While the Cat is Away...

Well, you know the rest. Yesterday I was down in Concord NH, visiting my favorite quilt shop while my husband is out West, skiing and visiting friends. Peggy Anne's has a wonderful selection of the fabrics I love, and she was running an end of the bolt sale! You just had to purchase at least 5 yards, and it was 40% off! A total steal. So anyway, I got me some LOVE! Oh, it wasn't part of the sale of course, but I couldn't help myself.



Are you jealous? You should be...





HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL! Thanks for reading, commenting, and inspiring my creativity!

~Melissa
At home in New Hampshire

Invasion of the Purses

Well, it had to happen sometime. The mound of fabric pieces too small to make a dress with, but too big to just give up on, was growing larger by the day. If you sew clothing, you have some idea of the proportions of which I speak. We are talking a good shelf full of smaller pieces that weren't going away, but were cluttering up the view so to speak.



For my show a few weeks ago in Concord, NH, I decided that something had to be done. And it's always a good idea to offer a variety of price points so that people can commit to a little something instead of a big something. My solution to both challenges is the little purse, new to my shop.





These are so fun to put together and very easy to embellish. I try to pick out three coordinates; two for the purse itself and one for the handles. The trick is finding pieces of fabric that will all work together in the sizes I need. And of course I can't leave it just plain, so I decided to go through my vintage button collection and add to the fun little yo-yo's on one side.





Oh, I know I'm certainly not the first one to make a little girl purse, but watching my daughter pick one out for herself was tons of fun. So the only trick now is keeping them out of her sight just in case she decides to help herself to all the other lovely colors.

I may do a tutorial on this if anyone is interested, just comment and let me know. No advanced sewing skills required, I promise. And no piping this time...

~Kansas City, MO
Melissa