Let the leather working begin!

As some of you know, my grandfather loved leather working. I was the recipient of more than one awesomely made leather product growing up and I've liked it ever since. I decided last year that I would really like to learn how to make bags, belts, and sandals out of leather. So to help speed along the process, Paw-paw gave me a kit for a handbag he bought in the 1970s, along with a few books. I was pretty excited to get working on it.

So before going on vacation I spend several nights pounding it out (pun totally intended!). It was easy enough to do since instructions were included. First, you just get the leather wet. Then trace a design on the the wet leather and adding whatever embellishments you want. Then you let it dry, sew up all the pieces (which turned out the be the worst and most time consuming part). And voila! you have a new handbag.

I really loved making it and I have so many ideas for other bags. I'm going to take it home this summer and see if Paw-paw can give me any pointers. I have lots of questions and I want to learn how to make it look more professional. Making a belt is also on the agenda

May Dress - Better late than never

It seems I've fallen behind in my dress making. While I found it easy to whip up a dress in a weekend during the winter and spring, summer has brought new challenges. I've been trying to make the most of the good weather, which mean sitting on my deck and staring out into the bay with a tasty drink in my hand. Also, I just got a puppy. There is nothing more distracting than a puppy. He is so darn cute! I really had tried to finish May's dress before going on vacation but what I ended up making wasn't what I had envisioned. The dress that came out was a bit strange for an everyday dress. It is made out of a cotton, linen blend. I loved the pink and green stripes, however it turned out to be too casual looking to wear out of the house. Therefore I made my first nightgown. It's less gown than I would like it to be but it's light weight and comfy.

Everyday in Manhattan is a fashion show and recently I have noticed women wearing dresses with contrasting tops and bottoms. I decided to see how this would work out. So I took the basic shape of the March dress and put a dark pink top with a light pink skirt. The top is made out of the same jersey material I used for February's dress and the bottom is new material. I think the color combination is fantastic but I look a bit like a 1950s housewife. I think it would have been better not to make a gathered skirt but just make more of a pencil skirt.

I'm less happy with this overall but it might grow on me. Not all experiments are successful but I'm going to keep at it. I've still got button holes and many other techniques to try out.