I am sitting here on a snowy day catching up on some housework. I was lucky enough to spend most of the weekend working on my homework for Andrea Chapman’s class AMC Master Class. (If you love to sew please check out Andrea’s work. She is the nicest lady and so incredibly talented!)
I don’t think I have ever had this much fun sewing before. Unless you count sewing on paper I really enjoy that.
For me, the best creative energy I find is when I have no specific instruction and I am just having a play. The basic bag construction was well thought out, drawn out, made out of a prototype-then completely changed. What I didn’t take into consideration was how thick the bag would become with a denim body and flap and it was just more than my machine could do. So, I did what I do best-think on the fly and adapt.
The bag now has no flap, really cute pockets and hook and loop tape closure. It’s not totally finished as I have some tweaks but I will definitely share a video of it when it’s all done.
I also discovered a love for upcycling and I think you will be seeing a lot more of that in my work. I have always used recycled materials in my junk journals-the covers and elements but sewing with recycled elements is crazy fun.
Ok, I might need to get out a little more but really you’re creative you get it right?
So of course-since, my bag is called my “Creative Living Bag” I decided that it needs to have a journal to go inside it. I am going to make it out of denim as well and I think a recycled cover would work well. Now do I want a travelers notebook or a bound notebook? I have to be honest I love the idea of travelers notebooks but I rarely finish them. I am thinking a nicely bound notebook would be great for the bag. Or maybe both 🙂
Of course, the ideas are endless-I could make a matching pencil case…..I could make a matching pencil case.
Alright, I will spare you any more time inside my creative mind. Please do comment and let me know what projects you are loving right now. Perhaps we can fuel each other’s inner dilettante 🙂
Much love!
Until next time…
-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante