Skip to main content

A Blast from the Past

Lots going on in these parts. Obviously the house reno takes up loads of our time. We're slowly going room by room, but it's finally starting to come together. The house wasn't in disrepair by any means, but definitely had a strong 70s vibe and way too much nasty, old carpet for our taste. The upstairs is done and we finally made out way downstiars. If you're interested in seeing some of our improvements, I created a collection in my flickr account.

The other big time sucker is that I'm running the NYC Marathon again!! This year, I'm running with a charity group that supports research for Crohn's disease (among others), a condition my husband suffers from. It will be nice to run with a greater purpose in mind this year. I'm training with a group this year, which I think will be immensely helpful (and I'll get to meet new people). And I won't have to run any 20 milers alone. I enjoy my alone time as much as anyone, but I think I'll appreciate companionship even more.

For some crafty content, an offiical writeup of the 2nd weekender bag....

My sister, the kind, generous person she is, gave her weekender a little photoshoot just for this here blog. (Thanks, Sara!) Look familiar? It looks almost identical to
mine. It is, with the exception of the lining and cording fabrics and a little weekender know-how under my belt.

Here's the breakdown:



Pattern
Amy Butler Weekender Bag

Fabric
Amy Butler Sunbloom Collection, Lotus Print in Parsley. 2 yards? Getting this fabric was practically impossible. I went through all the links on Amy's page and kept coming up empty. After emailing back and forth about potential replacements with my sister, she gave me a few final options. I set out to order the replacement fabric and stumbled upon a fabric store with some sunbloom in stock! I surprised my sister with it, which was nice because she had really wanted this pattern. As this was 7 months ago, I can't remember where I ordered the fabric. And I really doubt they would still have it anyway.

Lining was just a brown home dec fabric from
Joann's. I wasn't a big fan of this lining material (but it's not really fair to compare anything to Amy's pretty fabric)



Zipper bought from
Zipperstop. I heart this place. I ordered the brown zipper without reading that only certain colors can be purchased individually. You have to purchase special colors in bulk. Just because they're that super over there, they ordered this one special for me. The zipper is of so much higher quality than the one on my bag. I bought the only 30" zipper at Joann's for mine and it gets caught and really becomes a hindrance when I'm opening and closing my bag. I was smarter this time, and bought a nice one. Plus, this way I selected the matching color.

Other notions Everything else I bought at Joann's. And I only had to go once this time around!

Well, that's pretty much it! I didn't make any drastic changes from
my first bag, just improved my technique. No more weekender bags for me (for awhile at least). I'm sure I'll make one for my mom at some point. The three of us just seem to have the same, good taste!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Ooh, nice bag! Love it! (I wish I could get Amy Butler around here.)

We've been doing the reno thing lately too, satisfying, but a lot of work!
Stacey said…
what a beautiful bag - that is great you could find the fabric she wanted. seems like everything came together perfectly! the house is looking wonderful!
Anonymous said…
I love the black and white tile in your bathroom. My husband and I live in an older colonial also which was in great structural condition when we bought it but rather dated in some spots. We just painted over the faux wood paneling in our family room with a linen white and it looks oh so much better :) And kudos to you for running the NYC marathon with a group that supports Crohn's research. I suffered from ulcerative colitis (very similar to Crohn's) from the time I was 12 until my mid-20s when the disease mysteriously (not that I am complaining!) went into a no medication required remission. I am one of the very, very lucky ones. Great weekend bag too btw!
Veronique said…
Oh, very nice! I have the same problem finding a specific fabric I have in mind sometimes... Usually the internet is good for things like that!
craftoholic said…
Great bag Kelly, and thanks so much to your sis for taking pictures! Every now and then I get the desire to make another, there are just so many great fabrics out there. But there is always so much other stuff I want to make too.
pamela wynne said…
Love it! And Zipperstop is fabulous. :)
lobstah said…
I love your house, it is SO GORGEOUS! The yard looks really nice and shady too. I had a good laugh at the photos with the seller's stuff still in it--talk about awful! Those curtains they left are totally bizarre too. Oh well, you are making it over beautifully (and quickly, too). Can't wait to see it in person.
Love that bag!
Anonymous said…
love love love. I've got a MAJOR sewn bag itch going on right now that I'm thisclose to scratching myself. You are tempting me too much with all these gorgeous bags!
Elizabeth said…
Gorgeous Weekender bag! I really wanted that Sunbloom fabric for mine, but couldn't find it. oh well. So glad you got it for your sister. Lovely job.
hassam said…
what a beautiful bag - that is great you could find the fabric she wanted. seems like everything came together perfectly! the house is looking wonderful!
hassam said…
Love it! And Zipperstop is fabulous. :)

Popular posts from this blog

Box Bag Tutorial

A couple of you inquired whether I made this pouch based on a tutorial or pattern and if not, if I could provide one. Ask and you shall receive! I've learned so much from tutorials out on the internets, I'm happy I can give back for once. Bear with me, though. This is my first tutorial and creating one is much tougher than I imagined. I give anyone who's created a tutorial tons of credit! I feel obligated to preface this by admitting I'm a trial and error sewer. I make things up as I go along and test things during the sewing process to see if I'm achieving my desired results. Also, I taught myself to sew just playing around on a sewing machine, so I don't always use text book methods. Just wanted come clean before you all jump into this and so you have a little understanding if I did something in a backass way. The pattern works, which is all that matters to me! Because of the versatility of this pattern, my instructions can be used more as guidelines. You can

Done: Weekender Bag

Happy 2007! I hope you all had a good time ringing in the new year. I have some lofty goals for this upcoming year and some musings on last year, but that's for another post because-- Finally! (the top looks kind of bumpy. I think it looks crisper when I'm holding it.) Pattern. Weekender Bag by Amy Butler Exterior Fabric. Amy Butler, Sunbloom Collection Cording Fabric. Amy Bulter, Charm Collection Lining. Khaki Fabric from Joann's I relied a lot on the tips from other bloggers who made this bag and wanted to give something back to the blogging community, so here are my.... 10 THOUGHTS & TIPS ON THE WEEKENDER 1. Dominating the cording. As the layers increased in the sewing, keeping the cording sandwiched in place became challenging. I had the best luck pinning the fabric together parallel to the fabric edge, rather than perpendicular. Stopping so often to remove pins got a little annoying, but was better than ripping and resewing. 2. Topstitching = Enemy number 1. I d

Granola.

In all my years of baking, I don’t think there’s any one food I’ve tinkered with more than granola.  Actually, that’s a lie. Let me try again. Besides chocolate chip cookies, there's no food I've tinkered with more than granola.   But granola! The goal: delicious, crunchy yet chunky enough to eat on its own, and not just dessert masquerading as a healthy snack. Doesn’t sound too hard.  But… the best tasting is inevitably the worst for you (not to name names...Panera copycat recipe). Consistency should not be a trail mix of sugared oats and nuts and fruit. There should be chunks you can hold without crumbling.   So, when I stumbled upon a granola so good the restaurant sends guests home with their own little prepackaged personal sized portion, I had to give it a try. And to document my trials so when I inevitably forget the recipe, I'm writing this post so it’s here waiting and ready. (And maybe, you, too, have been seeking that perfect granola recipe??)