The Oriole Bag
I just took
a look at my posts from the last 18 months.
It was an eye-opener for me! My
review showed I have sewn more items than I thought. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic
in this area (March 2020), I have sewn 1 cape, 22 tops, 3 pairs of capris
pants, 1 pair of jeans, 1 skirt, 4 purses, 1 duffle bag, 1 small lined bag with
a zipper, 1 wrist wallet, 1 table runner, 2 pot holders, 1 baby quilt, 2 receiving
blankets, 5 outfits for toddlers, 6 baby bibs, 3 burp cloths, and lots of masks.
Beyond
showing me the quantity of my sewing, it also showed me that I have come full
circle in those 18 months. I still
experience periods of “sewing slumps” and my community as well as the rest of
the world is still dealing with the pandemic.
When, if ever, will it end?
I am not going
to worry about when it will end because that is out of my control. However, I can control what I do each
day. I am going to focus on doing the
things I enjoy. That includes spending
time with my husband, family and friends when possible; planning and completing
sewing projects; learning new things and sharing information with others; and
taking road trips. That should keep me
busy!
After
several weeks of no sewing, I downloaded a free purse pattern from Sew
Sweetness Pattern Company at https://sewsweetness.com/. They sell bag patterns and bag-making
supplies. I decided this simple purse
pattern might be just what I needed to activate my desire to sew again.
I looked for
something in my stash to use to try out this pattern. I found some scraps of a wool tweed that were
just large enough to cut out the purse, but no fabric was left to use for the strap. I looked for some black strapping, but I did
not have any on hand. I found a leather
strap from a purse I threw away long
ago. I decided to use that on this
purse.
I was
surprised to find I had almost everything I needed to make the purse. The only thing I had to purchase was a set of
D-rings. I was able to get those from an
Amish harness shop at a very reasonable price, so I didn’t have to drive to a
fabric shop for any of my supplies. My
husband enjoyed the trip to the harness shop much more than he would have enjoyed
a trip to a fabric store!
The free
purse pattern from Sew Sweetness also came with access to a free video that
showed how to make the purse. Both the
written directions and the video gave clear, easy to follow instructions. The pattern is called the Oriole Bag. I also purchased some patterns from the site
and each of them came with an instructional video.
A picture of
the finished bag is shown below.
Are you experiencing
a sewing slump? If you are, try
searching the internet for some new ideas for sewing projects and maybe even a
free pattern to get you excited about sewing again. Christmas is coming and you might want to sew
a few gifts instead of waiting for all those idle ships off the coast to dock and
unload their cargo. Even after that, it
will be a while before the goods reach their destinations to become available
for you to purchase. Just something to
think about!
Have fun
sewing!
Judy
