Bye Bye Bag!

I finished my pleated beauty bag for the swap and will be mailing it after lunch.  I love this bag, and I have to say I am mighty proud of myself.  The leaves and vines were made using topstitching and reverse applique, a technique explained in this book.  The little flowers are circles of Liberty prints that I cut using my new circular rotary cutter (a completely unessecary tool but so much fun! Three cheers for Joann's Daisy Dash sale). 

I also did some beading around the flowers and in the centers to add just the right amount of slightly-gaudy sparkle.  I hope my recipient enjoys owning it as much as I enjoyed making it.

   

When I first got my partner assignment I already had an idea of what I wanted to make.  I checked out her blog (she's from NC, my hometown is in SC, instant connection!) and saw that she had a picture of flowers up on her banner.  I got so excited because my idea seemed well suited to her tastes!  I also saw that she made one of these bags for herself, and I wanted to make one completely different from hers.  She said she liked linen and Liberty, so she is getting a lot of "linen" and a little Liberty.

 

I've also gotten a lot of compliments on the bag I recieved from Mary Gaston (here is her shop and her Flickr site.  Seriously cute crafting, people, check it out).  Thank you to all the people who have stopped by my blog!  I started it to keep my family up to date, and it is so flattering that others are checking it out.  Hope you enjoy, and I will try to keep things interesting.   

Added note:  This is the pleated beauty bag from the book Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol.  It's a fabulous book, especially for beginner sewers, so go buy it and love it.  If you want to join the craft swap there are two more projects lined up after this one, so pop on over here to read more.  The site also has a list of current swappers and links to their blogs if you want to see more sewing happiness.

Comments

[Mary]

Your bag is GORGEOUS! I would have been thrilled to receive it! Thanks for the links! :-)

[Lisa]

Love the bag you made for the swap- the reverse applique looks very effective. Love the liberty and the beadwork!

[collins]

Hi Lisa, I love your bag. You did such a great job.

[Lisa Alexander]

Thank you Ladies so much for your nice comments!

[jennifer at pink ric rac]

Geez that is GORGEOUS!! Love it! Wish it was mine!