Crochet Granny Square Bag

I rarely make anything for me, and this was initially earmarked as a gift for Christmas. But when I finished it... um... well... I already used it today so I guess it's mine now :)

This project is actually part upcycle. The bag is crocheted using thick cotton cord and the handles are from an old bag I am using as a make-up kit, so you know, it doesn't really need a  handle.

I hardly get to use my sewing machine anymore so it was soothing to hear it's motor whirring again as I made the lining and attached the zipper.

It goes well with my watch, don't you think?

Watch from Swatch.

Someone posted a photo of this watch from Swatch in one of my Facebook groups and of course, all crochet addicts, including me, wanted one. The crochet design is printed on the strap and watch face. I was so happy when I saw a local Swatch store selling the design. 

Something old and something new

Wow, time does fly. I never realized my last post was so long ago.

I'm still deeply mired in this corporate set-up I entered a couple of years ago. It's still tiring and it leaves me very little time to do the things I like, but I am getting used to it. Also my baby girl is now a little girl and doesn't require me to be at her beck and call all the time, you now, to survive :)

With the very little time I find for myself, I did manage to use it wisely and have managed to complete some projects. I didn't get a chance to photograph all of them though. Lately, it has been cold in our tropical country, a welcome respite before the burning summer hits us. Cold weather always inspires me to start grand crochet projects which I never finish because summer hits before I know it and it becomes too hot to even hold any type of yarn. With the start of this year though, I started focusing on smaller projects and what do you know, I finished quite a few!

Here are 3 small bags I finished during a long weekend we had this January. When I say small, I do mean small... like the length is only around 10 inches. I didn't really follow a pattern for these and I used mostly scrap or recycled yarn.

This next one was made by request. This is what happens when I let my daughter watch me as I browse Ravelry. She saw this and pleaded and pleaded until I agreed to make her one. 

Apple Bloom from My Little Pony

Yey, my first amigurumi project! To those of you who are not in-the-know (you know... who doesn't have a little girl aged 4-8), this is Apple Bloom, a school-aged pony from the My Little Pony animated series. You can find the pattern from Knit One Awe Some right here.  

Emboldened by my success at finishing the smaller projects (hooray! hooray!!), I embarked on a bigger scale project which I hope to finish before summer gets here. 

(NOTE: I had to suppress a "haha, yeah right!" retort, an automatic response from my brain, after typing that last sentence).

Linking up to A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success.

Old Jeans to Bag

Remember my Old Jeans to Skirt project?
 

The jeans I used for this skirt was a little tight and after months of hoping that I will lose weight (without really doing anything) so that I can finally wear it... I just decided to take my seam ripper to remove the fabric I added and attach it to another pair ofjeanc that's I've cut. One that actually fit.

(edited August 30, 2011 to add photo)

Yey! I can wear it now! :)

So that left me with this:

 

What to do? What to do? Hmmm...

I know! A bag! I've seen a few projects that turned old jeans into bags before and I've always wanted to try it. 

However, this part I was left with was a little small. I decided to add more fabric at the bottom to make it bigger. And here is what I came up with.

I used the same color thread to attach the bottom and stitched 2 lines to match the rest of the jeans.

 

Stitches aren't very straight, I know. Tsk, tsk, tsk...

I used a zipper for the first time too!

Stitches were a little wonky but after I was done, I didn't want to rip the stitches to fix it anymore. Most important thing for me was that it opens and closes... since it does, I'm good :)

I had a difficult time attaching the lining. I think this part took the most time. I wanted the stitches to fall under the waistband of the jeans so they won't be so obvious. And I was attaching the zipper the same time I was attaching the lining. I can't describe what I was doing very well. And this was the point I decided to give up on trying to prepare a tutorial (yes, I was trying to prepare a tutorial for you guys..  maybe next time when I've had more practice). I had to rip the stitches several times and do it over. But after several tries... and several hours of work (like around 6 hours total of just trying to attach the lining)... I was done. Hooray!

I used red fabric because initially, I was planning to use the handles from an old bag I already have. Those handles were red synthetic leather. However, upon close checking, some parts of those handles were already cracking so I decided not to use them. Instead I used these:

You know how some bags come with 2 detachable hanDles One short and one long? My mom has a bunch those from old bags she doesn't even have anymore. She gave me a plastic bag full of them and I found a short black one. I simply attached them to the belt loop (I had to Google to find out that those are called, haha! I just realized I didn't know... we call them "sinturera" here in the Philippines and I think that's a Spanish term. You get a piece of trivia today :).

For the other handle, I used an old thin black belt. I attached metal rings on the 2 belt loops in front and slipped one end of the belt, folded the belt around the chain link and used needle and black thread to sew the 2 layers of the black belt together to secure it. After that, I measured the length of belt I needed to match the other handle, cut off the excess, and did the same on the other end.

The belt I used is a little narrower than the handle on the other end but you can't really notice the difference. I also thought about making handles out of the same fabric I used for the bottom of the bag but I thought that using synthetic leather on the handles will make the bag look just a little bit less home made :)

Here's how it looks from the  back:

I love that my bag has a lot of pockets from the front and back pockets of the jeans. And you can see the spots where I removed the jeans tag and former position of the belt loops before I adjusted their position.

Happy with the result and I'm glad that's over. Sewing with denim isn't one of my favorite things, I discovered :)

I am linking up to the following parties:

Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch | Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts | Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Designs | Your Whims Wednesday at My Girlish Whims | Hoo's Got Talent at Night Owl Crafting | Thrifty Thursday at Saved By Love Creations | A Crafty Soiree at Katie's Nesting Spot | Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple | Creative Juice at Momnivore's Dilemma | Get Your Brag On at Gluesticks | Link Party at Tea Rose Home | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Show and Share at Southern Lovely | DIY Diva Thursday at Mine for the Making | Catch a Glimpse at A Glimpse Inside | Commercial Break Thursday at Suzy's Artsy Craftsy Sitcom | Think Pink Sunday at Flamingo Toes | Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime | Sunday Showcase Party at Under the Table and Dreaming | Not Baad Sunday at Lamb Around | Craft-O-Maniac Monday at Craft-O-Maniac | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. | Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple | A Round Tuit at Creating My Way to Success | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | A Marvelous Mess at Marvelously Messy | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Made By You Monday at Skip to My Lou | Inspire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds | Ta-Da Tuesday at Mommy by Day Crafter by Night | Take-A-Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts | Handmade Tuesdays at Lady Bug Blessings | Tuesday Party at Running with Glitter | Tuesday To Do Party at The Blackberry Vine | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | Tuesday Confessional at Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy | Shabby Shares Saturday Link Party at Rustic Crafts |

Tote Bag Makeover

Since this bag from Anya Hindmarch was released sometime in 2007, several business and organizations started releasing their own reusable shopping bags made of cloth.

I have a small collection of reusable shopping bags which I get from malls, supermarkets, boutiques. I always keep one in my purse for when I have to go to the grocery after work or buy something at the mall. I like to think that since 2007, I have done my part to reduce the use of plastic. 

Anyway, I also have several of these bags from WWF. My husband works for WWF (which is really cool because they get to a lot of cool stuff and it's for work!) and they sell these and give some away on some of their events (as of this writing, I think I have 4 reusable bags from WWF). Since I don't really use all of them, I decided to find a use for some of my favorites.

This is one of my favorites:

This is made of canvas and the print is just their logo, no other text like the other ones. I find their panda logo cute and I thought I can make this shopping bag into a tote bag in a few simple steps!

Step 1: It was a little deep so I cut off around 2 inches off the bottom and hemmed it close.

Step 2: Add lining with pockets. I just used the shape of the bag as pattern to make my lining.

Step 3: I added a magnetic closure. I just looked for 2 magnets that are the same shape (I found 2 square ones in my husbands junk pile... I don't know where they came from but I thought they looked pretty. I put one inside the top seam on the front of the bag. Then I created this small flap by sewing 3 grosgrain ribbons together and burning the edges. I glued the other magnet to the flap, leaving it exposed since it looks nice. Then I added a little stitching on each side of the magnet.

that small square thing is a magnet

Step 4: I added a zipper... YES, this is the first time I used a zipper in a sewing project and I had to use the seam ripper several times but I did it!!! I added the zipper as an after thought, several hours after I thought I was finished with the bag so I wasn't able to take a picture. Anyway, I will be honest in saying that it doesn't really look pretty since the way I sewed it on the bag was uneven, but I say not bad for a first attempt.

So here's my finished tote:

You can't actually see a lot of difference from the photo since I didn't really change the design. But it's a little smaller and because of the lining, keeps its shape better when hanging from your shoulder.

I have another project involving my other reusable shopping bags but I'll be honest, I haven't started yet. This week is Holy Week in the Philippines, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are non-working holidays (and on Good Friday, local TV stations go off the air, malls, groceries, restaurants, and other establishments are closed) so most people go on vacations... including me :) So I might not be able to post anything else this week but I promise I'll have something good for you guys next week.

Before I sign off for the week... let me leave you with a little preview. Aside from my other reusable bag project, I need to do something about these pendants:

A shell pendant from one of my old necklaces.

Shell pendants I got from a souvenir shop somewhere in Monterey Bay, CA a few years ago when I went there on vacation.

And my husband has been working on his own project:

a dollhouse for Andrea!

He did not document his steps... and he started this very late at night 2 weeks ago so I wasn't able to take pictures of his progress but I will be sharing his finished project. This might be a little different from the doll houses you're used to seeing.

More on these projects, and other projects, next week!

I am linking up to the following link parties:

Free for All at Young and Crafty | Sew Crafty Saturday at Wildflowers and Whimsy | CraftOManiac Monday at CraftOManiac | Just Somethig I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do | Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple | Inspire Me Monday at Singing Three Little Birds | Tuesday Party at Running with Glitter |

Anthro-Inspired Bag: Ile Saint-Louis Bag

I saw tutorials for a knock-off of this bag from Anthropologie floating around some link parties last week:

Anthropologie - Knotted Tag-along Tote, $498 (Renamed by Anthro as the Ile Saint-Louis Bag with the reduced price of $288 ;)

The Little Appleseed posted a tutorial and a pattern at Someday Crafts! I checked it out and it looks easy enough to follow (except for the bias tape part... I have never tried using one before) so I decided that this will be my first attempt at making a bag.

After spending all my free time over the weekend...

... Mommy-and-daughter matching bags! After looking at the photos this morning, I only noticed that the folds along the sides are not as noticeable in the bags I made. I only made a couple of folds on each side and they were completely covered by the bow, but trust me... they're there! Also I couldn't find checked fabric in the fabric store at the mall so I had to use one with small beige stripes.

I mentioned that this is my first time to use bias tape...

Yes!!! I did it!!!

I didn't have time to make my own, though I saw a tutorial by Dana over at Made on how to go about making them. Maybe next time. The tutorial she posted on how to sew bias helped a lot though! And I did it the proper way, not the cheating way!!

I used soft cotton material for the bow so it was flopping around a little. I stabilize it, I sewed along the sides of the center:

I think the bag could use a zipper... but that's another thing I have never tried before. I think I will though, because I really want to have a zipped opening for this bag. But for now... my first attempt at making a bag and my first time to use bias tape! I think I learned a lot last weekend :)

Before I end this post, you gals might be wondering what my 1-year-old toddler needs a bag for. Well, every girl needs a place to put her 'essentials':

...you know, phone, keys and 'lipstick'.

I wasn't able to take pictures of us using these yet because I only finished last night (Sunday night my time). I meant it when I said this project took 'all my free time last weekend'. Andrea had no idea what it was when I first handed it to her... but when she saw I was carrying one just like it, her face lit up. She loves rummaging through my bag and I think she will love having one for her own to rummage through.

I hope you all had a productive weekend like I did. (In spite of the very sad news about Japan. Let's all keep praying for them).

Updated 3/17/2011:
We took Andrea to the doctor for a check up this morning and we used our bags!

Updated 04/04/2011:
I was browsing the Anthropologie site and I noticed that this bag is available again... but they are now calling it a different name: Ile Saint-Louis Bag. And they reduced the price, they are now selling it for $288. They have another bag they are now calling the Knotted Tag-along Tote.

I linked up this project to the following link parties:

Sundae Scoop at I heart Naptime | Free for All at Young and Crafty | Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff | Craft Couture Monday at Craft Couture | Made by You Monday at Skip to my Lou | Sew Cute Tuesday at Creative Itch | Take a Look Tuesday at Sugar Bee Crafts |  Show Me What Ya Got at Not JUST A Housewife | Handmade Tuesdays at Ladybug Blessings | Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog | Made with Love Monday at Sew Chatty  | Show and Tell at Blue Cricket Design | We Did It Wednesday at Sew Much Ado | Sugar & Spice at Seven Thirty Three | Strut Your Stuff at Somewhat Simple | Crazy Cute at Between You and Me | Think Pink Sundays at Flamingo Toes |  Weekend Wrap-up Party at Tatertots and Jello |  Keep It Simple Sunday at The Tattered Tag | Strut Your Stuff at Saturday Mornings | Sew Crafty Saturdays at Wildflowers and Whimsy | CraftOManiac Monday at CraftOManiac | Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. |  Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple | Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do |

I bag again

I lost all interest in... personal aesthetics... when I learned I was pregnant back in 2009. My feet swelled, so good bye shoes. For some reason, I lost interest in the bags I collected, so good bye bags. And of course, the obvious... I ballooned to x lbs so good bye clothes.

After I gave birth, nothing changed. Most of my shopping were purely dedicated to the princess of our household, who at less than a year old, hasn't even worn some of her clothes 3x. My feet, to my dismay, seem to be permanently one size bigger. The only bag I proudly carry whenever I get to go out (except for the office, of course) is Andrea's baby bag. And clothes... well, several months after Andrea came out and I still haven't lost the weight (not that I'm really doing anything about it... I'm just hoping they will magically disappear one day... hello? Dra. Bello?) which pretty much kills my interest in clothes.

But slowly, I am noticing that I am beginning to regain my interest in myself. I started noticing clothes again and started buying them again... for me this time. And on a recent trip to the mall with my mom, my heart once again fluttered at the sight of a bag:


I missed that feeling! So of course, I bought the bag and my mom sorta kinda paid for it ;) She also got a red one with a ribbon on it, which reminds me of Hello Kitty so I'm calling it her "Hello Kitty" bag. And knowing my mom, that bag will soon be mine in a few months.

On another shopping trip with my aunt, my mom also got me another bag:

It looks pretty and I like the color but it's too slouchy for me. But I got it for free so I'm not complaining :)

Denim-Dress Bag - A Cute Find

I found this cute little bag at the grocery store (yes, grocery store!) near my house last month:

It's a small bag in the shape of a denim dress. It's so cute! The storage space inside is only about 7x5 inches (in other words, practically useless). The stage-mother in me screamed that Andrea will look so adorable carrying this... only, you know... Andrea was only 9 months old at the time and the bag was a bit expensive for a non-essential bauble.

Stage mother won the argument though :)

I meant to post a picture after I bought it but things got a little busy and I only remembered I had it yesterday morning while I was digging through my bags before I left home for work. I took a quick photo using my phone (hence the quality! aarggh!).

Bag Organizers

I've been hearing and seeing these things online for quite some time now and I don't understand why I never got one earlier. It's so... convenient! Just put all the stuff you put in your purse there and when you have to change purses... just move the entire thing. I won't ever have to forget my i.d. and access card ever again! (I hope...).

The one I bought has a gazillion pockets and compartments!

Ok, that's exagerating.

It's about 10" x 8"... the size of a medium-sized bag. This size suits me and fits inside most of my bags. I need a big one because the cosmetics bag I carry with me everywhere is already about 7" x 5" big. My bag organizer has 3 compartments, 3 inner pockets, 1 inner zipped pocket, 3 side pockets for cellphones, 3 pen holders, a key holder, and a small coin purse.

Price: P180.00 (Approx $4)

Smaller ones go for P150 (Approx $3.50) .

Bag organizer inside my hand bag.