Buttons For Peace

Ah, the labour of love in the days before I was enlightened about the proper formation of the peace sign.

Yes, this bag of peace is Unique.

And it truly is a work of love, piecing together many bits that bring me lots of joy.

The flap base is a repurposed gingham apron. Probably a 4H project from back in the day. (were you one of the lucky ones who got 4H? My siblings did. But then it all went away, along with the two room schoolhouse that my siblings went to. I got raised a lot more like my children are. Except for all the lessons. We didn't do lessons.)

The two front pockets are from another apron. This one has a lot of fancy cross stitching on it.

More pieces of the first apron are found on the shoulder strap; along with two other apron bits, a potholder, a yellow skirt, and pj remnants.

The inside was at least as much fun to put together.
Side A's pocket is a large size hanky or napkin; I'm not sure which. Too pretty to blow the nose, I say. Side B was the result of purging a weird ziploc bag of bits that were way too much fun to just throw out: A strip of quilt, a strip of tablecloth, the top of another gingham apron, and the pocket of yet another apron. (I left the pricetag on the turquoise one. Just to share the grins ;)

The floral turquoise pocket is the pocket of an apron that actually forms three pockets. The two on the front are small and narrow- nice for a pen.

Bag size: 10.5" deep, 13" wide.

In the life of an apron- reincarnation IS a reality.

Well, rePURPOSE anyway.

Same routine as usual- start price is $25- Cdn.

Auction end time is 9:30 pm cst, today-- Tuesday, February 9, 2010.

Stone Ground

I confess.

This bag has been complete, and hanging on my sewing room door for a week or two now.

I considered keeping it for myself.

I like the pinwheel on the front (thank you fellow collector Mrs R.)

I like the "stone ground 2 pounds". (Thank you Steinbach museum windmill)

I like the colours.

I like all the old bits that I incorporated into the shoulder strap.

But it seems that I have a small stack of other bags that I also like....

And I hope that someone out there has quirky taste such as myself.

Harmed in this project are:

A pinwheel that I imagine was destined for a quilt. It never made it past block stage, for which I am eternally grateful.

A scrap that was used on our living room couch (two couches ago) to mend a tear in the seating beneath the cushions. Before I lugged that charmer to the dump, I rescued that scrap, laundered it, and waited for its destiny. There it is- flanking the pinwheel.

On the edges of the bag is a lovely strip of fabric that looks sort of batik. It is a gift from Trinidad from Bonnie S. Gorgeous fabric.

The strap consists of:

a tea towel sampler with "Tuesday" stitching, and two puppies playing with string.
A tablecloth featuring a turquoise rooster; some more couch patch bits; another strip of Trinidad, and a piece of something spelling "SWEET".

(not unlike an "I SPY" book)

The inside (out)

A hanky forming three pockets on one side; and two remnants forming two pockets on the other.

Stone Ground.

And Sweet.

Does it get any better than that?

12" wide and 13" long.

7 pockets.

Bids begin at $25- Cdn and move up by a min of whole dollars.

This auction concludes at 9:30 pm cst, today, Monday February 8, 2010.

Speaking Of Trees....

I'm away for an overnight fieldtrip with my eleven year old boy and his over-hormoned grade six cronies. I get to check out all the crush statuses, witness my comic redhead with his peers, and spend some time outdoors.

It's been a lot of fun around here lately, and I thank you all so much for your support and your enthusiasm.

Big Tree...

Because February 2, 2010, seems to come around more than once a year...


I know you are all gripped by stories of my housecats... so, allow me to point out the kitty in the left corner. Every morning I lay out a bag on my kitchen floor, and it must smell like tuna to her. She can't help herself- stealthing straight for it and making a nest for herself right then and there.

I usually don't have the heart to kick her off, so I just give her a moment to indulge her furry self.

If you are not following my blundering, here's what's going on.
I made some errors on yesterday's post- Josh's Piece. Turns out that Josh's actual name is Zach. Please don't press me for intelligence testing or anything that will only confirm some of my darkest fears.

Additionally, I wrote the end date incorrectly. Regardless of that calendar that I stuck to the side of the blog. Regardless of the date minder at the bottom of my laptop. Regardless of the two calendars that hang on my fridge.

So, what does it all mean? Yesterday's bag- Zach's Piece, is being held over until 9:30 this evening. As well as today's bag- Big Tree. Which isn't being held over, but whose auction time will end at 9:30 pm as well. Today. February 2, 2010.

So, we've all seen variations of this bag before.

Big Tree is 14" wide and 12" deep.

Two pockets beneath the flap.

The inside pockets are re-do's of a seersucker blazer from our friend Loretta in Flin Flon. Each side forms two pockets.

You should be able to enlarge any image by double clicking on it. That's if you are a button fiend such as myself and you want to have a good look at what's on here.

Please begin bids at $25- Cdn.

Tomorrow, Feb 3, I'll be going on an overnight outdoor education field trip with my boy and his grade six comrades. So, bags this week are on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.

Thanks everyone. You often make my day.

Yesterday Didn't Make Me Look Too Bright

Well, in addition to calling Zach, "Josh"... I also made an error on the "end of auction" info; typing "Today, February 2" when indeed it ought to have read; "Today, February 1".

I think anonymous has a point there. It's a tad confusing.
So, now I'll irritate everyone else by saying it again. Zach's Piece (not Josh) is still on the auction block, due to a technical error made by yours truly. It will remain on auction until 9:30 pm today, February 2, 2010.

Forgive me.

As far as the whole "looking bright" thing-- don't hold out too much hope for tomorrow either.

Piece of Zach

It seems that I'd made a bag that got lost behind some other bags hanging around the place. So, in addition to that button piece that I mentioned last week, and the bag that still exists in my mind's eye- we also have Josh in pieces.

I never tire of turquoise, and for those of you who understand the passion in chenille; here's another piece of it for your viewing or handling pleasure.

Here's where Josh comes in. He's a nifty guy who I've only met once- at a top secret hand-me-down/Darfur bits and pieces hand-off. His mother Bev handed over some of Josh's clothes to use up on the project- something that josh himself had taken an interest in. First, we put the pants to good use on our own Sam, since he was the perfect size for them. When he shot up and out of them, I stacked them up with my other goodies to get re-birthed into something else. The great thing about cargo pants is that the pockets have already been made for us. They come in a great shape and size and look a lot better here than in the landfill.

(mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Coffee.)

There's a whole bunch of reasons to wish for peace today.

And isn't the great motivator of peace, Love? Isn't it because we love one another that we wish the fighting would go away? We want peace in our minds and bodies so that we can fully engage with the people around us whom we love.

*

bag= 9.5" both ways.

$25- Cdn starting bid.

Auction end: 9:30 pm cst, today, February 2, 2010.

Peace In Pieces

The remainder of this week has been prorogued until next week. I am hearing the cries of the need for a bigger size of Peace. Size matters in this case.

I also have a buttony peace bag nearly done that I can't envision getting much further along today; so I won't push my raggedy self to get it online this morning. But its a fun one- I sacrificed some aprons and a good handful of buttons on it.

I might have finished it last night if I hadn't felt the urgent need to drive away from this place. (winter is closing in on me and my pre-school brood) Remember that balmy weather the prairies had for about ten days there? That was when my son was home for ten days with the flu. So.... pretty much stuck inside there too. This week? Bone Chilling. OUCH.

I've so enjoyed the enthusiasm and bantering this week.
I only wish I enjoyed endless housework half as much....

(Monday...... or Tuesday then.........)

Missing Pieces

More peace and rumours of peace. In some of my favourite colours- turquoise and brown.

These thumb shots are for Brian and Rose. Apparently I have horribly disfigured hands with twisted and bent extremities. Apparently when I point towards the location of some random item, it is impossible to tell what I am trying to communicate since my fingers and thumbs bend over and around themselves quite willfully.

So. I made sure to photograph the thumb bending the other way.

So there.

You're just jealous because your fingers don't do tricks.

Delicious brown.

Divine chennille.

Did I ever tell you the story of this chennille? No? Well. allow me to indulge me.

Years ago, I was at a yard sale. (shocking, I know) I spidey senses tingled in the presence of a whole, un-holey turquoise chennille bedspread still in its package. For fifty cents!

I freaked out. I immediately, undiscriminately broke into song animated conversation with the garage sale vendor, waxing on about my joy in finding this marvellous item for .50; about how chennille was sort of a hot item on e-bay, about how .50 was just the craziest price ever.

She wanted it back.

I said no.

But I offered to pay her $5.00.

A 100% mark-up thanks to me.

Winner.

Speaking of which. These pockets are sort of thanks to a lovely young woman named Alice, and partly thanks to yours truly. It was Alice that pointed out early on in this venture that a bag without inside pockets was only a teensey weensey step up from a Krezge's plastic bag. So I obeyed. I also began to use my own bag creations, and after spending months without being able to find my gum or lipstick and losing dozens of Brian's cell phones, I decided that I was easily converted.

Now I'm practically in pocket overdrive.

Which brings me to another point.

The bit about "missing pieces'.

Have any of you more intelligent readers noticed that I've been throwing peace signs out there with great abandon, all the while missing pieces??? See that little stemmy bit cutting right down through the middle of the circular bit? Yeah. Me too. But only after numerous bags have already hit the market somewhat compromised.

I've decided that it is the feminine rendition of the peace symbol. Now don't get all hot and bothered that I say that after suggesting that it is missing pieces. We women miss nothing.

(although I do miss what little memory I used to have. I also miss a stomach without cellulite. I miss summer and spring a great deal too.)

About the bag then.

Roughly 11" wide and 12" long.

Eight pockets.

Starting bid $25- Cdn.

Auction end time: 9:30 pm cst Thursday, January 28, 2010.

Pieces

Another bag tomorrow-- I need to finish putting a few final pieces together.

Peace

Storm Day #1 is behind us now. The first day of this winter in which school was cancelled. These types of days always make everyone in the house very happy........ except me because I don't love change. I'd prefer some notice- give me a day or two, let me know that instead of a house full of pre-schoolers, I'll get Brian and the kids, plus a couple of pre-schoolers.

I just don't know where to put my head on a day like that.
(husband is a teacher, if I'm muddling anyone).

On the theme of Peace though- I must say that the day was peaceful and pleasant. Serene, even. I don't think the boys fought (=lastborn screaming like a banchee and older brother grinning in a sly but powerful way)

Husband behaved beautifully- baked up a pound cake, played yahtzee with the banchee, and made lunch.

While he was busy, I chopped up one of his shirts for a bag strap.

Okay, not exactly. It is his shirt, but he was tired of it, so I thought of a new use for it.

I combined Brian's shirt with a flour sack type item for a fun-loving shoulder strap.

The rest of the body is made out of upholstery samples. These always provide a nice shape for the bags; not to mention great colour and design.

(kitty not included. And don't ask Brian. He'll just throw them at you.)

That small plaid pocket makes me happy. It's a piece from Made4Aid. Do you know that yesterday Lettuce and I were on facebook at the same time and had a chat about snowstorms? She lives in London, Englad, so she couldn't quite fathom that we have systems for hauling the white stuff. Its nice to think that Canada has some tourist attractions........... ;)

other side: one more pockets. That makes three on the inside.

The bag measures approximately eleven inches both ways.

It is sturdy, durable, and downright attractive.

Please begin your bids at $25- Cdn. The auction will conclude at 9;30 pm, cst.

That boring administrative stuff

I need info from Tanya and Bev. Bev- you got the Veens Mibull Darp; and Tanya- your mailing address is lost with all the rest of my laptop info. Can you re-send so that I can get you your tree bag?

re-joyce@mts.net

Peace by Piece

Well, you asked for it; and here it is. A peace bag.
Is it fitting or ironic? Horrible stories continue to pour out of Haiti, while simultaneously stories of goodness, unselfishness, and love occur alongside the misery.

A prairie winter storm on Saturday caused slippery highways in which a mom and dad of no less than twelve children died in a head on collision on highway 52, west of Steinbach.

A local 13 year old boy has just raised over one thousand dollars for Haiti.

Just a bake sale, a jar, and a heart full of sweet.

W5 showed a Dr on the streets of Haiti performing major surgery on a woman's mangled leg.

No anesthetic.

And in Darfur?

There is no peace.
Women continue to suffer from violent rape. Their children die of diseases from unclean drinking water. Their husbands and fathers are slaughtered.

Approximate dead is 400,000.

Displaced persons? Two million.

We all get tired of hearing about it. All these places, with all these people, and overwhelming injustice. The sense of responsibility is high. Every person has to decide for him or herself how to make justice in their own corner of reality. How to promote peace.

About the bag then:

Peace by Piece has two pockets beneath the flap. These are my favourites for keys and phone.

There are two more pockets inside the bag.

Measures roughly twelve inches deep and eleven inches across.

Bids begin at $25- Cdn, please.

Auction closes at 9:30 pm, cst, this evening, January 25, 2010.

I probably shouldn't tell you this.... But.... This week has a theme-- Peace!

(how crazy does that make you-- peace bag holder outers?!)

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***I also meant to mention....I've been troubled over the past number of weeks that I can no longer specify my donations directly to Darfur when giving funds to the World Food Programme. I've spent a little bit of time on the Internet trying to find out which organisations are still allowed in, but with limited success. The last donation I made was to MCC because they allowed me to specify where the funds go to. Does anyone have an opinion or advice, or some knowledge that would be helpful? There are other crises, for sure-- Haiti deserves our attention and funds. However. These other atrocities continue to exist and cannot be forgotten.

(this one?)

Veens Mibull Darp

Does anyone remember that crazy ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR bag from June of 2008? Well, even a gal of very little brain such as myself will never, ever forget that. That's the sort of event that freezes in the grey matter, causing shivers and tears just in the remembrance of it.

This bag reminds me of that crazy one thousand dollar bag.

And it reminds me of this one.

It's hard to believe that I've been sewing Darfur bags for nearly two years now. I think if I'd known that going in, it would have felt overwhelming. But it doesn't. It just makes me unbelievably grateful and glad. Glad for all the goodness I've been witness to.

Thank you.

Like the bags before it, Veens is created out of itty bitty scraps. Garbage, really.

These scraps are actually small upholstery samples, hand delivered by our town's own angel. A young employee of one of our town's pioneers- Wiens Furniture Store. Hence the title-- When I was a girl, the radio station had an ad for Wiens Furniture entirely in low german. We always got a great deal of mirth out of it.

Anyhoo- I pieced together these little sample scraps into a flap sized piece.

Then I combined it with other sample pieces and viola! a bag.

Two pockets for your keys and small pets.

It was fun to employ the many colour options that the patchwork supplied. That meant that the blue body, brown strap, and green pockets all looked awesome together.

I used a couple of Brian's rejected shirts for the interior pockets. Using the actual shirt pocket meant that two pockets were immediately formed on each side. I like those small pockets for little stuff like lipstick and candy for church. If you're gonna go to church, you've gotta have candy.

So, there you have it.

I'll leave this bag auction open for two days- concluding on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 9:30 pm cst. It'll be the last bag until Monday of next week.

*

Width: 11"

Depth: 12"

Bids begin at $1,000.00 Cdn $25.00 Cdn.

hee hee

ha ha.

Whadda Bargain!

Large Reversible Tote Bag

Two tablecloths, now one bag. Thrift shops are great sources forhand embroidered tablecloths-- I like to imagine that this is how women spent their spare time before the days of facebook, blogger, and stumbleupon. Poor, impoverished souls ;)

And they took it just as seriously as we do- carefully stitching beautiful flowers and butterflies
onto crisp white cotton. After that, they couldn't stand the idea of kids spilling borscht on it, because most of these cloths are spotless.

These women must have had a drawer like my mother did-- full of all the NICE cloths, dish cloths she's gotten for Christmas, and tea towels that her sisters had gifted her. Apparently, those items are not to be used. They are to be held in a drawer until one's late eighties; at which point some less respectful offspring carts them off to a thrift shop where they can be purchased for .50 and cut up for tote bags.
I do appreciate your hard work, anonymous needler. And so will the people of Darfur.

The tablecloth's yellow edging was employed as embellishment around the bag's opening.

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Particulars:

Base of bag: ~12" across.

Center width: 18".

Height: 17".

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Fully reversible.

Practical- you can use this for shopping, kid stuff,----- lotsa stuff.

Sometimes I prefer to use a tote bag when I'm feeling willy nilly and can't be bothered with the pseudo-organised state of a messenger bag.

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Just chuck it in, and go. That's what I say.

$25- Cdn to start.

Auction ends today, January 20, 2010, at 9:30 pm, cst.

Branching Out

I think we're all spending a great deal of time thinking about Haiti.

I've seen a lot of compassion and action to go along with it.
Still.

We simply cannot imagine.

This bag's body is made up of a soft pile in a silvery grey colour.

Makes it look sort of playfully classy, in my opinion.

You can imagine what joy I found in buttoning up this piece.

Silvery, opaque, and glittery white.

Not unlike the hoar frost that we've had the great pleasure of seeing this January in these parts.

For a more precise look at the layout of the interior pockets, I turned the bag inside out to photograph it. Note four medium pockets, plus onespecial pocket for a pen. ( I tend to lose mine)
There are two more pockets beneath the flap.

Hug the people you love today.

There are lots of people who can't.

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Start bids at $25- Cdn, please. I'm more open to the idea of paypal these days, due to its convenience. (and I'm losing some of the fear of it-- I don't like learning new things, but this one doesn't feel so new any more)

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I'll leave this auction open until tomorrow, Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 9:30 pm, cst.

Hankie Pankie

I recently received a message from a fellow collector who was paring down her hankie collection.
This reminded me of my own extensive collection.

So, I pulled out a drawer full of hoarded hankies and began to play with them.

I really, really love hankies. They were intended at one time to make the act of snot blasting a "kinder, gentler" sport. I can tell from the integrity of my hankies, that many women felt as I do-- why waste a perfectly good little piece of art on common household phlegm?!

Especially when one considers the practical value of one's sleeve- it's right there, and it'll go in the wash anyway. Why soil another item?

There's the tatting (the one on the top- all that pretty edging is called "tatting". Don't ask me why I know that.)

She's got a hankie on the back, too. Reminds me of my daughters when they were little; I always loved putting bits of hankies on their summery dresses.

Two pockets beneath the flap.

The inside is almost as pretty as the outside. I used hankies to form the pockets- in this case folding it and creating three pockets from one handkerchief.

I often begin a bag; get to a certain part on it; and then put it aside because I'm uninspired to complete it. Then I'll return to it on another day when it looks fresh to me again.

The hankie bag was another story. I pulled the collection out in the afternoon and sewed the final stitches before bedtime- I really got caught up in it.

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The straps are a collage of pieces as well- lace detailing from a blouse rescued from Rosa's ancient stone house; a hand embroidered doiley; a spare hankie or two-- all backed by a lovely patterned piece from Mr Fancy Upholstery Guy. The body is also constructed from that donation- which means high quality.

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The bag measures 11.5" wide and 11" tall.

It employs seven vintage handkerchiefs, one blouse, one table runner, and six pretty buttons.

Bids begin at $25- Cdn.

This bag will remain on auction until tomorrow, as it will be the last bag this week.

Auction ends: January 15, 2010 at 9:30 pm cst.
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comments are free today. For you-- special price.

A Little Birdie Told Me

Remember that coat? (scroll down past the bit about the business cards)

Well, I still have a few pieces left. Enough to pair with some of those fantastic circles from Kim Z.

Enough for a zany little bird on the border.

(that's a pic of the strap- I combined some dots, some coat lining, a wildly wonderful bit of paisley, and some solid blue)

The turquoise goes great with purple cord, some teale scraps, and of course, the dots.

On the reverse side of the flap, you can see the stitching detail with shows up on the turquoise leather.

Cheeky little birdie.

Inside out shots: gives you a better view of what the pockets are like.

Would you believe me if I told you that I still have numerous pieces of amazingness that are yet unexplored? Well, believe it.

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Thank you for posting links on your own blogs to bring your friends and stalkers over here. It's encouraging to see new names and bidders.

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There is new unrest in Sudan. It's alltogether discouraging, but that doesn't relieve us of the responsibility to do what we can. Also, a devastating earthquake in Haiti. Every dollar over $50 will go to WFP for the displaced persons in Haiti today.

*

bag: 11" wide and 10" deep.

This auction will conclude today, January 13 at 9:30 pm central standard time.

$25.00 Cdn to start, please.

Buttons For Darfur

I spent some time this morning looking for the camera. Meanwhile, I did the the-babies-are-coming house sweep-- putting away the nerf guns, journals, pencils, photo albums, and several thousand more things that had communed around the place over the weekend.

I looked through the computer/sewing room, the living room, the kitchen, the porch.... (I got a lot of stuff put away) I looked upstairs in daughter's bedrooms.

Desperate, and running out of time, I checked the lower shelf of the magazine rack where I often place my laptop and its various cords and accessories.

Weird. The camera was exactly where I'd put it yesterday.

Gee, that was confusing.

About a bag? More brown button fun. Tutorial? Take one small upholstery sample and any number of tins full of buttons. Sit down with a needle, thread, and not a lot of distraction. Let yourself GO....

What happened this time was a little collage of floral arrangements.

(My! haven't we gotten generous with splashing very special buttons around the place!)

(Sometimes a gal has got to pat her own back.)

(sorry about that sideways shot.

If you tilt your head ever so slightly to the right, you'll see that it depicts two pockets on the front bag panel.

Lots of browns.

Inside you'll find three more pockets- one small and two medium.

Size: medium 9.5" wide and 10" deep.

Adjustable strap.

Five pockets.

$25- Cdn to start.

Auction ends at 9:30 pm(central standard time), Tuesday, January 12, 2010.

Comments are free, welcome, and delightful.

She Posts A Photo of the Shirt and a link to a video, both of which have nothing to do with bags for darfur, but she begs you to indulge her

A truly, completely weird video which is the anomoly known as "Charlie the Unicorn".

(the bag below is still open to bids- until this evening at 9:30 pm cst.)

She Tells You a lot of Things That Are Not About a Bag

I was pretty sure that none of you would be too excited to show up here this morning and look at pictures of my eleven year old boy in a "We Have The Map To Candy Mountain" t-shirt.

That's what took up a few hours of my time last night, (after the labour intensive task of driving to the city to pick up boxes and bags and cartons of sustenance).

I had gotten the Best Mom In The World Award from the boy after ordering a t-shirt off the internet that depicts one of his favourite weird youtube series. However. The thing about ordering clothes from ebay is that unless you take the time to measure your boy carefully, you might land up with an unsuitable size when it does come in the mail.

Which may land you in the spot of figuring out how to alter a t-shirt in time for school the following morning.

Which means you kind of used up the time you might have spent finishing a Darfur bag.

Which means you stay up two hours past your bedtime, then get up at 5:30 to get the rest of it done.

I couldn't just be my son's hero- no, I had to be yours too.

Over the Christmas break, I really enjoyed losing myself in my buttons without the pressure of cleaning them up before toddlers ate them for snack.

(and it wasn't easy to sew on that kitty head on one end, and the tail on the other. Nope, that was not easy)

Pockets: One exterior, three interior. One quite small- perfect for business cards.

Yes, this photo is sideways. And because I'm well into my day now and will be working on a time deficit and sleep deficit... I'm not going to change it. Nope. You can't make me.

Bag: size smallish. 8" wide, 9" deep.

start price: $25- Cdn.

End of auction: Friday, January 8, 2010 at 9:30 pm central standard time.