Dear, oh dear what are we going to do with you....
Thank you for your cockade comments. There is a future business in that somewhere...perhaps Hungary...
Bronte has put in a request for a leather rucksack (fashioned in the same way as this one here....I winced a little as with my RUBBISH (double emphasis) sewing machine that is a trifle ambitious. That said it has been going round in my head ever since (along with a few other ideas that are still to come to fruition) and thinking how best it could be done.
I purchased special needles for sewing leather (pricey indeed)
I scanned charity shops looking for a cheap old leather jacket (or similar) to chop up for bag - last week I found a WONDERFUL jacket - the softest of soft leather and only 4.99 (to be honest I don't think that people realised that it was leather as the original label was furled up/faded plus the leather was so soft it appears to be fabric at first - my beady eyes spotted it).
Carried said jacket home - aloft - like 'Lion King' - chanting as I went!
Bronte LOVED the jacket and now wears it all the time......
Back to the drawing board......
Hunted in cupboards and found some scraps for EXPERIMENTATION. Following on from the tweed and lace post here I hoped that a leather and lace combination might look quite nice.
I went to insert pricey special needles into the sewing machine - with my not so beady eyes I had picked up 'needles ordinaire' by mistake but paid the price of pricey!!! Undaunted I remained steadfast in my goal to experiment and see what happened. I was very careful of the pedal pushing at first as I feared backthrust and blowouts! But lo - I found out that 'needles ordinaire' slice through leather as a knife through lard!
Who knew!
This was a simple basic thing to make - just stitched the bit of lace to front and back.
Whilst rifling through some buttons I found one half of an old metal buckle so used that instead as a fastener.
I meant to sew this piece in the other direction but never mind.
I made two little snips to put my chosen ric-rac in and there you have it. Took about 10 -15 minutes - including sorting time!
(Martha: "It shows").
Remember this was an experiment and will do better .Next time in the leather and lace experiments I hope to reveal a rucksack!
Adding in some old photos of other 'doily' items that I have made - so this is Bronte 'modelling' an old apron that I added bits to several years ago.
Funnily enough this apron does not look so trim around my own waist...
Doily bunting is simple to make - I think that this was for someone's wedding
Wistfully thinking about the return of Spring and flowers in the garden again
I lurve our old garden seat (Arts and Crafts - but no hearts) seen right at the bottom of this photo - it is the most perfect 'fit' and perfect design in my eyes.
In case of panic remember that I use damaged linens for chopping purposes - I have one or two of those......
Spring is around that corner - I can see it peeping....
