Bag it, lady

I like making purses and tote bags. I go through spells were I am inordinately drawn to new patterns and have to restrain myself lest I spend all my money on purse and tote bag supplies and leave none to put in the wallet inside the purse!

These are from my pet screen period. The mesh screen was originally made to be used in pet carriers. It contains no metal in the mesh, therefore is safe for a pet that may chew or claw the screen. Not having metal in the composition and being available in many colors made it perfect for stitchers. No special needle or technique is required. If you'd like information on the pattern, Google "Screen Play" or "pet screen tote pattern". The yellow one with ladybug print fabric is mine and is used all the time. The others were made as gifts.

I wore this purse out. Actually, I wore the Velcro out, not the purse itself. I hope you will trust me that it was prettier than this photograph suggests. It was one of the first projects I made using Batik prints. As you can see in the second photo, the top of the purse was held together with hook and loop tape. When unfastened, you had a zipper to open that fully exposed the inside of the purse. The purse could hold a lot. There were large pockets on either side in the lining and a large deep pocket on the outside.

This tote bag began with a photo transfer onto fabric that was going to be a doll's face. I scrapped the idea, but not the photo on fabric. I made a crazy patch quilt around my goddaughter's face and created a tote bag for her.

The strangest purse I own is this knitted one. A strand of black yarn with nylon in it was worked with the multi-colored hairy yarn. The purse is small, not holding much and I don't use it often, but it is an attention grabber.

This purse was made yesterday. I quilted denim to heavy interfacing before assembling the purse. There are five pockets in the lining and the outer pocket is fully lined with a cuff at the top to tie the print fabric of the lining and the ties on the side together.

If someone tells me to "Bag it, lady!" there is no possible way I can react right away. Which bag do they want me to use? There are more in my closet that haven't been photographed. I would have taken their picture tonight, but Bill is home. Seeing all of them out at once makes his eyes roll and I have to think of his safety. I'd hate to give him a headache or cause him to have permanently rotating eyeballs over my purses.