Jeans Clutch Challenge

Totally exhausted. Tonight's dinner would not have happened had I not made a salad last night; and by adding a bowl of chili and corn muffin we had all we could eat. Or enough to end the day.

Am still missing my ad hoc sewing and creative stitchery since the sewing paraphernalia is all put away but I can show you my last project for 2011.  The week before Christmas I got rather bored and since we had nothing special going on thought I might make one last item to close the year.

Have you seen Project Runway: Accessories? Look at: Accessories, 
Absolutely awesome, I love it.  Each challenge presents the participants with some extreme materials and then says you have 2 days to create three accessories and they must be totally outrageous. The best part of course the $100,000 prize to the winner.

Ever since I saw episode one I thought: I could do that.  Well maybe not the shoes but the handbags, bracelets and hats (been there, done it more than once).  So. . . what do I need in the way of accessories?  



Jeans clutch, folded top.

Funny you should ask. I have a favorite clutch bag pattern that offers a fold-over top, zippered interior and even a tiny pocket. Currently have four of them in various fabrics, schemes and textures BUT I did not have a "casual, sized to work for everyday with jeans."

So, rummaging through my scraps of recent string-pieced cuttings, looking for shirting's that could easily work with denim jeans I fashioned my newest Jeans Clutch.  The bag does not contain any denim per se but is intended to work with jeans and other casual outfits.

Jeans clutch, open

First the purpose of the clutch; must be small not to be too heavy or bulky, must hold credit cards, discount cards and food shopping list, must be washable, stiff enough to hold shape and quilted enough to be tactile and touchable surface. PLUS it must be made out of found scraps, bits and pieces since I was not going out to shop or spend a cent on any supplies. How's that for a challenge? 


Hold on, that's not all. Because of the holiday timing and the fact we where going away for New Years Eve I had to design, piece, quilt and finish the clutch in three afternoons. That was the hard part. 

Ready for the next limitation? Size.
For interfacing I used the leftover washing strips from "Shout's Color Catchers" that had been used in recent wash loads containing new jeans. The strip size set the width and determined the depth of each the top-fold and lower section. It is big enough so long as I can get the shopping list, the iPhone and lipstick in the bag, 

The prints are all from thrift shop men's shirtings, all with a blue print (the amber strip is an Alexander Julian shirt. really). The beige piped strips are to define the flap edge and to blend with the mosaic-like print, a lovely fabric in muted shades of blues, browns and greens. Then when I felt it needed "something more" I found a bit of metallic piping in gold tone across the top flap - how rich is that?

The top stitching is free-form across the width, the zipper concealed within a flap at the center of the underside and just a scrap of the grid-print made a small pocket to hold a credit card, room key-card or a couple of folded bills. Not too big and not too small - this is my new car clutch that goes to the gas station, the super market or the post office. Those are about the only places I go on a regular basis anyway.  Yes, I have a bigger tote in the car with shoes, bottle of water and snack bag but that is another story.

This clutch accessorizes denim jeans, a navy trench coat, a British-tan Coach bag, leather gloves and a camel colored scarf. Works for me. Take that Project Runway!

bbf

Real Rain

As I write the drizzle is just ending - we had rain. Not just a droplet or two, but real rain. Weeks have gone by, the earth is hard and green leaves are falling without turning to autumn colors, that's how dry it has been. We still need more, the reservoirs are low and the plants will need weeks of rain to recover but at least the plants are getting revived tonight. Some storms east of Raleigh area but Orange County is finally getting moisture and cooler temperatures.

Boy, did I sleep last night! Something about testing martinis that will help you relax. EF came home from investment club after 9:00pm and I barely remember him coming to bed. At 6:30am I was up and about, stripping the sheets and getting ready for Molly Maids to arrive at 7:30. Headed to the gym while the day was still cool and walked 30 minutes BEFORE doing the weight workout.

Spoke with a blond, Nordic gal in the locker room after the workout. Learned that she is Dutch, lives nearby, has three teen-age sons and a body that could pin down Sylvester Stallone anytime. We talked about Holland, the post-war years and the years since emigrating she has lived in Canada, California and now North Carolina. Reminded me it has been twenty-seven 27 years since I worked in Maastricht developing a color system for Tenneco-Europe. 1980 - 2007, can it be that long ago? I am getting old!

Back to work on the scrappy-pieced jacket. Not the jacket parts per se but spent most of the afternoon strip-piece sewing for 'Seminole' patches (45 degree angles) that will most likely work in the lower sleeves, or perhaps the under-sleeve to turn back into a cuff. The back-composition is still in question. Strips, diagonals, nine-patch, blocks - I have all of the above in some form stored in more boxes than I need. Frustrating isn't it: looking in box after box and not finding what you really need? Got to get organized. Much of those scrappy patches will be used, but where is the challenge.

Since 9/13-14 is the Rosh Hashanah weekend EF went shopping at Whole Foods to get Matzoh Ball Soup, vegetarian chopped-chicken liver(?), tzimmes, noodle-kugel & gelfilte fish for Friday night dinner. Atop a green salad the gelfilte fish with pickled beets, pickles and hard-boiled eggs was a delicious dinner. No matzoh boards: I learned that one board has carbs equal to two slices of bread, one ball is enough - don't need extra starch.

This was my LAST week of the summer hiatus: Tuesday the noon class at Fred Astaire begins and for the next EIGHT weeks I am a class coordinator, a work-out lady, a half-hour walker and a shopper. After November 16, I can return to my usual leisurely life. Not!

Tomorrow EF switches my 'server' to Bell South. This could mean trouble.
press on regardless, bb