Kind of iffy on this one

Mark was telling some men about the handbags I make/made. I no longer have a business doing that, but a couple of guys thought about getting something for their girlfriends/wives.

One of them had no idea what he wanted, so I just made something up as I went. Mark asked if I'd be willing to just give it to the guy, because he's done a lot for Mark in the past. I had no problem with that at all.

But I'm not so sure I did a worthwhile job on this one. Maybe I should make something else. For one thing, the embroidery should have gone up higher. Second, I just don't really like how the interior looks, and also the straps. Maybe the part between the rings and the bag should have been shorter?



For the embroidery, I sort of just did it freehand using a couple of shades that are similar. They are ever-so-slightly different, enough to give it a bit of depth and texture.



The interior is entirely in the red fabric.



As if I don't have enough picture-taking challenges, it was windy and the sun was setting.

A fondness for birds

It seems I've been embroidering birds lately. I'm not sure why. (See the scary "Alouette" post)

One day, I was frolicking about on Flickr when I found this vintage embroidery transfer pattern:



Something about it inspired me, and I decided it would make a nice purse. I always need a more plain handbag, but whenever I'm sewing I'm attracted to the fun fabrics. I got some plain, tan fabric and used a transfer pencil (bought at Michael's) to trace the drawing after printing it on my printer. I then transferred it onto the fabric with the iron and embroidered it.



Next, I dug around in my stash for a lining fabric. I found this perfect one. It brought out all the colors in the embroidery, but it's sort of bold, so I decided to but a band of the plain fabric around the interior top so that the lining fabric isn't distracting from the embroidery and is less visible.



Then I sewed her up.



To do something different than usual, I used square rings on the handles. It gives it a nice touch.

More gifts

Two more items from this giveaway post went out this week.

To Kerry, I sent this pleated paisley handbag:




And to Kathy, I sent two quilted place mats, reversible:




For anybody interested in making a handbag, I do have several tutorials listed on the side column of my blog if you need some help. I was going to make a tutorial for the quilted place mats, but I had to do so much adjusting as I went that I would really need to do another set to make sure all my notes are correct. I may get around to that eventually.

New things

I made the most of my one day off yesterday. I made three bags, got my oil changed, got my wheels rotated and balanced at Costco and shopped there, bought an air filter, got my brother to remotely work on my computer, which was acting like a nightmare, opened the computer and blew out a pound of dust, checked paint prices, finished my sock and started a new one. Phew!

This bag is a custom order for my friend's mom. Sorry for the tiny pic:



These two are just for fun. I had only been making custom items lately for sale, so with an upcoming show, I decided to add a few pieces. These are both new styles:





I am working on these socks, just for me, but I'm kind of over the yarn at this point. I'm just trying to get the second sock done so I can move on to a yarn I like. They are wool, yellow and gray. This is my first pair. There are a few itty-bitty mistakes on the first sock, but nothing too noticeable. Mark wonders why I don't just buy socks instead of spending weeks making them. Well, I DO buy socks. But there's just something special about having hand-knit wool socks, and the yarns available are so pretty, you can't buy socks like those. That's why, silly.

What I've been up to

I have been working on a few custom orders. Here are pictures:

Plaid tie-strap handbag, a custom request:



A chocolate and pink rose apron:



Eiffel Tower handbag. This was a request for something I had made and sold before.



I've also been working on these socks, but my wrist started to hurt. I think because it's tiny and tight, but my wrist is better, so I'm ready to start again.



And the Brea Bag I wrote about below is nearly finished. I'm sewing the gusset in and then I'm going to make a strap and line it with fabric.



Here's what it will look like eventually:

New bags

Here are a few things I've sewn up in the past week:







Available for sale -- click on photos.

Is it just me, or should I send these bags to cuteoverload.com?

I've been sewing like crazy, getting ready for The Neighborhood Market on Saturday. I'm not going to bore you with everything I've made recently, but here are three things I especially love:

Chinese lucky cats


Brown and turquoise brocade with PERFECTLY MATCHING LITTLE FLOWER THINGIES! Imagine when I pulled those from the drawer and that little lightbulb came out on top of my head.


More of the calaveras fabric. I love this stuff. I sold the other one, and a friend ordered one, too.

Branching out

Cute new stuff! I have added yoga mat bags and diaper bags to my line of items for sale at Burst of Happiness.

This diaper bag was a custom order for a friend. It takes a lot of work. On the outside, it looks like a regular tote, but on the inside are lots of pockets and dividers -- elastic ones to hold diapers, sippy cups, etc.:


The yoga mat bags are a cute and convenient way to store and carry your mat. It can roll around the trunk of your car for 5 years while you don't use it, like mine, and still be clean! Clean for what? I don't know.
This one has a flower fabric with polka dot bottom, pocket and strap in coordinating fabric. It also has a drawstring top:


This hilarious fabric was bought by a coworker who asked me to make a bag. It's flannel, so it's not really proper bag material, but it's still super-cute, and it fits Sarah's style, which is also super-cute. It's covered with happy snacks. Hey, remember that song by The Who called "Happy Jack"? We could rewrite it for this bag - "Happy Snack." OK, that was stupid and neither here nor there:


I need to stock up for the upcoming Neighborhood Market, where I am selling this summer.
Here are a few totes and handbags, complete with crummy photography:

Temporary success!

This may shock you, but I'm going to talk about my business, Burst of Happiness again.

I've really been working hard to promote my site, i.e. Google ads. Everyone at work has been so supportive -- I've sold a number of bags to co-workers, and I've had a lot of custom orders lately. Well, about 10 custom orders (from non-co-workers, too) in the past few weeks. I expect things to die down a bit, but I've been really excited about the interest. I've also been really exhausted because I work full time at my job and then I work full time, practically, on my business. I also am finishing up three design classes, but those end this week. I don't anticipate taking any more, but I'm so worn out right now. Perhaps in a few months it will sound appealing again.

I just want to thank everyone who has supported my business and bought items from me. It means a lot! Business has snowballed as one person sees the next person's bag. May everybody someday have a Burst Bag! The world will be a sunnier, happier place.

I've got a MySpace page for my business, too. Come join me. My private page is still limited to people I know in real life.

Where do I want this to go? Well, although I don't have huge hopes for this, ideally I'd like to be able to build up enough regular business that I can start a family and work from home for a while. That would be hard to do unless I have very steady orders and raise my prices a bit.

Eventually, I might also look into finding boutiques that may carry a few of my items.

Some cute things:

This one was a custom order, but I plan to make another because it's so darn cute! Thanks to Greg for buying this for his wife -- Greg and I went to school together from elementary on up!


This one I made for my mom for mother's day. I thought the fabric just cried out for bamboo handles, but she's too practical. Most practical people are nerdy, but that woman somehow manages to be practical and stylish. But if you don't mind me bragging, I'd have to say it's partly thanks to me, with this bag.


This one is for sale! Go buy it right now. It's got polka dots on the outside and matching flowers on the inside. You'll turn heads as you strut your stuff down the street.