Hi folks.

Well earlier I read a blog about good ways to write
blogs.  One of the tips was to keep them
short, feel I may have been going wrong with that one, once I start I find it
hard not to waffle on so, but for the interest of keeping readers interested if
you see what I mean, I will try to curtail my waffles a little, which should be
quite easy this week as I have nothing to report on the little brown hat.

I’ve been trying to read more blogs and get more involved
with this online world, there are some really fascinating people out there who
are willing to share some wonderful knowledge with anyone willing to read it.
In truth I am feeling a little overwhelmed by it all, I seem to have so little
time at present and so much I want to do, so I must try to be more patient with
myself, once the house is renovated there will be lots more time.

There was one blog I read which was great and the lady had a link
down the side to other blogs she has found interesting, I loved this idea and
need to find out how to do this, with time constraints though at the moment I
will wait for my darling daughter’s return and hope she can set me up in a
jiffy, so keep an eye out for this feature as it will come, and I’m sure you
will find them just as interesting as I have. Sadly I didn’t keep a record of where they were and can’t find them at the moment, but next time I find an interesting site I’m writing down the name.

Back in the real world, we had decided to put a final push
on the house and get on with the last 2 rooms to be renovated and consequently
I have been putting up tongue and groove for a week and a half after painting the
ceiling and top half of the rooms and other half has been busy stripping paint from
old window frames and other such fun tasks, one of which was his first attempt
at plastering, and didn’t he do well. 

I have also realised Hepcats is just over 1 week away and I
have a lot of outfits to make this weekend coming. So the hat is on hold for
the time being (although if the evening outfits are finished I may try to get
it done too).

One of the things I have been browsing though during my
lunch breaks has been images of vintage hats and bags, so I have some wonderful
ideas now to go with my outfits, one being a bag made from 2 circles of fabric.
This got me very excited and I decided it would be the perfect bag for my
evening outfit for Sunday at Hepcats. Now I know it doesn’t look like an evening bag, but imagine it smaller and made of satin.

Once home I got started, I cut out a circle from newspaper
using a dinner plate as a template, then a second I folded in half and added a
seam allowance to the centre seam.  I
decided that I wanted a more substantial feel to the bag than the material I
was making the dress out of, so I decide to line it with felt as well as the
normal lining.

 And I also wanted more of a firm, flat bottom; bags of just
material do tend to fall into strange shapes once you put a bit of lippy, a
purse, your mobile etc into them.

So I thought for a bit and then decided on a plastic milk
container, the underside of a cup provided the template and hey presto a firm
plastic bottom which I sewed to the centre of the felt so that it stays in
position; so much better than card when you put your bag down in your spilled
pint.  Holes provided by melting using a
very fine soldering iron, but you could just use force and a sharp needle.

Well time ran out on me at that point, but I will let you
know how the rest goes soon with photos of the finished bag, and hopefully the
whole outfit at Hepcats.

Take care all and more soon.

Ally x x