It's logo time!

The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted my new-look blog!
I cannot begin to describe how excited I am that I now have a logo <grin>!!

I found this fabulous local graphic designer for whom nothing was too much trouble (thanks Chris!). 

He really took the time to listen to what I wanted and get a feel for who I was before he came back to me with a plethora of ideas.

Stitches not quite in the right place?  No problem - let me fix it for you!

Fabric labels are next on the list...

What do you think?

Grace lunchbags

I have a thing about lunchbags. 

Actually, I have a lot of 'things' about a lot of things!

The reason I made it? 

I couldn't find a lunchbag that would keep a tupperware container up the right way. 

So I made one.

Why a lunchbag?

I take my lunch with me here, there and everywhere.  Being able to do the food on the go is really important to me.  And a bit of floral styling never went amiss either!

So I put the versatility of oilcloth to good use by creating the Grace lunchbag:

The inside has been lined with clear vinyl tablecloth to make it not only easier to clean but also to make it much stronger.

And I've used velcro to fasten the top and sides to keep everything exactly where it should be!

I made this bag for a friend but I can't wait to make one for myself now!

Oilcloth tote

I haven't used oilcloth before. 

It always struck me as being a bit tricky to work with and a bit on the expensive side to just play around with so when a friend asked me to make a tote out of oilcloth I said 'sure, no problem!'

With the addition of a non-stick sewing foot, larger stitch length and a bit of imagination, here's what I created:

And it's huge - plenty of room for whatever you should possibly want to carry in there!  It has a longer than average handle so that it can be carried as a shoulder bag if need be.

And interestingly it wasn't tricky to sew at all, just a little bit of TLC needed together with a go-slowly warning and it worked like a dream.

I've taped the interior seams to give them extra strength and durability too.

I've also road-tested it and it was able to carry the entire number of cans in our cupboards (17) with ease. 

So that's approximately 17 lots of 400g = very heavy!

Those seams aren't going anywhere!

I've been a little reluctant to post it here as it's missing something really important - a Sew Selena label.  I'm in discussions with a graphic designer as we speak... 

More lunch bags!

I never realised what a huge array of differently coloured and patterned vinyl tablecloths there were available - a whole new world of 'fabric' out there just waiting to be utilised!

So I made a couple more lunch bags - tweaking the design a little here and there as I went.

Every time I create something, I always make a note of how I've made it in the event that I want to make another one.  You should see all my scribbles for this design LOL!

 This lunch bag was made a bit larger than my previous design in order to accommodate a specific lunchbox.

New to this design is a wipe clean inner - the tablecloths, by their very nature are kinda soft and fluffy on the inside.  Not really conducive to leaky tuna mayo.  Not that this one should tip up, mind you, but just in case.

I also made an orange and white lunch bag too.

Told you there was a lot of different tablecloths out there!

Velcro on the top of the sides prevent the bag from gaping.  I learned that one as I went along!

And with a lunchbox inside.