First Work, Then Play

 I know what you’re thinking: all of what I do in the studio is play.  Okay, true!  So even though I loved making these 12 purses for August, it was play,  not work.  September I am committing to 24 purses instead of 12.  And these 24 will all be for the September Sew Powerful Purse-a-Thon.  Since I technically can’t start on these 24 until September, that means some real play time in the studio

I thought I would start a new big bag but then came to my senses.  One of my favorite bag designers Sara Lawson of Sew Sweetness has a pretty sweet web site that includes some free patterns. The Persimmon Dumpling Pouch is one of these freebies and comes in three sizes.  So I began to experiment.  It’s a clever pattern that goes together nicely.  I’m eager for my walking partner to test drive these pouches made from Cecilia’s drapes!  And I also made myself a new Run-Around bag, perfect for phones and keys.

                      My grunge project is coming along.  Here’s a process photo.

The rest of my play will include a studio clean up and organization and getting ready for the purse-a-thon.  Sewists like me are brilliant at making purses.  And Sew Powerful is expanding its efforts to include Livingston as well as Lusaka, Zambia’s capital city.   The first year I made purses there were 2000.  Now?  This year's goal is over 30,000 purses.  But here’s the issue: it costs $10 to  equipment each purse with underwear, soap, and reusable pads. So, this Purse-a-thon is a fundraiser!  

I have a hard time with fundraisers.  My friends and family are very generous and support so many great causes that I don’t like to ask for support for what I do.  But it’s necessary because the need is so great. This is my first year participating, and already, thanks to my husband and my sister, I have achieved my goal of $500.  I’m a lucky girl surrounded by lovely people.