Totes and Pockets

I'm having the best time sewing these days. Staying indoors, out of the heat, playing with fabric, is such fun. I used more of my Ikea fabric to make a new tote, which will eventually go into Fritzi, my Etsy shop.

       I have been making small bags, which I'm calling Pockets, because most of my clothing doesn't have a pocket for me to carry around my cell phone or iPod while I'm in my house going upstairs and down, and out in the garden, and in from the garden, or at the gym. You get the picture (I'm needing to be attached to my stuff.) I'm always putting the phone somewhere and forgetting it, thus a pocket is needed. I made one for myself, one for one of my sisters, and several from the remaining Decorative Skull fabric from Skull-a-Day. I'm pretty excited about them. I've also started to make my Purses for Change again, to help me raise a bit of change for Art180. Their slogan is "Change through Art," which I whole-heartedly agree with.  This is all so satisfying. Lucky, lucky, grateful me!

My Etsy shop, Fritzi

I'm having such a good time with making totes for Fritzi, our Etsy (rhymes with Betsy) shop. I just put a few new bags in the shop. The polka dotty one got scooped up already, even before I put it on the shelf! Mainly, I'm using fabric that was headed for the landfill. All is new, unused, but was either a cast off from upholstery jobs (commercial or personal) or quilt projects (that seemed like a good idea at the time.) I've been really lucky that people are willing to pass the fabric along to be re-purposed into totes.
Check out the shop and see what's new. I can also do special orders, check under the heading "alchemy."

Earth Day

I love the image of earth from space. It's so beautiful and a reminder that we all live on this great blue marble in space. Notice that there are no lines separating countries or states. We're all in this together. I'm trying in my little way, in my little space, to help my home, the earth.

I've been encouraging people to use re-usable bags to tote their groceries and other purchases. I'm making my totes out of surplus fabric, either from a company that makes outdoor furniture, or people's upholstery or quilting projects. I'm making my collages using paper that comes my way via the mail, old maps, or however I find it.

We recycle as much as we can, cut off lights we're not using, use energy saving light bulbs as much as possible, drive less, walk more, I know it's just little bits and pieces of a bigger picture. I'm elated to see that there is more in the media about how we can all help, and in bits and pieces, maybe just maybe, I'm hoping, it'll make this marble in space last a bit longer.

My studio, mi taller!

I thought I'd put a little español into my blog title. Here are some views of my studio as it looks right now. Space for making collages, mail art, and artist trading cards in one area and


my sewing machine set up in another for making my totes.



My knitting supplies aren't in view because I work on those projects in the adjacent tiny TV room, while watching episodes of the new Doctor Who.
I love having this studio space and feel grateful and lucky!

Elflog and Etsy

So the shelf has been pretty empty. It's been a year since it's been up and maybe it's run it's course? Could that be? I seem to be the only one putting anything on the shelf and those items disappear over night. This image shows one of my Real Small Art League pieces and a photo of school girls in Africa. Next day, gone! No one wants to play.

I got on a roll this morning and made some new tote bags. I'm really tickled by this checked and dotty one. the inside is polka dot, and it can be reversed. You can see the new bags on Fritzi.

My friend Irascible has opened her Etsy shop. Check it out. She's a very talented designer and I can't wait to see more of her stuff.

Tote

I'm so happy when I make a tote! A friend gave me some really nice fabric and I made this bag, which Chuck said reminded him of the south of France. It's so chilly here in Richmond, VA, that we're thinking of sunny south of France right now. You can see another view of this bag on Fritzi, my etsy shop.
My neighbor just gave me big box of fabric to go through. Oh, fun, lots of great fabric to make totes from. I'd forgotten how much I LOVE fabric. Both of my sisters and I have this thing about fabric, which we come by directly from MOM!! We grew up watching her cut patterns from newspaper, to make our clothing. We cut our teeth making doll clothes. In high school, she'd make me these way sophisticated Vogue pattern dresses. Wish I still had them. Okay, not really, I haven't worn a dress in years, but it'd be fun to see them again.

My new shop.

During the summer, I made a lot of tote bags to sell at the farmers' market. I was trying to do my part in reducing the use of plastic bags. Now, I've opened my ETSY shop, where I'll be selling my totes, my knit wear and items by my sister, who lives across the country from me. She makes wonderful beaded bags and other good things. We call the shop Fritzi, which will be our label, but the shop can be found under www.mim4art.etsy.com
There's a funny, sort of funny, story about the name Fritzi. Several years ago, when I was visiting my parents, I asked my mom if she'd had a nickname when she was young. "oh yes," she said, "my friends called me Fritzi because I was so flirtacious." I had no idea how the personality translated to the name, maybe it was a 1920/30s thing, but when my nieces recently asked her "Gram, did you have a nickname as a young person?", she said "Betty Boop, because I have such big eyes." Fritzi? Who knows!