It’s that time of year again… Teachers are rejoicing, school kids are elated, and parents … well, parents are flooded with mixed emotions, I guess. Yep. The last day of school is upon us!
Next week my kids will be home full time. I’m looking forward to spending the long summer days with them. I’m old enough to realize how fast the years go by, and to appreciate every moment we still have together. But that also means I need to wrap up my sewing, which makes me a little sad. My many partially-conceptualized, half-started, unfinished, and almost-completed projects will all have to wait for fall. Sewing Season is over. Summers are for family.
So this week I’ve been busy finishing up one last thing: my throw pillow series. When they were all completed, I noticed a recurring pattern.
If you’ve seen my work, you know I love colors. Strong, vibrant colors in non-primary hues. I love purples, maroons, magentas, mustards and teals, to name some. But lately, it seems, I also started liking the combination of black, grays and terracotta-reds.
I think it started with my Dare! quilt:
Then I made a mini-messenger bag in that combination:
This was followed by a cross-body bag in those same colors:
A while later, I found a beautiful piece of textile in … you guessed it: black and red!
I sewed it into a Renaissance Tote, and really loved how it turned out!
Slowly, small scraps in blacks, grays and reds, leftovers from all of the above projects, started accumulating on my sewing room’s floor. Consequently, I started playing with them. I just couldn’t help it:
They ended up as cute, small artsy messenger bags:
When I made my unisex messenger bags, I realized I was still enjoying the same combination:
The pile of scraps kept growing. All the accumulated pieces gave birth to my latest new collection of gray-and-red patchwork throw pillows, the ones I finished this week:
I suppose you could call the first half of 2018 my “Gray and Red Period” 🙂
Wishing you all a wonderful, restful summer!
Where do you get the handles for the bags you make?
I’m not sure which of the bags you’re asking about. I ordered a big box of the leather handles online many years ago, but sadly can’t remember where from. The crossbody bag handles I make myself out of cotton webbing.