Today our Simple Living Toowoomba group held the first workshop of the year and it was an absolute delight. Our presenters, Valda and Neralie, presented a very informative and practical workshop and I am sure that even those who have been sewing for years learned something new.
Neralie showed us how she makes her tote bags from old denim jeans and it looked so simple. Mind you, she has made quite a few of these bags so she and Valda are experts by now. We were given lots of links to online tutorials which I will add under the relevant photos of some of the bags they brought along to show us. There are different ways to make tote bags of course and you can find a free pattern for the Alice Shopper Tote if you would like to make a similar one.
There is a tin inside this one ....
...some cute embroidery is done on this tote.
These are storage pods which could have a variety of uses Storage Pods.
These little bags have the handles inserted into the seams and you can find a tutorial by the lovely and clever Dana from MADE EVERYDAY here... Hold it Bin. When my granddaughters were little I used to buy patterns from Dana as she made some beautiful clothes for her children.
This is a denim bag in the making and is embellished with lace cutoffs probably from Op Shop doileys as well as flowers. Neralie showed us how to make those stems.
You can find more of the beautiful work done by these sisters in the posts Some Crafty Projects
and More Crafty Projects. What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning!
As usual we had our homemade and homegrown swap and I was fortunate enough to bring home a bottle of Mango and Tomato Chutney made by Chris from Gully Grove. If you read her blog you would have seen her post Good investments about her new Fiskars gift tag maker.
It looks great on the bottle and, as you will read in her post, was made from chocolate wrapping. LOL! When I popped over to Chris' blog to get the link to her blog post I saw that she had already written a blog post about the workshop today Bag Workshop. It was so great that she was able to come along as a spectator instead of as our resident sourdough presenter.
So our Simple Living Toowoomba workshops got off to a great start and next month's will also be fantastic. Stay tuned for the news if you are interested in gluten free, dairy free plant based food.
These bags are all so creative and beautiful but right now I am a bit busy to indulge, the gardens are gobbling up all my time.
ReplyDeleteIt is going to be too hot this week to be out in the garden so I am currently just keeping the potplants watered and leaving the rest go. I will get out in the garden when it cools down.
DeleteYou got some wonderful pictures there, Chel. Only a few of mine came out visible, as I was using my mobile phone. I don't get to practice with it much, lol. I'll be checking out those links, so thanks for sharing them. It was a lovely meet up with everyone again, and I'm going to eat my fresh chard from the swap, with eggs in the morning! Food, glorious food! Enjoy the chutney. It's my new favourite recipe. I love it with cheese and cold ham, but you could have it with any meat. :)
ReplyDeleteIs the recipe on your blog, Chris? It is yummy. Glad you enjoyed the workshop. It was really enjoyable and informative. I think I will always be straight line challenged :-)
DeleteI'm yet to write about it on my blog. I might, but as you can imagine, all that mango and tomato doesn't look very photogenic, until it cooks down, lol.
DeleteI love those bags. I have a stack of old denim Jeans, so one of these days I should put them to good use. Thank you for the links to tutorials Chel.
ReplyDeleteNil, you might have to buy a sewing machine needle for jeans as that will make it easier.
DeleteSo your next post will show us the new bags you've made and your reverse applique jeans Chel ? ☺ The swap's a good idea and your chutney sounds delicious, good you get to try something without having to make a batch.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Nanette. I will have that done in no time. LOL!
DeleteLovely 😁
DeleteOh those bags are so beautiful, I am thinking of a row of those boxy ones for kids toy storage for my grands.
ReplyDeleteYes, they would look nice and they are so easy to make....apparently :-)
Deletewhat a delightful collection of patterns , thank you so very much...I bet you won't know which to make first will you? after you tizzy up that shirt I mean (lol) oxoxox
ReplyDeleteThanks Sue. I hope you get to make a few bags. Our presenters made it look so very easy to make them but I think I will take longer.
DeleteWoooowwwww!!!! Love your post and thank you for sharing all those patterns!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Clara.
DeleteYou have the most wonderful workshops! I love the bags. Thank you for the links I am enjoying going through these. The birdie bag is my favourite! I have my sewing machine set up and completed a couple of projects... maybe bags are next! xxx
ReplyDeleteAnnabel, Neralie did say that she discovered blanket stitch on her sewing machine so that makes doing the edges so much neater as in the birdie bag.
ReplyDeleteSome lovely bags there Chel. Your presenters are very creative. Thank you for the links 👍
ReplyDelete