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?!)

*

*

*

***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.

*

Particulars:

Base of bag: ~12" across.

Center width: 18".

Height: 17".

*

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.

*

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.