Artsy Little Wine Bags

This week has certainly zoomed by. I spent part of the week in Simi Valley, where my husband's work is based. It was necessary for him to be in the office on Monday and Tuesday, so given the distance we decided to take the gas money for the 2 trips and just spend the night. The kids went along also, and we hung out in the book stores, a local mall, and made a couple of art store stops while Dad was at work.

One of my favorite stores is Kidrobot, which merges urban street trends, fashion, and pop art to produce limited edition collectibles and clothing. Emerson ( who is 10) is hooked on this stuff and spent her hard earned savings on several items. I was hoping to score several of their bags to use in my recycled projects, and was given 5 by the very kind sales clerk, so be on the look out for some new "kidrobot" loot in my Etsy store soon!

We also went to Blick Art Supply store for my first time. I have seen this great art supply store online, heard about it on some of my favorite podcasts, and decided... this trip was the time to go. The only problem I am really into art and so is Emerson ( who as I mentioned is 10 yrs old), the oldest, Alex who is 16.... could care less about art... So as I am on isle # 2 of what I believe must be about 12 isles... he asks.... are you about ready???? Guess, I am going to have to just return sometime for a more intense isle by isle shop!

The pictures above are of a "scrappy moc quilted" wine bag. The inside is line with old blue jeans, and the outside fabrics are remnants from projects past. With the jean material lining the bag is nice and thick enough to keep a chilled bottle frosty for a long time. It will also be able to be machine washed easily. I have since made 3 more, and plan to place for sale in my Etsy store soon. Plans are also underway for a line of lunch bags in a similar scrappy recycled style.

On Thursday I attended a Free motion quilting class, where we learned more about our sewing machines than I have known to date. Step by step we went through all the machine settings, feed dogs, feet, etc. When we got to the free motion portion of the class and to work on our sampler, I felt very overwhelmed! Still have work to do on my sampler before I can post pictures, but the learning experience was amazing! There are some awesome teachers out there, who have such great skills to share... The handout she gave us in this class, will be my reference tool for years to come, and is now a valuable part of my sewing library. Look around in your community, and take advantage of the wonderful sewing classes when possible. It is well worth the effort. I found this class through my local quilt guild, and sewing circle group.

Soccer is in full swing, big game tomorrow am... I have to remember to pack my camera as we are playing on the "big turf field".... I hear the jitters around the house today from both my husband ( the coach) and Emerson ( the goalie). I am looking forward to game day!

More pictures later in the weekend, off to see Julie and Julia...and take a break!