to suggestions!

What do you think of this cute summer handbag? The straps are long enough to go over your shoulder, and it is so functional with a zipper pocket and slide pockets on the inside and a zipper pocket on the outside! This is a first for me, and it has been a highly requested feature so I think it will go over well! This Jessica Jones fabric is so amazing! Definitely one of my favorite prints, especially in these fun colors.

One of the other reasons I lost some sewing time is I got to attend Quilt Market! It was so great, I found a lot of supplies that I can get wholesale. Sewing machine needles, zippers, and even duck cloth! Since I'm so smalltime, I can't buy all of my duck cloth wholesale or else I'd end up with no money and a ton of fabric, but I did get a bolt of black. If more colors are as highly requested that perhaps I could order more!

And the best part about Quilt Market was...I got to meet Amy Butler!!! She's so nice, there were a lot of people coming up to her and she chatted with everyone. She even autographed my brochure! This summer she has another new line coming out called Love, and it includes quilting and home decor weight fabric. I didn't get to see any of the designs, but I'm very excited! This must be what people feel like when they meet celebrities.

That's my exciting news for now. The other bag I made is a travel bag and it turned out too small so there is still some work that needs to be done on that. Hopefully more new designs are coming soon! I have some orders to fill for the next week or so. But for now, I'm off to a barbecue. Happy Memorial Day!

Crafting Food

Blogging two days in a row? Why, that's unheard of! However, I felt inspired after reading this article on msn.com today.

The article is about the cost effectiveness of making your own staple foods vs. buying them from the store. It has some really interesting results. I know one way to save money and eat healthier is to grow your own vegetables. It does take time and effort for sure, but it's so rewarding to pick a tomato from your garden and slice it up to put on a sandwich, or make your own salsa. There is some initial investment, maybe in some gardening equipment like a hoe and a trowel, good soil if yours is eh, and a little fertilizer. And of course seeds!

I've found that the amount of time per day isn't much. Maybe if it's dry set up the sprinkler for an hour or two, if your plants are growing slow hoe in some fertilizer, and of course it will take some time to pick all the delicious veggies you grow! Here are some tips if you're new to gardening.

However, if you grow enough, you might even have enough to last through fall and winter, or longer if you or someone you know has canning equipment. That equals months of not purchasing produce from the grocery store, all for minimal capital investment! Another benefit goes to the environment. Think of all the pesticides that are not being used, fossil fuel that isn't being wasted on transporting produce halfway across the world, and soil that isn't being depleted of its nutrients by growing the same crops year after year.

I grew up around homemade and homegrown foods, well somewhat anyways. Particularly from my paternal grandmother, who is the most frugal person I know, and so she grows most of her own food. Green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, squash, cucumbers, corn, cabbage, and green and hot peppers all come from her garden every year and are either eaten fresh or canned. She used to have an apple tree too, and so homemade applesauce and apple pies were our favorite late summer treats. It died a few years ago (RIP apple tree), but last October we picked apples from a local orchard, and I made a pie! Not to brag, but it was the most delicious pie EVER. I highly encourage homemade pie making, and if anyone asks I could provide a recipe!


I have many fond memories of rolling out pie dough, stringing beans, and shucking corn fresh off the stalk for dinner that evening. I encourage everyone to start their own garden this summer, even if it's just a couple tomato plants, to help in these tough economic times and also promote the handmade lifestyle (which also applies to food!). If you have kids it will be great to use as a teaching tool and a fun activity to share with them, and maybe the older ones can even take a little responsibility for some of the plants.

All of this gardening is done in her backyard in the city too, so you don't have to live on a farm to enjoy homegrown food! Plant a garden and craft your own food with your family this summer!

I'm all a-Twitter!

I've officially joined Twitter! It seems like it is easy and fast to update, so I hope I will keep up with this more than I have my blog. *feels guilty* Check it out at http://www.twitter.com/londonpurple!

In bag news, I just have one more custom order to make and then I'm onto new stuff! I've slowed down my production a little bit in order to spend some more time with family and keep my sanity. I think I had promised new bags by the end of last week and that didn't work out. I definitely promise them this week though!

I'm going to be out of town for work next Sun/Mon and Weds/Thurs and I need a new travel bag to double as a carry-on, so I will definitely be making the prototype by the end of the week! It will be a large zippered tote with a cool rounded bottom that I tried to do on a purse once (before I got good at making purses!) and I thought I'd give it another try. There are going to be some outside zippered pockets and cool stitching details. The prototype will be a bright turquoise canvas with Amy Butler's Ripple Stripe in Green as the lining. I haven't decided if I'm doing accents on the exterior with the lining fabric.The turquoise canvas is the fourth from the top. Isn't it great! These canvases are some of the new colors I'll be using for messenger bags and also for new summer styles. I love these bright colors, they make me think of the beach! Photos of the prototype will definitely be up by the weekend, keep an eye out!

Yay summer!

Today was so beautiful, I hope this weather is here to stay! I have great ambitions for the landscaping/patio this summer. Last year we moved in to our house at the end of May, and we were so busy just trying to buy regular furniture that the outside of the house sort of got neglected. Well, I'm not much of a gardener anyways. Whatever the opposite of a green thumb is, that's what I've got! Must be a red thumb. I killed all of our flowers last year, including a beautiful hydrangea bush that I had high hopes for. We just bought a potted fern for the living room and I think it looks pretty nice, so let's cross our fingers it has better luck than the other plants!

The plan for the outside is:

-- buy two large flowers/bushes/trees for some big plastic pots we got 50% off at Jo-Ann's last weekend
-- plant more petunias on the path to the front door (last year's lot survived somehow, so I think I'll try it again!)
-- get a new hydrangea bush and get my green thumbed neighbor (with three large healthy hydrangeas) to help me plant it!
-- buy a dining set so we can actually enjoy our gorgeous covered patio
-- get some outdoor lights and torches so we can enjoy the patio at night as well
-- maybe get a hammock

If I could pick anything that I'd want on our patio, I'd pick this amazing Chesapeake Hanging Lounger from Pottery Barn.

How awesome is this? So much better than a hammock, it's like a big hanging couch! It looks so comfortable, but the price is definitely a deterrent. Like a true crafter, I've already been thinking about how to make one myself. (Or at least with the help of my dad!) Luckily our deck is built very sturdily, so I think it might actually be something that would work! We'd already have a hammock except the posts are at least 14 feet apart which seems awfully wide. Perhaps we can still look into it. I must have something to lounge on to read books and drink lemonade this summer! Even if it's just a hammock I'd be happy, but I can dream about having this wonderful lounger.

I hope to plant some more flowers around the house this summer too. I think I'll have to get my mom over to help! I love the idea of having a row of daisies in a mix of pretty colors. Does anyone have tips for low maintenance or perennial flowers we could plant? Something that's not easily killed perhaps? I'd love to hear suggestions and see pictures of your own gardens!

End of the Weekend :(

Sunday evening is such a sad time. I always feel like I never got enough done over the weekend, and I know work is starting up in less than 12 hours and that my sewing time will seriously decrease. Looking back I did make quite a bit of progress on my custom orders, knocked out 11 bags last week and three more today!

We also visited the Shaker Square Farmer's Market on Saturday. I'm considering having a booth there and/or at the Crocker Park Market maybe once or twice a month. It was mostly produce, pastries, handmade soaps/candles, and I saw someone with accessories like jewelry, belts, headbands and a few bags. Still haven't decided if my items will fit in...is anyone out there a regular attendee to either show?

We did buy some great food though! Organic eggs from free-range chickens and some homemade lime-cilantro hot sauce that is quite delicious. I was interested in some grass-fed beef but we got there towards the end of the show and they didn't have much of a selection left. Plus my grandpa has a cattle farm so we can get all the organic beef we want - for free! For some reason I always forget to ask though. There was a ton more great stuff though, even if I don't end up vending at this show, I'd love to go back and buy some more great food!

Well that's about it for news. So far my schedule has me finishing up custom orders by the end of the week. I've decided not to do any big shows in May so that I'm not scrambling to prepare. I have a couple business trips going on for work and there's no need to put myself into a stressful situation. I'm also going to limit the number of custom orders I take (just for May). This gives me the opportunity to build up an inventory of my summer line during the month, so that I can accept more custom orders later. Keep an eye out for my new designs beginning next week!

And because blog posts are boring without pictures:

Shopping carts committing suicide in the parking lot of my local Jo-Ann Fabrics. Perhaps they were tired of me overloading them with fabric.

Happy Easter!

Seems like I'm coming down with the flu so this will be short. I hope your holiday was relaxing and full of food, family and friends. I will leave you with some pictures of some delicious cupcakes I made and the baby enjoying her Easter basket treats!

Is it summer yet?

As the snow on my front lawn melts, I'm already thinking about my summer line! I got some great fabrics in the other day that I plan on using for new prototypes. In the past I never really did seasonal lines, but I'm trying to be a bit more structured with color/pattern availability and introducing new styles. I will also phase out some of the less popular designs (although the names might be the same) and tweak some that I think could use a little adjusting.

The "themes" for this summer are function, florals, and fun colors! My plans include an all-purpose tote with simple color blocked style and a water resistant inner lining, which would make it perfect for a beach bag! I also would like to incorporate the new convertible cross-body style that seems to be sweeping the designer purse world. I'd like to update my large travel bag either by tweaking the Paddington or adding a whole new bag. Also...no promises...but I'm looking at some hardware options for rolling luggage! You'll never grab the wrong bag at the airport baggage claim again! As far as colors, I'd like to keep it to the bright canvases you may have seen appearing in my shop lately. This summer is all about big prints and bold colors so stand out with a london purple bag!

Some of the colors and prints I will be using this summer!

In general, my bags will be available in either print exterior with a plain lining or a fun solid exterior with a complimentary designer print lining. I think this will help to make my line look more cohesive, and also make it easier for me to create and post new bags more often. I still haven't decided if I will offer the same lining multiple times...any thoughts? I was thinking maybe if someone requested it, but otherwise I will try to switch it up so each bag retains some individuality.

I'm very excited about the prospect of creating new designs! I have been overcome by custom orders at the moment though so it will be at least late May before anything starts appearing in the shop. I hope to vend at Oddmall on May 9th, and start doing the Shaker Square and/or Crocker Park Farmer's Markets on weekends when I have some extra inventory and no Saturday plans! Keep an eye out for my craft fair plans and sneak peeks of new designs!