Polka Party

Last winter or so, a lovely supporter named Kim came out to my house with her tickle trunk of treasures. There were several heart-stoppingly awesome vintage pieces within; and one of my favourites was this funky dotted piece.

It has the funnest combo of colours and swirls. I added some 3D appeal by festooning it with small coloured buttons.

I topped it with a tablecloth from none other than my own mother- a witty, sharp little mite of a thing. (my mother ; not the tablecloth gone strap)

And she's only 83. Think of her potential.

It has the typical bells and whistles- three pockets for your highly important gidgets and gadgets.

(that weird geometric green stuff inside is from an upcycled curtain. Can you quite imagine ever falling asleep if you had those bad boys hanging in your bedroom window?!)

Polka Party measures 7.5" across and 9.5" deep.

Perfect if you just want to carry your wallet and handgun and can't be bothered to dig around in a giant bag.

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If you bid on this bag, I can promise you eternal happiness.

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Well, that might be a touch optimistic.

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It's Friday again, and you'll see my dashing around my palace cleaning like a Cinderella on speed. We're having people and fabulous food tonight, and it's gonna be good.

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Boring stuff: Bids in the comment box please. Salutations there too. FAQ's answered here.

Bids begin at $25- Cdn and the auction concludes at 9:30 cst pm tonight- October 30, 2009.

Whine, Whine, Whine

Is it reasonable, I ask of you; to have

1. One load of laundry through the washer and headed to the dryer...
2. One dishwasher filled with -well that's kind of obvious- and percolating away...
3. One couch stripped and cushions bathed in hot Tide water... (don't ask. it's my lot in this life)
4. One pot of coffee already aging....

And all well before 6:40 am?

And still not have a bag photographed and uploaded and downloaded and rambled on about?

I think not.

And yet, this is our status. (will try... will try... want to.... got to bed late (11:00 pm is deadly late for me) couldn't sleep well at night, had to get up and tend to the heartburn born of a headlong plunge into pumpkin pie that carried on for several hours, (the pumpkin plunge lasted several hours- you can't expect me to properly eat half of a pie in a short period of time. That would be gluttony. The heartburn is gone with one nasty tablet of Gaviscon.) ...then woke up at 5:00 am worrying that I'd be tired. How dumb is that?!

Bed in a Bag

You may remember me mentioning a quilt that was bought at the thrift shop. A quilt that my husband pointed out would make 25 bag flaps. You may hear me talk about this quilt roughly 20 more times....

What I love about it is that the fabrics are vintage, but not worn. They must have been original scraps from a different sewing project(s).


What goes well with a quilt? A chenille bedspread, silly. (in one of my favourite colours, too)

I love that transition/ carry over of the turquoise from flap down to bag bottom. You know what that bottom bit is from? A cushion cover. So there- you've got a quilt, a bedspread, and pillow.

Which I could market as a "bed in a bag".

But would that be entirely honest?

The bag- turned inside out:

Kind of heavy on the prints. But that's why you don't actually turn the bag inside out. You just put your stuff in there. And that floor looks nasty. yech. But it works well in the entry of a madhouse daycare.

The backside.




I know this picture is sideways, but the computer is having oppostional disorder and won't let me manipulate photos. I decided to publish it anyway, because its a better picture of the bag as a whole.

Particulars: Large size: 15" x 13". Big enough for a binder, or overnight stuff, or diapers for twins. Possibly big enough for a baby. Or a small toddler.

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Pockets: two under the flap. Two smallish ones on the inside, and one large.

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Please begin bids at $25- Cdn.

In bagville, it's Wednesday, October 27/09. But we have been known to misplace a day or two here and there. So, if we are following the same calendar, let's play this auction game until 9:30 pm, cst, tonight.

Mills

A curious thing happens every summer- mysterious intruders enter our garage and pile all sorts of things up to the point that it becomes impossible to park a vehicle in that space. And we're not talking about a little garage here.

So every autumn when the cold winds blow in and the threat of ice and snow hangs in the air- well, it becomes prudent to beat back the space invaders and make room for the family van.

Well, there happened to be a number of containers of fabric in there. (mysterious. fabric. here.) And in my efforts to weed through them, I found an impressive stack that I wanted to see inside my house for a while.


All this leeched into an unplanned re-tidying and stacking event in my sewing room.
Which further led into me rediscovering some pieces that bring me pleasure.

One was a paper bag filled with all sorts, styles, and lengths of zippers. Now, I don't feel that fond about sewing zippers in the traditional way, but I can certainly see their value as an accessory. I love the effect on the flap of this bag.

Another was a pair of nasty looking knickers made from a mill bag replica. I think people actually wore those as shorts back in the day before full length mirrors.

I myself much prefer the words and large pictures of beavers on a shoulder bag. Not so much on the lower extremities of humanity.

But that's just me.

I also happen to have a particular fondness for Medicine Hat, Alberta.

Aside from the admirable milling of red beets, it also produced an impressive batch of nieces and nephews, thanks to my sister Laura. (well, if you want to get technical, it was west of Medicine Hat in a town called Bow Island, which is no where near any body of water whatsoever.)

Particulars:

Medium sized; ~11" x 9".

Shoulder straps are two neckties that appear to be cotton/poly. Not silk or wool. That makes them more washer friendly.

Pockets: Under the flap you'll find three compartments: one for your pen (I constantly misplace mine, then find 14 hundred of them at the dead bottom of my bag some months later)

And then two other pockets that I designed so that they are not flat up against the bag. That'll make them more user-friendly, I think.

Inside pockets: two smallish ones on the one side.

One large pocket on the other side, plus one small one. The small one is the inside pocket of the Nasty Knickers, upcycled.

Bag materials: upholstery fabric exterior. Should last longer than most of the couches ever have in my living room. daycare cirque du soliel.

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Questions, comments, salutations and bids are most welcome in the comment box. Bids will begin at $25.00 Cdn and the auction will close at 9:30 pm, cst, today- October 26, 2009.

Errr.... make that today, October 27, 2009.

And they wonder why I didn't make a living as an accountant.

hmmmph.

French Vanilla

Having a whole weekend that was not overbooked afforded me time and energy to retake photos, upload them the slow and ridiculous way, and even finish off some partially completed bags. That feels good.



I continue to experiment with pockets. This one has two large inside pockets, and two small inside pockets, as well as a third large pocket underneath the front flap.

I'd also like to introduce for the first time: labels! (Have we just gone brand name?!)

This bag has a lot of special details. The four buttons. The variety of beige tones. And a strap that employs an old hand embroidered pillowslip.

The body itself is constructed of sturdy upholstery sample pieces. (thank you again, Mr Fancy Upholstery Guy!!) The top of the flap comes from a throw pillow that I bought at the local thrift shop. I did throw it on my couch for a year or so, then took the pillow apart, washed the exterior, and loved that soft fuzzy pile. It's the perfect compliment to the variety of textures beneath it.

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This bag measures approximately 14" by 12.5". The shoulder strap is adjustable.

It comes with a packet of Darfur Bag cards. (and that fancy shmancy new label!)

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I hope to have a more consistent week with posting bags. There have been a number of logistical challenges lately, and sadly, my laptop is still not back from the repair shop. That doesn't sound good, does it? But there are bags, and with a little patience, I can load the photos onto Brian's computer and get the job done. (not that it's a job- it's just a passion).

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Interested in french vanilla? (and not the cappucino variety). Bid here until 9:30 pm, cst, Monday, October 26, 2009. Please start your bids at a minimum $25- Cdn.

CBC News - World - Obama offers 'incentives' to Sudan

Karla drew my attention to this article, and hopefully good news for Darfur.
Check it out.

CBC News - World - Obama offers 'incentives' to Sudan

Little Mary

Finally. A bag with photos that look all right, even without the option to rotate them. I think you'll be able to view these without turning your moniter on its side.

Now, here's a bag with a fascinating history.

Back in the day when I sold my very first bags for Darfur, it was just before Christmas and I'd gotten a little carried away trying out a pattern for a small wallet bag. So, I decided to sell them on the blog, and donate the money to a good cause.

I asked for $15- per bag, and in a few days or weeks, I managed to sell them all and reduce my stock while supporting a cause that I felt strongly about.

Everybody knows my weakness for thrift shops.

Well, one day some time ago, I was in the local thrift shop and whaddya know! there was one of the bags that I'd sold a few years earlier! It looked like it was unused, as the fabric was not at all soiled, and the bag showed no wear.

I bought it straight back.

And here it is!

I made a few small changes to it- such as adding the button closure and several snaps under the flap.

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And that's not the end of the story. Well, in a way it is. But I'd like to tell you the beginning of the story.

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There's a certain woman named Roberta whose name you may have seen in the comment section. She has purchased bags for her daughters and for herself and she's wonderfully supportive. Well, her mother-in-law used to live two houses over from me, and when she had a garage sale one summer day, I wandered over and bought a beautiful old table runner all intricately embroidered in red stichery.

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I went home and turned it into little wallet bags.

Which I sold.

One of which I re-bought.

And now wish to re-sell.

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I think its a perfect story for the Darfur fundraiser- using cast-offs, garbage, has-beens, and somebody else's not-so-favourites to turn old into gold. If you think its weird to buy a bag that I bought at the thrift shop- stop and think about it. All these bags come from stuff that somebody used to wear; or a sewing project that never got off the ground; or fabric samples destined for the landfill. This bag has awesome layers of history. Maybe I'm a bit strange, but that just makes it all the more wonderful to me.

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So, for the sake of all that is fair, righteous and sensible, bids on "Little Mary" will begin at $15- Cdn.

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Here are the specifics: 7" across; 8" deep. Shoulder strap: 43" long.

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Because of the weirdness of the week, and the obstacles of posting a bag at all; I'm going to leave this bag on auction until Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 9:30 pm.

AAAaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Do all the computers in the world and all their repair people hate me?

I have bags; oh yes I do. That is not the problem. I have been making do with Brian's computer, which is no big deal, just less convenient. However. It refuses to upload my photos. Starting today. Then, Brian helped me by figuring out a weird way to temporarily get the photos. But. I can't rotate them. So, most of the photos are sideways and I can't expect you to turn your monitor on its ear to check out some Darfur bags.

aarrgh.

FYI

Today, thanks to all your generous support, Bags4Darfur made an online donation of $276.00 Cdn to the World Food Programme. Normally the website allows me to allocate the funds directly to aid in Darfur, Sudan. This option is not available on the site today, so these funds have been donated to a category called: "where most needed". To see the various countries that WFP sends aid, please check out World Food Programme: Fighting Hunger Worldwide.

If I am unable to reallocate these funds; I am confident that this donation will be put to excellent use wherever needs are most urgent.

**also could Colleen from "Casting my Cares Away" e-mail me again at re-joyce@mts.net? My computer is out of commission, and I have no access to every single file that I have ever made for this website. (please pray that this is temporary...). The e-mail will enter my husband's computer, as this is a shared mail address. Then I can further direct you on obtaining your bag! (sorry about all this)

Hopefully all will be restored and we can be back to "normal" soon.
(whoever coined the term "normal" was one optimistic dude.)

Mariatu

"Bite of the Mango" is a memoir written by a young female victim in Sierra Leone's brutal civil war. After having both her hands chopped off with machetes weilded by boy soldiers, she survives to tell a tale that I doubt we North Americans can fathom.

The book reminded me again of the ridiculously uneven distribution of wealth on this planet. And how we just don't really get it.

(these two photos show the interior of the bag. It is turned inside out for the photos to give you a more accurate look at it.)

Underneath the front flap is a small pocket in chenille.

The body is made of a high quality heavy cotton/polyester.

Accents employ an old chenille bedspread dyed a red raspberry sort of colour.

I love mixing chenille with velvet. Naughty, but nice.

And do you really need me to go on about buttons at all any more?!

*Check out "Bite of the Mango" if you like to read personal accounts of life in Africa.
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About the bag: medium sized messenger bag; approximately 6" wide and 9" long. Two interior pockets, one on the outside. Auction will remain open until 9:30 pm cst today; Friday, October 16, 2009. Opening bid is $25- or more.

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My computer is having problems, so I may not check in until later this evening.

Happy Friday!

Carol.in.Canada

can you please contact me at re-joyce@mts.net? Your bid on the shopping tote was the final bid. thank you.

In other news.... No progress on the laptop- in fact things are looking grim. If you pray, then please ask God if he would just restore the stuff on the laptop. There will be an awful lot lost if that doesn't happen.

This computer is very frustrating, and doesn't move images around on the blog unless you have some secret magical powers that I was evidently not blessed with. So, although I have a mid-sized red velvet bag with buttons in the shape of a heart..... I can't really show it to you right now.

I'm sorry. I hope everyone has more patience in this life than I.

Oobleck

Oobleck.
Yeah, that's what I said. It just came to me yesterday when I was trying to remember how to dump photos on Brian's computer because my laptop is in the hospital having some kind of procedure to extract 57 pounds of pet hair and crumbs out of its componants.


I've gotten spoiled with that laptop, handy little thing that it is. It helps me multi-task while I'm multi-tasking. Brian bought it for my fortieth birthday... oh..... about two years ago. What a great gift.

Were you here about a bag?

Those photos are all about the pockets. I flipped the bag inside out to show you an accurate view of their layout. The photo immediately above shows the pocket beneath the flap.

Somehow the cold wind and snow remind me of my stash of ancient neckties.

A bit of trivia about the pieces used in Oobleck. The brown/turquoise hippy looking fabric is a personal sacrifice. A few years back I found one of those peasanty dresses with the smocked neckline, shirred waist and armbands, long to the ground, with a ruffle on the bottom. I meant to repair all the shirring and wear it. I didn't quite have the confidence to pull that off. It reminded me of a woman who wore a nightie to church; feeling beautiful and believing that it was a really special dress.

So, I cut it in the middle, creating a top and a skirt.

Never got around to figuring out that whole shirring business.

The skirt part is still hanging around my sewing room, and I still have dubious intentions about fixing and wearing it. The top of the dress went into this bag.

Sometimes a girl has just got to face facts.

This is a medium sized messenger style bag. That makes it around 10" x 11".

The body is constructed from a very soft and yummy looking upholstery sample. You wouldn't think those samples would be soft, but think microfiber or something along those lines.

The turqoise band employs one of my other hoarded faves- a piece of perfectly turquoise velvet found some time ago. You put the words "turquoise" and "velvet" together in a sentence and you just might see me quiver.

Bids on Oobleck begin at $25- Cdn.

The auction will close at 9:30 pm cst today, October 14, 2009.

* don't forget about checking out another great online fundraiser for Darfur: Made4Aid.