Seems I'm Behind the 8 Ball As My Dad Use to Say

In purseland it's been Christmas in July ever since a dear friend surprised me with this lovely Christmas mat for my birthday. A chain reaction was set off, causing a dig through my Christmas stash and the fabrication of two new purses, but who knew my fascination with what I thought to be a "new fangled snapping mechanism" was at least 6 years old. Out of town company over the weekend set me straight on that one, then again they had no clue what the above contraption was. So, I guess all knowledge is relative.

You Know When Your Husband Looks Up From His Crossword Puzzle and Says....

"So how many of those are you going to make?" That you are smack dab in the middle of your next obsession.

But Seriously Sports Fans, this one even has a Tactile Snapping Satisfaction!

Who knew last week of school when Monica came down to show me the purse her friend made, and asked me to guess the closing mechanism that I would have the topic sentence for my August composition, "How I Spent My summer Vacation"

As I've indicated on a previous post: measure the circumference of the opening, cut metal measuring tape to that length, duck tape the ends... make a casing slipping the tape in so that when folded the convex sides touch.....finish by sewing shut the casing.

Try it and see if you don't have a new hobby like making purses that snap shut. FYI Home depot has some really cheap 25' tapes for $2-something, otherwise the Stanley ones are $6 for 16'.

One caution, the cheap ones don't stay open, so unless you're prepared to destroy the darn thing with a hammer once it snaps back into it's case, weight it down to keep it open long enough to tape the "cut off pull thingey" to the newly cut end. I hope that makes sense.

PS..... I still sew Velcro an inch below the casing...... Otherwise I know I'll lose my cell for sure.

What to do with the Black Tissu Indienne ?

Make a trop beau sac !! Merci mille fois encore Françoise for this beautiful thoughtful gift.

Who Shot the Couch?

I tend to stay away from wearing prints of any kind. It all started about 16 years ago when my then comedic pre-teen age son remarked on one of my new flowered blouses with a, “Who Shot the Couch?” I think it’s time to accessorize all those solids with a few new purses. Here’s the first of hopefully many.
I found the following tutorial on line for a great closure mechanism.

“You can use a retractable metal tape measure as a closure for your purse! Pull out the full length of the tape and cut. Measure the width of the top of your bag without seams and cut the appropriate length - be sure to round off the edges as this could eventually cut through your fabric.
Cover the cut metal tape measure with duct tape. Make a casing to hold the tape including the seam allowances. Stitch this casing to the wrong side of the purse and see only one side to the seam. Insert your tape measure and then sew up the remaining open side of the casing - you now have a "clicker" purse closing!”

I added two pull tabs on either side, but for the next one I am planning on adding the Velcro to the lining before I put it together. I also think it will be easier to add the handles before it’s lined. It’s hard to maneuver once the metal tape is in place.

"Oh, yes, it is a happy day, Mammy. The happiest days are the days when babies come.

I'd have to say it's a close second when the dang quilt you've been working on for over a year is finally finished,and hanging on the fence to be photographed. Don't you agree?