Who's for coffee?

For those of you that know me you will understand how irresistable it was to buy a certain selection of prints that featured coffee..  mmmmmm...... Kona....

and what did I decide to do with them? Well, patchwork of course! I thought that using my patchwork batik bag would be a suitable pattern for this collection. I do have two other designs, but they have more colours in them and didn't look right together, so they'll be a later project.

I spent a very happy weekend cutting squares, sewing them together... all in the same fashion as my tutorial...  quilting them to wadding and then hours of fraying the edges, I much prefer this look to a straight seam, much more character, but it does take some time!

By Monday I could get going on the actual bag... by Tuesday I could add the finishing touches, like cording, charm and matching keyfob. Oh, and this time I added quilted pads on the straps, as per my daughters suggestion.

Would you like to see how it turned out? 

I love how it turned out... and to feel it, thick and quilted, it's lovely, I'll be sad to sell it really, but to Etsy it will go. On to a gothy skull bag next, as soon as the prints arrive! 

There's art in that there heART...

 

I completed the main bulk of work last week, but wanted to get the wirework finished before I posted... and added it to the March Heart Journal page. The featured material and technique this month was utee and cut-outs.

It has alot of layers this time, with cut-outs, pics, stamping, embossed elements, powders, wire and beads. Try as I might, I start with the hope of creating a light/pretty heart, but it always turns out deeper, darker and not so girly. Oh well! It must be my subconscious at work.

The collection is starting to look pretty good together and there is a definate colour theme going on, so I should either carry on with the dark reds and black, or change every quarter, IF I can! lol.

Here's  a close-up...