'Please don't call it a bag,' with a surprise giveaway and swap!

Please note: this a doozy of a long post, but I promise, there's a payoff at the end!



Please don't call it a bag.

Really. I implore you. It's more than a bag. This is a NAPPY bag....and with the amount of time I spent on it, it will probably withstand a nuclear holocaust. Or perhaps an ice age. Or at least a toddler. Hell...you could probably carry your child around in it if you wanted to, because let me tell you... Amy Butler does not fuck around with her patterns and this puppy is built to last. With a million pockets.  And a hundred layers of interfacing. And hand-basting. And double reinforced seams. And I'm prone to hyperbole. But there doesn't seem to be another way to communicate how complicated this 'simple' project was. Not difficult. Just complicated. I don't typically use patterns, so this was an exercise in patience for me. And it taught me a great deal.

Given the fact that our Portland friends Joel and Jena, made our entire move/gypsy-life possible, by allowing us to cram ALL of our belongings into their garage and crash in their spare room for over a month, we owe them nothing less than our firstborn child. Since we do not have children (as of yet), and they are expecting their first baby in October, I decided on a special handmade gift as a small sliver of our gratitude.  Jena did have some inkling of what was in the works. In fact, she picked out the fabric--something I highly recommend when you plan on making a very important gift for someone, something that will be used every day. There's nothing better than knowing the recipient adores the fabric and can't wait to see what it becomes.

Jena chose the Etsuko Fururya 'balance' print (which only seems to be available in the natural and purple colors now). We were lucky enough to stumble upon a massive sale at Bolt Fabric Boutique here in Portland in March, and picked up all the necessary yardage for a song. I particularly love this fabric for Jena, because although I'm modeling the bag in the above photo and look a bit sallow....Jena has the most amazing red hair and freckles, and her little girl will be born in the fall.  The colors could not be more perfect for them. And the lining? Ah yes. All those fancy pockets, I believe there are 12 in all....



More fall goodness. An orangey-brown tweed, with pale green bottle/nipple pockets. I did abandon the quilted change-pad that was supposed to accompany the bag. I'm thinking about revisiting it, but after a long conversation with some of the girls at Bolt, I realized the pattern was problematic, and it wasn't my fault that I couldn't easily quilt through 3 layers of batting, thick terrycloth and cotton. Without a free-motion quilting foot. Or  that I couldn't topstitch the pad closed. With 1/4 seam allowances. And 5 layers of the thickest fabric imaginable. Right. Not gonna happen.

All in all though, it's a great pattern. Amy Butler speaks my language....that is, the language of dumb people. Or I should say, the language of people who are very adventurous with their machines and always coming up with new things, but perhaps, are mostly self-taught and don't have the necessary technical knowledge. She spells things out clearly, and doesn't leave out any details. I was so tempted to skip steps and cut corners, but in the end I'm really glad that I didn't, because it came out perfect. Perfect. That being said, I would not recommend this pattern for a quick baby gift. Definitely not. If you plan on making this bag, make sure the lucky recipient prefers hand-made goods, and will be proud to use it every day. Because although I'm sure some of you could make this in a much shorter amount of time, I spent a full week on it, working 5+hours each day. If you plan to put in that kind of time, and suspect it will end up at the back of a closet somewhere, just make a baby-blanket instead. Really. Baby blankets are nice.

So.

Onto the giveaway.

Our living room has been littered with works in progress the last few days, and I have finished all my little birthday gifts. I've made quite a few of the "Artsy Clutch" from Bend the Rules Sewing, by Amy Karol. You see, the book is fab and the patterns and ideas are incredible...but they're really best with lightweight cottons (even when not explicitly stated). And, being the autumn kind of girl that I am, I like to work with tweed and corduroy. The seam allowances get all screwed up and my lousy machine simply cannot handle the thickness of all that lining and heavy fabric. So it takes me a few tries to tweak the pattern to get it just right. So I have one left over, an out-take. And it is far from perfect. Namely, it lacks the top-stitching that holds the lining in place (my machine simply would NOT sew through the side seams) And there are quite a few snags. But it would really be a pity to let something so cute go to waste, even though it's not perfect, so I thought I'd just give it away on my blog!


(please note: this clutch pattern is copyrighted by Amy Karol, of Bend the Rules Sewing, and is not intended for sale, only a free giveaway.)

It's a very simple little fall-clutch, without any embellishment (to compliment say, a plaid jacket).. The navy cord is much much darker in person, and it's lined with the same orange-y brown tweed I used in Jena's nappy bag.  So if you'd like a very imperfect little bag to hold maybe a fall journal and all your number 2 pencils, just leave a comment on this post, and I'll draw the winning name from a hat on Wednesday, 8/22. Perhaps it will be accompanied by some other fall goodies too. :)

Lastly, I've been itching to do a pre-fall-swap. I have a 4 or 5 lovely, fall-fabric book-covers in the works, and am wondering if any of you other autumn lovers would like to do a little swaparoo? The focus of course, would be on hand-made items (any sewing, knitting, art, photography, etc.), but also, all those wonderful little bits associated with the coming season. If you're interested, let me know! ( I can probably do 4 or 5, so don't be shy...)

And now, if you'll excuse me, I think I just made up for that month of silence with the amount of verbage in this post. With cramped fingers, I must be off to finish those book-covers...

All love,
*Andrea

Comments

[erinisky]

Put my name in the hat! :)

I am trying to think of what I could swap...my crochet skills have greatly improved since the days of the Ridiculous Headbands in England...but unfortunately I don't usually have the weeks of long bus rides through the English countryside that it takes for me to complete a project in under four years. Hmm. I will ponder.

[jeanne]

who wouldn't want that perfectly Andrea clutch??? Honestly, I don't think I've owned a clutch, ever!! Put my name in, I'd love it! As for the swap I'll have to pass, I would feel way too much pressure to produce, and the time just isn't there right now, maybe a late fall swap would work out better for me. Glad to hear your all settled in-

[Andrea (Scout)]

your names are in the hat! (or i guess in my case, the cloche)

...just to clarify timelines for the swap--i think it would probably be best to go with late september/early october, to give everyone a bit more time (myself included).

sound better?

[gracia]

A swap AND a giveaway... wonderful. Please add my name to the cloche as i keep my fingers tightly crossed.
take care, g
(My Mum made that very same nappy bag of yours for me with Etsuko Fururya fabric, though I use it as my day to day bag. Sans pockets on the inside, I love it so very much... such a lovely shape. And with all those layers of interfacing it doesn't matter what I put in it, it always looks good. And, boy, does yours look good! Wonderful!)

[Sheri]

I want to win! It's adorable. Love your blog too.

[shari]

love the balance fabric. too late for the swap it seems, but for the record, i love the clutch. total cuteness. xox

[Jenni Simmons]

I'd love the cute clutch!

[miss lila]

i found your blog via abbytryagain and you've made such a nice place in your corner of the web. i'd love to join in your fall swap if there's room for one more.

[Andrea (Scout)]

lila, of course, there's always room for one more! i'm shooting for early october as a swap time...but will post more details in the coming days.

so many new faces. thank you all for the clutch/bag love and just for stopping by. :)

[Kirsten]

toss my name in that hat as well! =) super cute for fall....and *sigh* i'm so over summer...

[melanie]

that clutch is adorable as is the non-bag bag. i would love to join your fall swap!

[marsha]

the nappy bag is gorgeous! as is the little clutch!

i would love to join your fall swap! hope there's still room!

[sulu-design]

I'll admit it, I didn't read every word of the post. And I'm not commenting to be part of the giveaway, as I'm way too late for that. I just came across your blog today by way of The Glass Doorknob and in popping over her, I see that you have recently taken advantage of good friends and their living space and have and relocated to Portland. Me, too! And I saw that you threw down a curse word in, like, your first paragraph, plus you're prone to hyperbole, so I knew from the get go that I'd like this blog of yours. I'll be back!