Happy New Year

Who can believe it's 2013 already?  I hope you had a happy Christmas, although I know for some people it is the least favourite time of the year.  If this is you then you'll be glad it's all over.  I rather like Christmas but today I've started packing away all Christmas things and getting ready for the New Year.  We had a quiet New Year's Eve, dinner with some friends and no resolutions.  If something is worth doing then do it, if not don't bother.  I've got some sewing projects on the go, but I'm also going to make my sister a bag like this one.

This is a bag for my own use and I really love it.  I put two zips in the closure that meet in the middle at the top which is great for security and access.  It's got feet on the bottom and really pretty faux leather handles in dark plum (almost black).  The front, back and base are interlined with pellon ultra firm stabilizer but the side panels have got Thermolam interlining.  This means that the bag is quite rigid but the sides are more flexible so that when I carry it the top comes together.  I had to make the lining and then handstitch it along the seams to make sure it stayed in place.

I had to pack away my sewing machine in my trusty Horn cabinet over Christmas but it's made a come back so I'm ready to go.  I'm resisting all the tempting offers from fabric stores (not easy) as I really must use some of my stash before buying anything else.  I'm also going to have a bit of clear out of fabric and other sewing and bag making bits, so those will be going in my Etsy shop.  

Jessie the Sewing Wonder Dog is a bit miffed about the weather.  It's cold, it's grey, it's drizzly, but no snow.  To compensate she is spending lots of time in her fleece "day" bed.

We got her a little flashing light that attaches to her collar so that she can be seen in murky half light when she's having her walk. She doesn't really like it and the first time she wore it she spent the whole walk trying to grab it with her mouth.  Unfortunately (or fortunately for us) it is directly under her chin so her mouth won't go there! 

If you haven't seen Pinterest yet, now is the time to check it out.  Sadly I've lost days wondering around people's boards, oohing and aahing at the most beautiful creations, and laughing at the silly sayings people have pinned. It's easy to join and easy to name a board and start pinning.  If you see a project or item you like you can pin it to your board and go back later for the details.  I can't tell you how many things I've seen on the internet that I've wished I'd saved but didn't.  Not big things, but little tips or short cuts that are handy to know.  Once they've gone it's almost impossible to get back to the site you saw them on, mostly because I can't remember where that was.  With Pinterest I just need to look on my boards and if I've pinned it, it will be there.  You can also put in a key word into the search and up will come loads of related pictures.  You can pin from anywhere on the web (not just Pinterest) onto your boards which is a great way of bookmarking a site.  But as I say be prepared to lose time looking.