Sewing Frustration, Hummer Visit, Hawaiian Shirts Place Mats Fini and a Doddle for Big Draw Art #17and Finally, I DID IT!!!!

I DID IT!After hours of struggling with the zipper, going out and buying new zippers,

playing with the idea of starting all over, or ripping out, or, or, or,

I played around with the broken zipper, then sewed if off at the broken teeth,

and made it work!

It may be half the size as it was supposed to be...

but it came out and I think it's cute.

It works!

And if not for my teenage grand daughter as it's not quite "good enough"

my four year old grand daughter will LOVE IT! She doesn't yet notice

imperfections! ;-)

Whew!

And now I am brave enough to try again and get the larger size little bag right!

This was earlier in the day: My goal today for being creative every day challenge was to make a little bag from a magazine I have called: sews stylish gifts to make . The pattern I selected is on page 33 and is called elegant evening bags. (Or make-up/cosmetic bags...or depending on fabric used just fun little carry things in bags). I chose some brightly floral cotton fabric from my stash...a stripy fat quarter for the ruffled top and solid pink that blended with the top for the lining. It looked easy to do. And I did fairly well slowly, painstakingly following the directions with it's 1/8" seam here and 3/8th" seam there...right sides together, turn right side out...then came...

add the zipper. I gathered the ruffled top fairly well...good enough anyway...and got the zipper in place, but along the way something happened to the zippers teeth and much too much time was spent trying to get the head back on the zipper's two lines of teeth! Could NOT get them to match up. So I am this far along, and went out to buy new zippers. I will spend this evening tearing out the zipper and ruffle and top and lining ends sewn together. I hope I can do this without ruining it all.

Perhaps I should just start over. I have plenty of fabric...could do...we'll see...it said it was EASY.

Well, it's a learning curve for me. On ward.

Today's Big Draw #17 doodle while watching news on TV...relaxing to do.

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This morning a beautiful hummingbird hovered in front of my kitchen window, the one I look out of while sitting at my computer. This bird had a bright red head and a brilliant green body. There are no flowers left where he was, but he was just looking in the window at me. I was wearing a bright orange/red shirt so perhaps he thought I was a flower.

It was a magical meeting. He flew off before I could grab camera and shoot.

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This is the sixth and final place mat in this set made from Jim's old Hawaiian shirts. These will go to his wife, Sam. The front and... the back. All six front side up! and back side up! It was a mix of feelings making these mats; a combination of healing sad feelings,

and happy to make something for someone feelings mixed together.

I also really liked how they came out. I like how the collars made their own mats

in full and in part on some...how they are reversible as they look finished on both sides.

And how good they feel as the different cottons and synthetic materials padded with batting hold their shape. And finally how each one is a little art quilt

all by itself.