I enjoy making and giving handmade gifts to people that I care about but sometimes it is hard to find something that I have not made before.
Hand made gifts are not free gifts. They are not cheap gifts, nor are they the easy way to give a gift.
When you are a sewer or a crafter, most of your free time is spent making things, or at least as much free time as you are able to steal from the rest of your life obligations. Some people do not understand however that when you are busy making a gift you are not able to work on other projects
Whether you are purchasing new fabric and notions or using fabric from your stash. The stash fabric needs replenishment.
When I make a gift I think of the recipient throughout the whole process: choosing a pattern, reading the pattern, auditioning fabrics, cutting, sewing, ironing... this is a lot of time dedicated to a single person. So when I make something for you it is special. AND I made it instead of doing other things that I love to do.
Not only does my friend receive a unique gift, personalized for her, but she also has, embedded into the gift, my time. The time that I cannot replace, but I do give it freely to the special people that I care about.
My very special friend's Birthday is the end of the month. She is celebrating 60 years of wonderfulness as well as retirement. I have made quite a few gifts for her over the years so this was a real challenge. Shopping for a ready made gift at a store would have been equally a challenge.
Procrasternetting led me to this great blog:
http://sewingsummit.com/?p=1121 Which has a great list of bags, patterns and tutorials. and from this list I chose:
http://reannalilydesigns.com Gia"Normous Beach Bag" Designed by Jen Eskridge (Thank you for sharing your pattern)
My friend is always trucking around lots of "stuff". So a big stash bag would be perfect and this looks pretty easy. Which it was!
I added a line of stitching to the outer pocket. This seems to be quite a flexible pattern, easy to up-size or down-size. My version has a self fabric handle instead of webbing.
Watch for a post on the other special gift that I recently finished. I made a bed quilt for another special friend.
I don't think that I can die until I am done making something for the people who are special to me. Lucky me, I keep meeting new people who become special to me. So I will have to live a very long time....
Hand made gifts are not free gifts. They are not cheap gifts, nor are they the easy way to give a gift.
When you are a sewer or a crafter, most of your free time is spent making things, or at least as much free time as you are able to steal from the rest of your life obligations. Some people do not understand however that when you are busy making a gift you are not able to work on other projects
Whether you are purchasing new fabric and notions or using fabric from your stash. The stash fabric needs replenishment.
When I make a gift I think of the recipient throughout the whole process: choosing a pattern, reading the pattern, auditioning fabrics, cutting, sewing, ironing... this is a lot of time dedicated to a single person. So when I make something for you it is special. AND I made it instead of doing other things that I love to do.
Not only does my friend receive a unique gift, personalized for her, but she also has, embedded into the gift, my time. The time that I cannot replace, but I do give it freely to the special people that I care about.
My very special friend's Birthday is the end of the month. She is celebrating 60 years of wonderfulness as well as retirement. I have made quite a few gifts for her over the years so this was a real challenge. Shopping for a ready made gift at a store would have been equally a challenge.
Procrasternetting led me to this great blog:
http://sewingsummit.com/?p=1121 Which has a great list of bags, patterns and tutorials. and from this list I chose:
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| The bag on ReannaLily Designs website |
http://reannalilydesigns.com Gia"Normous Beach Bag" Designed by Jen Eskridge (Thank you for sharing your pattern)
My friend is always trucking around lots of "stuff". So a big stash bag would be perfect and this looks pretty easy. Which it was!
I added a line of stitching to the outer pocket. This seems to be quite a flexible pattern, easy to up-size or down-size. My version has a self fabric handle instead of webbing.
 |
| The bag that I made for my friend. |
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| I need one now too! |
I don't think that I can die until I am done making something for the people who are special to me. Lucky me, I keep meeting new people who become special to me. So I will have to live a very long time....
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