It’s February, and I cannot get over the rain at the moment. Its absolutely dumping buckets and I’m so grateful to be here and cozy in my warm little house.
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been somewhat lax on posting my finished projects anywhere other than Instagram, so today I wanted to share something I made a little while ago. This was a custom made mini Sew Together bag for a lovely lady. (Original pattern can be found here, mini pattern conversion sheet here.)
When trying to make something specifically for someone, but someone I have never met personally, I usually use whatever tools I can find. I like to check out their Instragram account, or blogs and get a sense of their aesthetic. Is is minimalist, feminine, modern, rock, punk, cute or quaint? What is their favorite color? What projects have they been working on? What fabric designers do they use? All these little tidbits can influence the direction I take a project. Once I have a fabric pull, the client and I will go back and forth on choices until I’m set to begin construction.
This particular project was fun as I had never appliqued hexagons (hexies) to a project before. I didn’t plan going in to do a grid quilting using multiple thread colors, but it’s where the project led me. If you’ve never done this before, allowed yourself to be led by a project or a general feel for a project, I recommend it. It is very freeing to not let yourself be tied to preset constraints.
I love the arrow print we used on the side panels.
The binding was not my first choice, but in the end, it worked out better than what I had initially chosen and added a glow to the pouch. This essex linen background fabric remains to be a favorite of mine. It has so much depth.
I’m pleased that the recipient likes it as much I as I do. It was definitely a fun project to X off my list.
In other news, maybe you’ve heard the buzz going around the creative world right now about a new book, called “Steal Like An Artist”.
I was initially a bit put off by the title (how dare anyone imply we creatives steal!), but curiousity got the best of me. And boy was I glad it did. Go. Read.
IT’S. SO. GOOD. (You can find it here.)
And if you loved it as much as I did, read his next book, Show Your Work. (found here)
I read both these books in about 2-3 days. I could not put them down, and there were so many truth moments. It definitely changed the way I feel about the crafting world, Instagram, the blogging world and sharing our work as artists.
Let me know what you think – I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Linking to finish it Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts.
Commissions are always a challenge but I'm sure your client was delighted with the mini bag – it super stylish. I'll have to check out the books too.
Great job with the bag – that one scares me to death – too many compartments and zippers to fool with! I loved Steal Like an Artist too. Great book and so true!
Such a gorgeous mini pouch. I too often end up with a finished item that was not exactly how I planned it but it works anyway!
Beautiful job!
I am so curious about your pricing. I recently made a wallet as a swap for some work I had a gal do for me. I think I spent 5 hours on it (not to mention the cost of fabric/fusibles/closures) I was thrilled to do it, but she definitely got the better deal. I can't even imagine how long a sew-together bag would take me. Or that anyone would want to pay enough for that time…. I'm working right now on a commissioned quilt and I'm going to put in a lot more time that I originally thought it'd take when I quoted her a price. (she's an old friend, and I know she really can't afford to spend more, so it's okay…) Like you, I spend a LOT of time trying to make sure my choices are *just right*, and of course none of that pre-work even 'get's billed' so to speak… So, you see, I am very curious, indeed, for others perspective and thoughts on pricing your work…. (If you've done a post on it – point me in the right direction 🙂
Happy making ~ Tracy
Making a Sew Together has been on my todo list forever. Yours is adorable, Love the hexies and quilting!!! Steal Like an Artist is one of my all time favorite creative books, always good for inspiration when my latest project is in the pit of despair (and they all end up there at some point;-) Happy quilting!
I really loved both of Austin's books. It's been about a year and I think I need to go back and read them again. They seemed to be very freeing when it comes to thinking about creative work. Love your ST bag!
Wow! I LOVE this pouch! Awesome work there!