Pursing with and for Sew Powerful

Most of the purses I put on this blog or on my Instagram are finished.  But several of these I have left unfinished.  To the left is a completed purse and then another one whose body must be turned inside out, whose straps need attaching, and whose body need to be assembled with the lining.  Have I mentioned this purse pattern has 11 pieces?  That seems daunting until you realize that many of the pieces are the same size.  Also, this pattern is the beginning pattern, which does not have the side gussets or the little elastic pocket on the flap.  Those were the only ones I did at first - until I discovered this "easier" pattern.

 

This red purse features the same flap fabric as the green ones above.  But the body and strap are obviously different.  Again, I've left one of these unassembled for demonstration purposes.  A neighboring quilt guild is considering making Sew Powerful their charity next year, and my goal is to give a pretty clear look at what goes into a Sew Powerful purse.

These two purses started with this Southwestern fabric on the flap  - I had just a little bit left.  But what I had a ton of was the teal floral.  The unfinished purse isn't even assembled.  I left the front body separate from the back which has the flap.  My brain needs to visualize the parts, which was difficult to do with the first purses I made back in 2016 - I didn't have a finished purse in front of me.

With still more of the teal floral fabric, I found another Southwestern sort of fabric with the Kokopelli figures on it.  I have no idea whether these figures will intrigue or scare young girls from Zambia.  There is also a purse here which doesn't belong.  It has a blue body and a flap with encouraging comments on it.  I had just a bit of this fabric (it's been a favorite but I've used it all up). The back of the flap is pieced from scraps.  I want to show that almost any fabrics can be combined for these purses!  I like to work with the same colors for a while and then have thread in my machines to match.

Meanwhile I found these fabrics which I've used before for purses.  These fabrics and colors are African, aren't they?  In fact, the fabric with the yellow dots is one that I bought in Kenya.  I have the right shade of red for the body, and straps will be made from the red/orange/green fabric.  

The Sew Powerful FaceBook group is growing by the day. Missouri Star, a quilt shop which often does terrific videos, featured Sew Powerful purses on their website. And have quilters ever responded!  Sew Powerful's efforts have spread beyond the capital of Zambia, Lusaka, to Livingston, the city at the base of Victorial Falls.  Sewing cooperative, soap cooperative, farming cooperative.  Results are visible.  I'm eager to get my next batch of purses in the mail!