It's Dog Trial time !

It is now time for the dog club I belong to to have their dog trial.  Part of the way that the club raises money, is to have a Raffle.  We solicit businesses and members for donations.  We receive tickets, dog food, dog pillows and many items that can be found at pet stores.  I donate a purse.  This year it is a tote.


I found the fabric on ebay.  It is easier to find a particular type of fabric on ebay than going to your local fabric store.  I like this fabric because it shows quite a few "pure bred" dogs.  There are pockets on the side for sunglasses and a velcro pocket that would hold a cell phone.  Then there is a large front pocket.  And for "bling" I put two harness hooks on the top.


The purse measures  14 H x 11 1/2 W x 3 D.

A Rememberance

This is my nephew's beautiful family.  The photo family photo was taken my my Darling Niece about seven years ago.  The photo has aged enough to become a loved memory, so I included it on a clutch purse that I made for my nephew's wife.  She is a lovely person, who is a devoted mother.  

I felt that this could be fun to carry,  maybe a conversation starter and a way to not brag about one's children but allow the world to see them.


I do enjoy the transfer paper and I try to find ways to include in  my exploration of purses.

Meet Missy

My beloved Shaw died six weeks ago, leaving Frida without a companion.  She likes lots of people and dogs around her.  Also, living alone, I like to have two dogs about the place.  They are outside dogs for the above reason of living alone.  

A random event occurred where I was offered a German Shepherd dog.  The owner died and her son having three Yorkies, offered this beauty to me. 


Missy is three years old but looks around one year.  Also acts like a one year old dog.  Her original home was in a city where fireworks are prohibited.  The poor thing comes to me in a city where anything goes.  The fireworks started going off about one week ago and Missy is now getting sedated every night.  It helps marginally.  I read about Thundershirts and I ordered two, one for Frida and one for Missy.  Hopefully, the shirts come today and hopefully they work.


I am counting the days until July 6.  That is about when people will run out of the M80's.

P.S.  This is not a photo of the lovely Missy, but when I saw it on Pinterest, I couldn't resist.

A Walk on the Wild Side.

This tapestry came from Japan.  My mother was given several but what happened to them I don't know.  I was given this lovely tapestry and I wanted to use it in a purse but for a while I had to "thin on it".  Then I started pulling out fabrics and when I put it next to the leopard weave, I said "Eureka"........   Sometimes the least amount of thinking allows the inner mind to operate and this time I was totally satisfied with the combination.

I lined it with black Satin and it has a leopard pocket.  I have a lot of sub structure that cannot be seen but it allows the purse to have a stand alone feeling and it won't collapse when it is left by itself.  Handy to rummage in the inside!

Trying to Capture a Spirit

While strolling through the variety of fabrics on ebay, I was arrested by the beauty of the vintage Kimono offerings.  Living in Gardena, California, I have become familiar with its history.  We have a large population of Japanese people.  Many are first generation Americans.  They brought their culture with them and so I have come to admire their arts and food.  
I had never thought to mix my ideas with their arts.  But seeing all these luscious fabrics, my resistance was broken down.  One thing about buying the fabrics directly from Japan is that it took 3 - 4 weeks just to get to me.  Then it takes me a while to think and dream on how I want to construct the purse.  With this purse, I wanted to honor the Japanese Arts of the past.
The fabrics that I used here are vintage "everyday" Kimono fabrics.  This fabric would have made a Kimono that a person would put on after coming home from work and not a holiday Kimono.  I used six different pieces of fabric and I quilted them with an organic batting on the back.  The purse is quite structured to give it some shape, as the fabric is cotton, vintage and very floppy.  
Also found on ebay is the carved white Jade that I hung from the handle.
I enjoyed every step that I took to make this bag.  It has been a long journey, in that my life constantly intervened but now with a few days just for myself, I finished it.

Little Tuff* Guy!

http://catasters.tumblr.com/

Don't you just love animals with hats on?  I think that I should make a file of animals "dressed up" and then when I feel down, I will open the file and wallow in how wonderful the human mind is to try to change our image of the domestic animal into human.

Look at this fellow's face.  He is so willing to amuse the person he loves.  Little tough guy!

*  When I was a teenager, this was how we spelled our favorite adjective (meaning bad, phat or simply wonderful).
**I saw this fellow on Catasters.

For My Girls

Now this is the last dress (the Brown) that I made with re-purposed Tee Shirts.  I had about six Tee Shirts of different colors.  I wanted to re purpose these fabrics.  I had a great deal of fun and I think the girls will like them.
It is a lot of fun to make clothes for girls.