Libation presentation

Made a wine bag from a fabric scrap.
Whatcha think?

Tote bag recycle

Do you know what a chair back pocket is? It is sewn like a slipcover with pockets for school kids to store items at their desk.
Because next year's class doesn't use them, this kid's mom gave me his chair back pocket to disassemble for craft fabric but, instead, I recycled it into a tote bag. His name was already embroidered on it, so why not a sturdy heavy weight tote?

• I sewed the open bottom closed and cut the top to form a bag.
  
• Red bias tape applied to top cut edge.
  
• Two plaid neckties were zigzagged and straight stitched for stability and reinforcement then stitched to bag for double straps.
  

Yay! A bag for transporting library books and such.

Check me out

Me! On the home page of CRAFTSTER!!
Totally a surprise. Totally not submitted. Totally a fantastic craft blog day* to see my cat food bags on the Reusable Shopping Bags page! It's on the top row, I tell ya!

Thanks to Moesha for cluing me in to the screen shot save.

Y'know you have a craft problem

when you spy a Welsh Corgi dog image on 2 HUGE dog food bags in a stranger's cart while at the grocery store and wonder if there is any possible scenario where you can ask them for their empty bags because although you don't own dogs, you would love to make a tote with their cast off bags . . . .and the scenario did not include
1. them calling the manager and accusing you off harassment
2. making tote bags for them in exchange
3. being thought of as the crazy lady hoarder

You'll be proud relieved. I didn't approach them.

Have way too much stuff to make as it is,
I am,
Skitzo Leezra

Lands' End canvas tote

Are you a freak for a tote bag like me?

I have a few of the Lands' End and LL Bean canvas tote bags so when I realized I needed a gift for an incoming volunteer board member, I remembered Lands' End had select totes on sale. Their newer versions have nice interior pockets so ordered one for myself too.

WooHoo! Color and monogram selected for the chick of the hyphenated last name. Mind you, if her name is Rikki Tikki Savi: a typical monogram reads RTS but the centered monogram style would read as rSt. I've known monogram protocol forever but this chick has two last names so unsure if I confused the name order or the friendly Lands' End order taker transposed the initials. The bag arrived and looked great. The next week, I read the intended tote bag receiver's name again and HammerOfThor, I realized the order of initials was wrong. Hellfire!

Spoke with a Lands' End operator and she assured me the second bag would arrive in time for the next board meeting and even checked my last order to make sure we didn't make the same mistake twice but here's why I am sharing this story in the first place: when I said I would just keep the first bag, the friendly sales rep gave me the option to return it.

But I am not sure it wasn't my fault, I said.

We guarantee our merchandise so if it is something you didn't want, we will give you credit for it.

AND, you can take it to your local Sears store for a no shipping cost return!

Impressive customer service, don't you think?

Wish I had taken a photo of both bags. The original color was not in stock but the second bag was just as cute. Took both bags to the board meeting and asked New Chick which bag she preferred. Both!

Look more closely.

Oh, that one.

Whew! At least one of them was correct.

Yay, Lands' End!

Cat food messenger bag

How "green" is this?

A messenger bag I made from a cat food bag and free notions. You heard me.

Cleaned and rinsed cat food bag and then kinda made it up as I went along. Instead of attaching a button or closure, I fashioned a tab with a heavy but sparkly belt buckle from the People Give Me Stuff stash. Give me something and I will eventually use it, I tell you. The weight of the buckle will keep the flap down.

Lining made of quilting cotton with a scrap fabric pocket for interior. "Boxed" the corners for a flat bottom.

Because men's neckties are cut on the bias and thus, not very stable, I zigzagged the crap out of the necktie strap. The quilting effect feels fabu.

One side of the strap was long enough to double on itself to form a pocket with the broad tip plus a cell phone pocket.

Look closely for the tie point below the orange stitched strip.



Opposite side of strap with a toggle closure to hold keys.

Just in case you're afraid that I don't know this bag is as ugly as homemade sin, let me assure you, I do. Heinous, perhaps. I was playing around and didn't wanna "waste" good bias tape and a pretty necktie if it didn't work. Thinking I might wanna make another now that I've learned a couple tricks.

Check out my previous cat food tote.

Oh wait, there's more!

A wallet made of the remaining piece with bias tape and a snap.

That's one cat food bag with practically no waste!

Mama's got a brand new bag

My mom sewed everything in the world, back in the day.
She loved it, she was good at it and there was nothing she couldn't do; be it cheerleader uniforms, ballet costumes, formal gowns, Halloween costumes, quilts, you name it. Her things were well made and fashionable so I didn't even know "did someone make that for you?" could be anything but a positive question. Heck, Mom could look at a dress at a store then go home and make it without a pattern.
Since then she has dabbled and excelled in other interests: photography, drafting, painting . . .while the sewing machine no longer calls her name, she had a bounce back recently, thanks to me, perhaps.
While scouting the department store's place mat inventory for my organizers, she found pretty Ralph Lauren prints and made an overnight bag, make-up bag and tote for flat iron and blow dryer from place mats! She's still got mad skills, I tell ya.

Messenger bag, with interior pockets shown below

Make-up bag with pockets sized for specific products
Tote sized for flat iron, blow dryer and travel mirror

Placemat tote bag

Seems like every crafter in the world has sewn a tote bag made with two placemats and I finally joined the ranks last week. The fabric strap is a cast-off belt. Super easy and super fast!

Cat food tote bag

Inspired by this

Thinking that folks can make a tote bag from juice bags, why not a cat food bag?

Hey, looka, polka dot lining!

The interior green ribbon is a key loop and the tote strap is made from a plaid necktie.

Something from nothing

Dunno if all the economic doom and gloom stories were working on my subconscious or what, but here is what I did over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Cut three old pillow cases into cleaning cloths (rags).

Cut the legs off tattered pajama pants and worked up a prototype for hanger garment covers.

Covered a freebie promotional tote bag with a fabric sample that I embroidered.


Then pieced a contrasting band to a small cut of fabric for a pillow cover.

Guess I am on a frugal kick but don't fret, I am not yet smoothing out the aluminum foil for a second use.

The mantra of the frugal citizens during World War II:
Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

Not sure about that last one.

Black and white tote bag

Elizabeth has made some great embroidery gifts for me lately so I made this cute black and white print tote bag for her. Black and white print on exterior and toile inside with gingham pocket. I love using an unexpected lining and I think every bag should have an interior pocket. With that ever growing fabric scrap stash of mine, I can sew little pockets on everything!

No sew tote bag

Through the miracle that is TiVo, Chrysanthemum and I watched Martha Stewart's guest demonstrate making a cute no sew tote bag. Never one to be a rigid direction follower, Chrysanthemum whipped up this tote bag with a leather thrift store belt cut down for the handles. The fabric is an embossed faux leather.
So, how is it a no sew bag? Staples and duct tape! You heard me. Use above link to find directions.

Special thanks to Jodi Kahn for sharing this wonderful craft. To learn more of Jodi's easy-to-do crafts, check out her book, "Simply Sublime Bags: 30 No-Sew, Low-Sew Projects".

Cool tote bags

My estate sale acquaintance gave me a piece of vintage fabric! It is a way cool damask print in great colors but if you touched it, you would realize that the quality was not great. It is a screen printed fabric as opposed to woven. So, considering that it felt like itchy shag carpeting and would not launder well, I ruled out apparel wear. Being that my favorite thing in the world to make is a tote bag, the orange and red fabric made TWO totes. One large enough to take to the beach; the other, roomy for a wallet, cellphone and lipgloss.

Forgot to take a photo of the interior but lined it with red and pink floral flannel, it coordinated perfectly!

Utilitarian denim tote bag

Man, I love making tote bags, what with the straight line sewing and all but this is a heavy duty bag made for heavy stuff, thus, denim from cast-off jeans. Cut 2 legs, turned so that bottom hem is the top edge, split the inside seam and joined them. Removed 1 back pocket and restitched to outside. Ripped off the waistband and used that for the tote strap.

WooHoo - new Skitzo Leezra labels inside the pocket!

Tote bag (grocery bag pattern) AGAIN

Made a few more of those craftster.org grocery bag totes all lined with interior pocket. The pattern is from actual plastic grocery bag but I lengthened the straps so they would fit on the shoulder.

Tote bag (grocery bag pattern)

Tried another tote made from grocery store bag pattern that I found on www.craftster.org.
This one is the ultimate in recyclable goods! The outer and liner fabrics are repurposed cotton shirts. Liner fabric (plaid) former front pocket now serves as a handy little pocket for your cell phone or money stash.

Tote bag of upholstery fabric samples

Tote bag made of 2 squares of upholstery samples.

One side tan, the other olive green.

Handles of contrasting color.

Vintage ribbon covers topstitching.

Freebie tote bag makeover #2

• Canvas bag with screen print advertisement
• Upholstery sample remnant
• Stencil
• Embroidery

Stitched the chick and "Style is eternal". Backed sample with applique iron-on stuff, ironed on over the undesirable advertisement, zig-zagged around edges, handsewed strange pink yarn trim.

Skitzo Leezra Sent A Friend Over the Edge

So, being an all things crafty girl all hyped up on sewing projects, I sent the grocery bag tote sewing instructions to my good buddy Mallys. Last week I received an envelope with 2 nice drawstring bags and 1 wine bottle bag and this nice note from her.

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1. SkitzoLeezra sends Mallys a really cute and sort-of easy looking pattern for a reusable grocery bag, based on those noxious plastic bags.


2. Mallys reads the directions, which estimate about a yard of face fabric and a yard of lining per bag.


3. Mallys decides to buy some cut-rate fabric to try it out - no need to spend tons of money if the pattern doesn't work.


4. Mallys finds two complementary patterns on the $2/yard shelf at the Evil Empire. Mallys thinks the frogs are cute and the bright pink is festive.



5. Mallys pre-washes and dries the fabric, and every time she walks past it, the froggies make her giggle. "How cute those frogs are, " Mallys says to herself several times a week, "Won't they make a cute bag?"


6. Mallys makes bag #1 for her pal Suki, in which to place thank-you bowls for feeding the kitties while Mallys was on vacation. The sewing of the happy, bright frogs goes smoothly, and except for a little issue with the gusset, all is well. The bag is cute, and Mallys has used the lining fabric for the pocket on the outside of the bag so as to avoid the stripe-matching issue. The stripes are loud and attention getting, and the solid pink pocket is a funny contrast to the stripes.


7. Mallys make bag #2 for Mom because, after all, there's a whole lot of pink frog material left, and because Mom is looking for ways to avoid the plastic bags. Mallys switches up face fabric/lining - the stripes as lining are also cute, but also are getting a little old. This has now been hours of staring at pink and purple frogs - during the washing and hanging, the ironing, the cutting, the sewing. The frogs are sort of like other people's well-behaved children: they're all right for awhile, and then you want them to go home.


8. After two bags, Mallys is dismayed to see that there are, inexplicably yarrrrrrdddddssssss of this material left, and it's getting the tiniest bit tiresome: the frogs get happier and the pink gets brighter with every stitch. Mallys has never been happy nor bright. The material is challenging her self identity and gnawing at her already limited patience.


9. Mallys buys a pattern for gift bags to help use up some of the fabric. She sews a wine bag. The frogs are working on her nerves. There is still too much material left.


10. Mallys another wine bag. That frog is going to send her over the brink. There is more of the goddamned ugly fucking left, and Mallys - whose great grandmother used to tie her hair back with a worn out bras strap and whose grandmother won't throw away 10-year-old Swiss Miss instant cocoa because the fake marshmallows only taste a little musty - can't bring herself to throw away a swatch of material that is big enough to "make something with."


11. Mallys sews a shorter version of the wine bag. She'd like to pack that short gift bag with the guts of this fucking frog who won't stop smiling at her, if only she could get the frog off the fucking fabric and make it real so that she could exact her craft vengeance on this frog who is driving her crazy. AND THERE'S STILL MORE FUCKING FABRIC LEFT.


12. Everything is pink. Everywhere Mallys looks pink, pink, pink. Here a frog, there a frog, everywhere a mo-fo frog. Mallys is muttering in her sleep, dreaming of stripes of happy anthropomorphized frogs that won't leave her alone. There is still more fabric. Mallys sews a drawstring bag and finally, has sewn every last bit of fabric.


13. Mallys is disgusted by the items she has sewn. Too much pink. Too bright a pink. Too much purple. Too many frogs. Frogs frogs fucking frogs.


14. Mallys - embarrassed at the obnoxious choice - gives the "thank you" bowls and froggie bag to Suki. Suki assures her that the bag is hilarious, that the frogs are pink and funny and not - in fact - gunning for Mally's last shred of sanity.


15. Mallys breathes in through her nose, out through her mouth, and employs logic to convince herself that the frogs do not have some sort of $2/yard vendetta against her, actively trying to make her crazy.


16. But now Mallys sees that she has another bag to send her mother, two wine bags, one short gift bag, and one drawstring bag. She will send one wine bag to her mother. She can't unload a second bag on Suki - who claims to like frogs - because drinks wine out of a box and doesn't take wine to friends' houses. What the hell will she do with annoying froggie wine bags galore?


17. Mallys knows there has to be someone to blame: who is responsible for the frogs? Who should pay the price for the frogs? Who owes it to Mallys to take the frogs off her hands? And then it dawns on Mallys.


18. See item #1.

And that, Leezra, is why you will find in this envelope some really fucking bright, really fucking perky frogs on assorted bags that you may or may not have anything to stuff into.

In short, I am making you pay for the mental anguish those frigging frogs have caused me. Now you get to share at the fabric that's so frigging bright I think it has done irreversible damage to my rods and cones. Or, you can do what I've done, and you can pass the bags on - for some "good reason" of course - to someone who you think deserves the happy, loud frogs.

And the wine bag pattern is actually kind of cute in something other than frogs, dressed up with come ribbon, some buttons. I have now sewn waayyyyyy too many wine bags out of leftover fabric, and have purchased new (remnants). Somehow, I pixilated enough to send them to Mom, who starts doing craft shows in mid-September through early December (she paints), and who thinks she might be able to sell some wine bags at those shows. 39 bags later (with another 17 cut out and fabric for 2 more left to sew), I think that, perhaps, I should wait and see if the wine bags actually sell before I buy any more fabric and sew any more stitches. After all, a wine bag is always a handy item to have sitting around for those last-minute hostess gifts, but let's be real: how on earth is Mallys going to get 39 invites anywhere that call for a wine bag rather than a plastic cup and frothy head of beer?

The boyfriend has taken to calling me "The Wine Bag". I tell him that the joke will be on him when I make my fortune from crafts fashioned out of remnants and leave him high and dry, wishing he had a stylish gift bag in which to carry his hostess gift . . .

Enjoy,

Mallys

Freebie tote bag makeover

Hey, ya know those freebie canvas tote bags from vendors with screen printed advertisements? I love them but don't love the tacky graphics so covered the logo with this fabric remnant.

• Upholstery fabric sample


• Stencil


• Embroidery

Zigzagged the edge of fabric and sewed it to the canvas bag.

Attempted to border it with rickrack. Three times. No rickrack. Any tips for the future?