I Was Framed

Phew. What a marvelous past four days I've had. I took off on Thursday, and had off on Good Friday so I've had a nice four day weekend. I spent time with the nephews, fit in some shopping, a lot of sewing (and gluing), caught up on sleep, read a bit, and spent the afternoon with family for Easter. It's going to be hard going back to work tomorrow, but knowing the past few days were well-spent won't make it so tough. I always find it tougher to go back when I don't accomplish anything, as it feels such a tremendous waste of time.

Anyway, this week I was working on frame purses to sell in my wee shop. I've still got the smaller change-purse sized ones to make, but I've got some orders I need to work on so those will have to wait. But I did want to show you the pile of purses I made.

First up, I started with sunglasses cases. I made six, got glue all over one (don't even ask me how--I think it dripped and I didn't notice and then I laid the purse on it) so I ended up with five, one of which I forgot to photograph with the others. I blame Cadbury-induced chocolate mania.

My good camera died (the battery, not the camera) so I had to use my little one for some of the pics.

And here are the linings. These are such a good size for standard sunnies. They've been one of my favorites to make since I first bought the pattern several years ago.

The one above is the one I forgot to include. Then I moved onto simple rectangular purses. These went together like a dream. I kept thinking something terrible would have to go wrong as they were behaving so nicely. But nothing did. They're perfect.

That pink faux-patchwork one in the front is going to be so difficult to part with. It's the sweetest ever. When I see the pink and brown dots I think of raspberry cheesecake. I think the green might be a Denyse Schmit from Joann's print, and the other was part of a gift from my sister. Wanna see the linings? They go so nicely (I had a grand old time playing with my stash for these).

I need to restock the silver frames as I'm completely out and it seems most of my fabrics go with that finish. However, I do have a few more in mind to make that will go with the bronze frames (and even a gift suggestion for one of them :)

They've each got a nice flat bottom to hold your goodies--they fit the essentials perfectly (phone, keys, cash/cards, and a lipstick.

Any of these would be adorable Mother's Day gifts. They'll all be listed in my shop shortly (and there will be better pics there too). I've said it a gazillion times before and I'm going to say it again--if you've never made a frame purse before you should give it a crack. For reals. Especially this Easy Peasy purse that I learned to make from u-handbag. The sewing is simple, and if you let the glue set for ten minutes before you squeeze it into the frame there won't be much of an ooze situation. Plus--it's something that looks totally professional, but can be personalized with your choice of fabrics. You really do win all around.

So that's all I've got for now. I've got a diaper bag to cut and stitch, a pickle bag to concoct, and a kitchen curtain to ruffle and sew. Amongst the ever-present want-to list in my head. I'm this close (my fingers were about an inch apart there) to having my hexie table runner top all finished. The quilting should be simple in comparison, and then that will be one more thing crossed off the list.