Momma's got a brand new bag

Here is a little montage of some

lovely bags

I made today and yesterday.

Do your own thing

I did this little sketch a while back.

Her name is Prima Trollerina

and I think she's just lovely!

I feel like this today. Not so svelte and traditionally pretty

but inspired and lovely just the same.

hope your weekend is full of inspiration, fun and love

Tilly

Waiting for a new assignment

Here are some of the lucky ones that were plucked from certain doom at the thrifty distribution center sorting table. They have been washed and pressed and patiently await their next assignment! I almost feel guilty when I just need a sleeve or a snippet of something...it seems almost barbaric to just take a bit of something and then leave the rest just hanging there, no longer complete. (I think of Sid's toys in the movie "Toy Story"....shudder!) I make sure to say a small apology and thanks when this happens. I know it sounds silly but I'm not one to just mutilate a garment without a really good reason.

Trash to Treasure

This is where much of it starts, just before the end of the line so to speak. There is a major donation distribution/sorting warehouse a couple of blocks from my home. All the "premium" items are racked and priced in the back rooms and then sent on to the retail thrift stores. The "leftovers" are brought out in big bins to this front room for the "pickers" to cull out anything useable before the next destination...which is the landfill or big recyclers I presume.

I truly felt like a "bag lady" the first time I came here. There are several regular pickers, each with their own preference of things they fancy. When the fresh bins come out the pickers reach in and pull out armloads of clothes, throw them up on to the sorting table and then, lickety split...pull out what they want and toss it into their cardboard shopping bin. It all happens so fast! You have to be fast and not shy about getting into the fray. I like the 100% linen items and don't mind things with imperfections which no one else wants so no one minds when I reach in and pull something out of the action.

I think it's interesting to understand the supply chain process for thrift items. It's like knowing where the oranges come from before they get to the grocery store and how that all happens. You know they didn't just "appear" out of nowhere! There is always a story behind any product. This is part of the story behind items that are re-cycled and re-styled into eco-fashion. Just thought you'd like to know (smile).

At this place I pay by the pound for clothes and linens and by the piece for components like belts and purses from which I harvest leather pieces, hardware and straps to incorporate into my "new" bags. I could buy all those items new with a lot less effort but that would not be as interesting nor would that be in line with my mission to keep useable items out of the landfill.

There is a lot of time and labor that goes on behind the scenes to rescue materials! I do want to mention that I have to absolutely LOVE a piece and see great things for it before deciding to bring it home. Not everything makes the cut. After the lucky items get bailed out from certain doom, they ride home with me and get a nice warm sudsy bath in the washer. Then, all fresh and sparkly again - they are ready to be re-made into something "new" again which will hopefully be treasured by a new owner for years to come.

Fresh Start

Well, here goes. (big breath)

About 2 months ago I picked up a copy of a magazine called "Artful Blogging".

Coincidentally I had discovered that I would soon be joining the ranks of the unemployed...

Not a bad thing as far as I was concerned - I had dreamed of staying home since I started that job but that's another story.

Alrighty, back to this story. I was reading the aforementioned magazine and suddenly found myself so inspired by all these women who, like myself, were very creative, artsy and crafty (funny, I always thought of myself as more "artsy" than "crafty" till recently). So knowing I would soon have lots of time on my hands and the opportunity to really dig in and have some fun (Wohoo!) ... I started preparing while I still had that paycheck coming in!

First off, I went to the local bookstore and plopped down on the comfy chair with an armload of crafty magazines to get some more inspiration...can't ever have enough of that. Now mind you, I'd been stuck in a dark windowless office all by myself for the past two years. Nasty, dirty dreadful place. So this was like being a kid in a candy store but more accurately, I'm addicted to being creative and always do things in abundance and this was about to become my new drug. Within minutes I was intoxicated and delirious with ideas.

So there I was, doing the last bit of my time at the dreadful place, conjuring up all sorts of possibilities of how to help support my family and my addiction to being creative at the same time. Then my friend called and told me about how you now have to take your own bag to the Walmart grocery store or be charged for one of them. And it hit me like "aaaaaaaaa~~~angels singing" and the sun glowing through the clouds after the rain and all that. I could make grocery bags out of used clothes and whatnot. Now I know it's not a totally original "idea" but you've never seen me design and create somethin' from nothin'!

A little background: I've been thrifting since 1998 and sewing/designing since I was 8 so that was a "no brainer". And I love to shop so what better excuse to shop! ha ha, yes indeed - this is going to be fun.

Knowing I was going to need a variety of materials to choose from in order to put together these lovely bags and not wanting to get "stalled" with an idea because I simply didn't have the right color or texture to put with a project I set about getting a collection of suitable used/discarded garments and linens and whatever else would be cool as a pretty "eco-cycled" bag.

I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago to document how this project would evolve. To tell the truth, I kept collecting more and more stuff until the bookshelf was so packed that I had to start piling stuff on top and on the floor in front of it. I had gone in search of "treasure" several times a week - 'cause you just nehhhhver know what you might miss.... OK, so I finally got to the "overflowing" level and had to stop acquiring stuff because I had nowhere else (well, nowhere else that my husband was going to tolerate) to put stuff.

Alright now. Mind you I've been quite diligent this past month with designing and sewing and will soon be sharing the results here.

Meanwhile, it's time to grab a second cup of coffee and get the kids up and ready for school.

Hope you have a lovely day - cheerio!