My Momma and Her Little Black Dress

Anyone who knows my mother is probably all "Whaaaat?" upon reading that title. Because one of the last things my mother would don (and let me post about, nonetheless) is a little black dress. We share the "Are dress pants and flats acceptable?" gene. So what's the dillio then? I made my mother a handbag. Her first. Well, not her first. She still owns her first, from way back in the day (nostalgia and all that jazz). But the first one she's let me make for her. I have pleaded with her since I started churning out handbags to puh-leaze let me make her a bag. She always says something like "No, I don't really need one" or "I have no idea what I'd even want" or "No, I don't want to give you more work." The closest I've gotten is a wristlet that she uses all the time.

However, upon seeing my sister's bag she proclaimed "I want one." And so I made her one this weekend, in Basic Gray for Moda's "Little Black Dress." What a beautiful fabric line! I'm usually all about color, but there was something about this line that caught my eye and held it. And it was perfect for my mother's taste.

I used a charm pack for the patchwork part. I cut each 5 inch square down to a 3 inch square, and stashed the scraps to make a new wristlet for her as well (when I get a mo). I sewed strips of black to the bottom of each panel and boxed the corners so that they would fall precisely on the bottom (so the base of the bag is all black, but you can't tell by looking at it head on). I used each square in the pack (which I was happy about--I don't know what I would have done with a few random squares). I was considering doing some light quilting, but I didn't want it to be too quilty looking, so I stopped at the patchwork.

I found some antique bronze rings that were perfect for the straps, and wanted to find grommets to match. I did and verily skipped out of the store with glee. But when I got them home they were too large for any of the tools I have (including a few sets of those grommet setting plier thingees). So I had to go with the regular brass ones. They're close enough that as they tarnish with time they should match spot on. Hopefully.

 My sewing machine started throwing a miniature fit that had me on the brink of punching a wall. Apparently I had a bit of an icky needle that was protesting the many layers of fleece and fabric it had to punch through. Now would not be a wonderful time to take her to the shop for a look-see. Luckily everything went back to normal. Crisis averted by a quick needle change. Phew.

I used the same lining as I did for my sissie's bag. I absolutely love this gray. Have you seen all of the not-quite-solid solids they've been coming out with? Very subtle characteristics that make it still one color but with a little something extra? Love it! Plain solids can be boring, but solids with a bit o' somethin'-somethin' are fun.

OK, fine. I'll tell you the secret mistake. You dragged it out of me. I sewed it together upside down. You can't really tell, but I can, and I always feel the need to blurt such things out. I was so anal and neurotic about sewing the squares together, that I didn't even notice until I was sewing the straps on that I had made a not-obvious uh-oh. And also? Why are bows so stinkin' hard to tie? I tried absolutely everything and it is beyond me to make a perfect bow. Good thing my mother isn't a fan of perfect.

Wouldn't this fabric be a great quilt? Even if it was just big simple squares with easy quilting? It's so pretty, so classy, so elegant in and of itself that nothing more would need to be done with it. I've fallen in love with fabrics before--for example, Aneela Hoey's "Sherbet Pips" is my all-time favorite. This is my second. Go figure. Two lines that couldn't be more opposite and I adore them both. Kind of like my parents, bwahahahahaha. Happy Monday, kids!

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