u-handbag

Hello. I've spent half of the day in the garden today, it still looks like a bombs hit it and Mr B has been moving sheds again. I'm sure that the sheds in our garden, of which we have three, no, make that four (quick mental count up) have been on a constant clockwise rotation in our garden, which given the size of it, is no mean feet. But it reminds me how great spring and summer are, when you can have the back doors open, the girls running in an out, no kids TV on. Happy days. It'll probably snow next week.

So those of you who have visited my blog before know that I wax lyrical on a regular basis about Urban Threads, their fantastic machine embroidery designs and truly inspirational tutorials.But I probably wouldn't really have got going on this whole bag making adventure with out u-handbag.com and Lisa Lam's brilliant book The Bag Making Bible.

This is my Manga bag, quite possibly my favourite bag out of all I've made over the past year-and I've made a lot- and probably the most commented about, and its a version of one of the bags in the book. Whenever I want to know how to make a certain type of pocket, insert a fastening, anything technical, this is the book I automatically reach for. The patterns (printed full size on a pullout at the back) are easy to follow and well illustrated and with all of the information she provides you with, you can easily change and slightly adapt the patterns. For example, my manga bag should have had piping around the edge, but I didn't think my croaky old machine could cope with that without going into complete melt down and taking me with it; so I just left it out.
I was recently asked to make a bag big enough to carry a camera, lenses, spare batteries alongside your everyday chattels; to look a little something like this:

I searched high and low to find a suitable pattern, but The bag Making Bible was the only one of my books that had something anywhere near big enough, and following her instructions on making a boxed pocket, I was able to tweak the pattern to suit, et voila:

And via her website, she also gifted me with a link (and uncanny timing), to Vanilla and lace which had a tutorial on a camera bag insert:

Job done.
The website is not only packed with gorgeous bag making bits- yes I know, I'm sad, I get excited about things like that!- but also advice about starting up a business and some great free tutorials. This is my version of the kiss lock purse:

which was really simple to make and looks beautiful. The Laundry Day purse, which I've mentioned here before, is the pattern I always return to when I'm making a purse frame purse.

I think it was quite probably seeing the Reversible Bucket Bag in a magazine that kick started my interest in  making bags, and if you're looking for that one book on bag making that you'll use time and time again, then this is the one.

I have a week of decorating looming ahead of me. Preferably without the help of a keen three year old. That is headache inducing stress!

Take care. xx