Creating a Set

I saw on social media where a woman my age had purchased a set of bags, totes, and pouches for traveling. She mentioned that she had never had a matching set before and it really made her happy. So, I decided that creating a set of bags, pouches, and a tote for family members is one of my challenges. I have one completed. 

Yesterday, I worked on the second set. I'd already completed the tote. So, I worked on crafting three smaller bags and a wristlet to go with it. I love that I can personalize them with my new sewing/embroidery machine. 

The first pouch I completed this morning was a coin purse. I didn't add a magnetic snap to this one because I wanted to try out a new technique. First, I made a long, narrow lined pouch with a zipper closure at the top. Then, I gave it a good pressing. I embroidered a granddaughter's initial onto the bottom and turned it up and stitched the sides. So, there is an outside pocket and a zip-closure at the top. I added a tab with a swivel clip on the side so that it could be clipped to a keychain if desired. It measures about 3 1/2" x 4" and is a perfect little size for coins, lip gloss, or gift cards.

The second one is an open-wide boxy triangular pouch. It measures about 10" x 5" and was fairly simple to construct. I followed this tutorial but changed the dimensions just a wee bit to suit the supplies I had on hand. I had already begun constructing and decided to add a name to the pouch. So, that slowed things down a little bit. I really like how it turned out even though it took me a little finagling and rewinding and replaying and scrolling through the tutorial to figure out the different steps.

I think it will hold lots of treasures for the teenager who will be the recipient but I like how it forms sort of a triangle when it is zipped up . 

Then, when it is completely unzipped, it will open wide and forms sort of a square trough. Pretty versatile! I used leftover bandana scraps I had after making her tote bag to construct all three of the pouches I worked on today. 

For the third one, I needed a zipper that would coordinate but didn't have the size I wanted. So, it is still in pieces but will go together quickly once I get the right size and color coordinating zipper. It is a variation of the color-blocked zip pouches I have made before. I will probably add a tab and a D ring to it as well. The finished dimensions are about 8" x 5" and I've found that is a pretty handy size.

I think these pouches will be good for most anything the girls might want to use them to catch and carry round. Plus, they will coordinate with their tote that I've made them and they will have a matching set!

Today I noticed...Sometimes it is easier than it might look!

I have been reading and watching tutorials. I have made note of the different ways folks go about making a square Dopp Kit type bag. You know, the kind that is sort of square-ish. They have a zipper across the center of the top and usually have a handle or loops or something near the ends of the zipper. It is a pretty typical bag for a guy.

I have seen all sorts of sizes and all sorts of methods for putting one together. Today, I finally took the leap and gave it a try. I used some scraps left from a project completed earlier this week. I wanted it to be pretty simple, yet, still be personalized. 

I had noticed several zip pouches and bags that had the busiest part of the pattern on one end and I wanted to try for that look. I had just the right scraps from a couple of bandanas left from the tote I finished yesterday. So, I dove in and used those. I lined it with the same bandana fabric that I had used for the tote as well. It is a pink background with boots and hats and horse shoes on it in browns and hot-pinks. 

I had the zipper work done and decided at the last minute that I would personalize it with one of the granddaughter's name. I used pink thread for the embroidery to match the zipper and the bag lining. I set it a bit off-center as well to continue onward with that decor on one end concept. I sort of wish I had just centered it on the bag but I still like it that way as well. 

One thing I would definitely do differently for the next attempt is that I would make the loops on each end lots shorter. I didn't have the perfect piece of ribbon to stitch on as a zipper pull. So, I stitched some chocolate brown rick rack onto a piece of pink twill tape and attached that as the pull  It really set the zipper off and finished it well.

Just like my finishing up a tote bag yesterday, completing this cute boxy rectangular bag really encouraged me to want to give another one of them a try. I have ideas about how I will adapt the steps with different measurements and create different sizes of this type bag.

Sometimes when I am uncertain about how to do something, I drag my feet and overthink things. I think that is what I did with this design. I'm glad I finally just dove in and gave it a try. It was far easier than it looked!

A Hand Made Christmas

I have decided that this year lots of people on my Christmas list are going to get hand made gifts. I've been having so much fun trying out different things on my new sewing machine and creating fun and practical items. So, I've sort of set a challenge for myself to create hand made gifts.

This week I worked on simple zip pouches. I've noticed that most everybody has a use for some sort of zip-up pouch. They are good for storing charging cords, chargers, and ear buds. They are good for holding small items like chap stick, coins, basic makeup, and various other supplies. Since school has started back around here, I'm guessing kiddos are using them as well as adults. 

I also know that by Christmas, some of those items might be lost, used up, or just need updating. This week I crafter a few simple zip-up pouches to give as gifts. I'm trying to think of the different interests of our family members and activities that they are a part of and incorporating that into the mix. 

We are farmers and the farm influence has trickled down in some ways. So, one day's creations sort of seemed to have a farm theme. I made pencil pouches for the school aged grandsons. They all three show livestock. One has sheep, the other two have cattle and pigs. So, that became the focus of their pencil pouches.

I used a pair of old jeans that had developed holes and added some other scraps of fabric and a zipper and I think they really turned out to be cute.

I lined the pouches with the same fabric that I had used as trim and added a swivel clip on a D-ring to one end. On the opposite side of the farm animal, I added a monogram. 

It's fun to see my vision come to life. I hope these help those young guys be more organized and keep up with some of their treasures. Have you started thinking about Christmas gifts?

Have you ever heard of Postcrossing?

Postcrossing was a new term for me and the concept popped up when I was reading a blog post that I follow. You may be like me and not know what on earth Postcrossing might be. "It's a project that allows you to send postcards and receive postcards back from random people around the world," is the explanation given on the official website. 

I recall getting postcards from my Granny when she traveled. Sometimes the postcard would get to us days after Granny had returned home but we still loved getting the mail. Great Aunt Mae would also send us postcards sometimes. When I was a young girl, there were times when I traveled, I would be allowed to buy postcards and send them to family members. I remember my grandparents saving postcards that they got from relatives who traveled or from family members who were in the military service. When I was clearing out my mother-in-law's desk I found several postcards that she had saved over the years. Some had not been mailed and I wonder if maybe she picked them up from places where she had traveled and saved them as mementos over the years.

There were several about Columbus, Ohio and some of the landmarks of that city.

There were two or three from Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The back side of the postcard shown above had a printed message telling the reader that Highway 58 is the best road up Lookout Mountain to Rock City.

I remember seeing postcards like the one shown above that advertised places to stay. Usually the front side of a postcard depicted something like a landmark, in this case an image of the motel. Then, on the back there was a description or message about the picture with space above or below where a message could be written to the recipient. Of course, the most remembered message was, "Wish you were here!"  Then, the other half of that side of the postcard provided space for the recipient's address to be written and a stamp affixed. 

The motel postcard was obviously a means of advertisement. The image was the front side and more information about the motel was on the message side of the card. A postcard like this might have been a freebie found in the room in hopes that guests would send away, not only providing information about their stay, but encouraging the recipient to come for a visit as well. Notice the phone number on the postcard. Even if I couldn't tell the postcard is from long ago, that phone number would be a dead giveaway!

Somehow postcards seem to have fallen into a category of things gone by the wayside, something from the past, a part of a by-gone era. I'm sure relics like the ones I found in my mother-in-law's desk might be a collector's item for somebody. With our world being ever more virtual and digital, these days we simply send a text with a photograph or video. We might get a notification on our phone and see a selfie of a relative standing in front of some historic landmark. 

The Mister and I still get a few postcards but these are mostly advertisements for a roofer or new flooring or gutters or something like that. Rarely are the postcards in our mailbox something that is a means of correspondence from a friend or relative. Almost never is a postcard in our mailbox one that we would want to keep. In fact, The Mister generally grumbles about such mail and tosses it into the trash before he even brings the mail into the house.

Yet, Postcrossing is offering people the opportunity to send postcards as a means of "turning your mailbox into a box full of surprises." They suggest it as a means of learning about far away places, different cultures, or even practice foreign languages.

After reading a bit more information, my mind began to wander. I thought of other ways that this same concept might be a really good thing. Wouldn't it be a great exercise for a group of young people or a class of school children to create their own postcards and send them to a retirement home, or a collected group of addresses of folks who are shut-ins, or to patients at a children's hospital? The writers could:

• Create the image that goes on the front
• Write a little blurb explaining the significance of the image
• Practice their writing skills within the message
• Learn and practice the accepted way to address mail

This wouldn't have to be a formal school or civic group activity, although it could be. It could be something that a parent could do with his/her own children.

Again, the school teacher in me is coming out... A class of students could create postcards and write about a topic they just learned, a historical event, a scientific fact or phenomenon, a story they just read, a book they would recommend, etc. The teacher could collaborate with another teacher in another school for swapping these postcards. 

A grandparent or relative who lives in another town could exchange postcards about different landmarks or events with their grandchildren or relatives living elsewhere. 

A great gift might be to buy or create a set of postcards, address and stamp them, and give them to a college student going away to school, or a grandchild who lives far away, or just to somebody with whom you would like to keep in touch. The gift-giver might even make blank postcards, address and stamp them and ask the recipient to decorate the front and write a message on the back and stick them in the mail. There could be one for each month or for more frequent occasions. You could buy blank postcards here.

I know that I used to love to get mail when I was a kid - long before most of what was delivered to my mailbox was bills. I also know that the anticipation of getting a delivery is still pretty exciting - often really more exciting than that quick text that is an instantaneous means of communication. I just looked it up and a postcard stamp costs less than a dollar. Plus, I saw that there will soon be issued a special, triangular shaped Global Postcrossing Stamp for sending even international mail. Learn more about postcards here.

Examples of the Global Postcrossing Stamp

I'm sure that there are loads of other ideas for ways to communicate with postcards. I kind of like this old-school method of communication and might even take the opportunity to put it into practice myself. I don't know if I will formally join in and be a part of the Postcrossing group, but I'm thinking I see some postcards going out with my signature on them in the future. What about you? Do you think you might send a postcard or two? Would you become part of the Postcrossing movement?

Misplaced but not Forgotten

As I have aged, I've noticed that I misplace things more frequently than I used to. I am very guilty of putting something away for later and then forgetting where I put it. I've done that a quite a lot this past few years. My thought was that I would put something out of the way and then deal with it when I retired and had more time for dealing with things around here. Well, I've been retired for a year and those put-off-till-later things have not all been addressed - yet.

What's the rush? I mean, I have for the rest of my life, right?

During this first year of retirement, I also told myself I wouldn't wait till the last minute to get things done for Christmas. Well, I did do a lot better than I have in the past. In fact, I got a pretty early start this year. I had been scrolling through blogs, or Instagram, or some such online community and noticed an adorable umbrella. I had just thrown away a broken one at the ball park a week before. Plus, I think all of my umbrellas have that one prong that is broken or the clip has been lost or something. So, the umbrella has the one spot that is not rounded and umbrella-ing. Instead, it is a bit wonky - not a total loss and works in a pinch but a bit beyond faded but still serviceable. So, I ordered the cute umbrella and got a deal because it was on sale! Ding! Ding!

The new umbrella arrived and immediately, I knew that I had to know somebody else who could use such a cute umbrella. So, I decided to order one for each of the daughters and daughters-in-law. I discovered that the cute umbrella had been marked down a dollar or two more. So, I decided to order one for each of the high school granddaughters. I clicked the place order button and sat there a moment. Then, decided I'd order one for the three younger granddaughters as well. That was early in May.

When they arrived, I stood them in the den waiting for Mike to come in and see them. After dinner, he walked in there and shouted, what are you going to do with all these birds? Imagine eleven of these staring at you when you walk into the den...

We chuckled about them and I told him they were future Christmas gifts. He snickered and told me that I would forget about them in that length of time and asked me where I would stash them so the girls didn't see them if they popped in. I confidently told him I'd put them in the back bedroom closet. 

So, I have had those in the back of my mind all this time. Then, one day this past week I was wrapping up all my gift preparations and went to the closet to get them out. I couldn't find them. I poked all around in the junk stashed in that closet and could not find them. So, I went to the other guest bedroom closet. Not there, either. On to the primary bedroom closet. No sign of them there. Downstairs I went in my search. Still no umbrellas. How could I have lost an entire flock of flamingo umbrellas? 

When I returned upstairs, the neighbors had dropped by for a visit. I walked in the door and Mike asked me if I found my flamingos. Then, of course, I had to explain to the neighbors that I had misplaced an entire flock of flamingo umbrellas. After the neighbors left, we prepared and ate dinner and were chatting and it hit me. I recalled that the box was too big and wouldn't fit in the closet. So, I slid it under the bed. Mystery solved. I went right back there and drug the box out. I took a quick snapshot and sent it to the neighbor so she could rest in peace that my flock was not lost.

I stood there and thought about how I might wrap such a gift. Then, I decided that they needed nothing to be a cute addition to the gift pile. So, here is how the gift pile looks for this Christmas.

We are looking forward to all eighteen of the children, in-laws, and grands to pile in here. We will share a meal together, tear into the gift pile, and the children will run, rip, and play, and the adults will catch up on all the news with one another. We hope you have a wonderful holiday and time of fellowship with your loved ones. Merry Christmas!