Candice Purse Pattern Review and Reveal

I have had the Candice Purse Pattern by Joan Hawley of Lazy Girl Designs for quite some time and I've been meaning to make a purse for myself.  My problem was...every time I pulled out my fabric to cut it out,  I didn't like the fabric I had chosen or purchased for the project.  So...I just figured the timing wasn't right and I'd wait for the right fabric.  I don't want to carry a purse around that I don't love....that is no fun.

I wanted to use everything Joan uses for her patterns so I used the Nancy Zieman Rectangle Rings by Clover and I also used a Bag-E-Bottoms by Lazy Girl Designs.  The reason I had chosen a Lazy Girl Design is because I wanted to see if I could follow her pattern instructions.  Most of you know that I can't understand patterns and I get so frustrated that frequently all I can think of is either:
A: I want my money back or
B: Why didn't they ask me to test the darn thing first....I know I'll make every possible mistake and I could save them tons of wasted paper
(I don't have time to test everyone's patterns by the way)

Suffice to say....I give the Candice Purse Pattern  4 stars for clarity of  written instructions and photos to help guide visual learners in being successful with a pattern.

Selecting fabric was a bit of a challenge for me.  I had purchased some Kaffe Fasset fabric that I loved but every time I got it out to make this purse I ended up putting it away.  It just didn't "feel" like a Kelly purse....know what I mean?

Then it hit me....the fabric that was left over from the Marketplace India Quilt that I made.  You can read about that by clicking HERE.  I was able to keep the left over fabrics and there wasn't a lot left that I could choose from so I had to be very careful....there would be no going to get more fabric later if I made a mistake.

Lazy Girl Design patterns are really more of an instruction booklet with step by step directions and photos to coordinate.  I labeled each piece of fabric so it would coordinate with the instructions.

I was not comfortable photographing full pages of Joan's patterns so I used just this one to show you how clear the instructions are organized. I was able to follow along to achieve great results.

(I used Wonder Clips by Clover throughout this project and they were really wonderful :)


Before I go any further, I think it is really important to tell you that if you were to follow the exact  directions in the Candice Purse Pattern you would be successful in completing a lovely purse.  That is not to say that I followed the directions exactly.  Surprise anyone?  Probably not ay?   And I had  success with one deviation and the other deviation was a disaster.

The successful deviation?  The pattern recommends using fusible interfacing and batting in the purse handles.  I choose to use RocLon Multi-Purpose Cloth because I like the way it wears.  I used the Multi-Purpose Cloth in my camera strap and I wanted to achieve the same wearable results.  That is not to say my variation is better....it is only to say I wanted to achieve similar results as a previous project.

The Multi-purpose Cloth is easy to stitch through and I just cut a 1" strip the same length and width  as the finished strap.

No where in the pattern did it say to label your fabrics...I just decided I might be more successful so I didn't get confused.  Most people would remember to remove the label before ironing on their fusible batting...not me....I had to go back and remove it afterwards.....sheepish smiles.

I was careful to lay out all my pattern pieces just like the photos in the Candice Purse Pattern.  Here you can see that I noticed another "small" error I had made.  The first step in the pattern is to make the back of the bag.  The directions are very clear and well written.  That didn't stop me from goofing up....I'm sorry to say.  What I didn't notice was that I cut the small squares from the side of the back of the bag instead of the bottom....oops!

Now, remember I didn't have lots of fabric so I had a decision to make.  I decided to cut off that section and add another piece of fabric there.

Well....here is yet another example of operator error.  I still can't believe I did this.  By now you may be wondering why on earth I would be telling everyone about all the mistakes I made....right?  I'm sharing my mistakes because I want to make it clear these were "MY" errors....not the errors in the pattern.  I have frequently found that the pattern has the errors and no matter how I execute the instructions....the pattern doesn't make sense.  Everything in the Candice Pattern made perfect sense and was very clear.  The other reason I'm sharing my mistakes is let others know they aren't alone in silly mistakes...we all do it....even my friends who have 50 plus years of sewing experience :)  

TA DAH!!!!  Even with all my own mis-steps...I still ended up with a beautiful new Candice Purse and I absolutely love it.  Without the suggestion to use Nancy Zieman's Rectangle Rings and the Bag-E-Bottoms (bottom of purse support) I don't think I would have even thought to use them.  Thanks Joan for the suggestion because I think the Rectangle Rings are a lovely addition to my purse and the Bag-E-Bottom template has provided a sturdy bottom that gives my purse a professional finish. 

You may be interested to know that Joan Hawley has a blog and you can find it HERE.  She also provides free tutorials and those can be found HERE.  Like video demos as much as I do?  Joan also provides those and you can find them HERE.

I give this pattern 4 stars.....it was a breath of fresh air to have excellent photos to illuminate the very well  written instructions.  Excellent job Joan! 

Smiles,

Kelly

What does Rit Dye and Mod Podge Have In Common?

Ellen Highsmith Silver....that is what Rit Dye and  Mod Podge have in common.  Remember when I posted about Floorquilts written by Ellen? If you answered no, click here :)

A Floorquilt Class....beautiful aren't they?

Ellen has come up with a new method for sealing her Floorquilts using Rit Dye and Mod Podge (You know Mod Podge Rocks don't ya? ).  Eddie from the Rit Dye Blog even posted photos and a tutorial here.  Check it out...it is perfect for a summer project and fast too.

I was recently telling someone about using Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth to make Floor Cloths/Quilts.  So if you didn't know you can use up some fun fabrics by making a Floorquilt....now you do :)  If you have some Rit Dye..check out the tutorial above...you could have a really spanky project to show off to your family and friends. 

Smiles,

Kelly

Day 27 of 30 Days of Giveaways Roc-Lon Multi-Purpose Cloth and Osnaburg Muslin

IHAN's 30 Days of Giveaways

Anniversary Celebration

Day 27

Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth and

Osnaburg Muslin

from Rockland Industries

If you missed the first post about Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth you can see it here.  IHAN held a Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Challenge last year and we had lots of great entries.  If you are not familiar with Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth here is a photo.

Here is another beautiful project using Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth that was entered in the  IHAN Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth Challenge. 

Table Topper

Small Cosmetic Bag

Both of these were submitted by Vickie Collier.

Vickie's description, "After lots of thought I really wanted to try as much as I could with this fabric

First I made a table centre piece out of some lovely Ginger Blossom fabric by Sandi Henderson for michael miller

I then photographed the mat and printed in on the Roc-Lon..and trimmed all edges with pinking shears

Then I machine sewed the zip in...

I hole punched the long sides and twisty threaded a green ribbon thru....

turned it inside out and machine sewed the corners across to form bottom boxing...

I hand sewed the strap and added some bling....then popped a bling zip pull on the zip..

Thank you so much for the opportunity to try something new..

I'm happy that I managed too use the Roc-Lon in several forms of craft(so to speak)"

Here is another idea for using Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth. 

 

Laser Excel -  A Cut Above

Check out this fantastic laser cut stencil using Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth.  Laser Excel has a fantastic site with tons of ideas for cutting stencils.  The Multi-Purpose Cloth is soft and flexible.  It is easy to use on flat, curved or oddly shaped surfaces. It doesn't frey and is durable which allows for intricate designs to be cut.   I think this would be an excellent resource for designs you may want to use over and over again.  It would create very interesting layering effects too.

Rockland Industries have not only sent the Multi-Purpose Cloth but some wonderful Osnaburg 100% Cotton Muslin too!!! 

Osnaburg Muslin has the look of Linen.  It is wonderful for making Chenille blankets, clothing, rag quilts, primitive doll making, curtains, decorative towels and placemats.  Osnaburg Muslin is beautiful with Machine Embroidery as well as Shiva Paintstiks. 

Pat Smith from Up the Attic Steps has made this doll using Osnaburg Muslin. 

Pat Smith is a folk doll artist.   This is one of my favorite dolls she has made.  Who could not love this frog?

"I love to use Osnaburg in the creation of many of my dolls. The material has a wonderful texture and gives my folk art dolls an "old fashioned" look and feel."

There is a fantastic Chenille tutorial using Osnaburg Muslin to make a great jacket on Sheila Reinke's blog, The Heart of Sewing.  Sheila has made a beautiful jacket, hop over and check it out. 

Roc-lon Osnaburg Muslin comes in white, natural, gold, rust, sage, forest, red, navy, wine, black, bright green, hot pink, turquoise.  Click here to see the color chart.  It is pre-shrunk (5-7% Residual Shrinkage). 
 
Thank you Rockland Industries for joining IHAN in our Anniversary Celebration!!!
 
If you would like to win all 4 packages of the Roc-lon Osnaburg Muslin (Navy, Natural, Wine and Gold) please leave a comment below telling us why you are interested in winning the Roc-lon Osnaburg Muslin and what you plan on making with it if you win. 

To be entered into the drawing for 3 yards of Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth click here and leave a comment on that post. It is important that you specify that your comment is for the Roc-lon Multi-Purpose Cloth on that post. If you have already left a comment for the MPC no need to enter again. Two yards will be given away in the Grand Prize Drawing.

There are many more incredible prizes coming....so stay tuned :)

Smiles,

Kelly

I Have A Notion Now Sells Roc-Lon Multi-Purpose Cloth

Well, I never thought I would be selling cloth....but I am. For everyone who asked about getting some of this terrific fabric you can now order HERE. If you are interested in other sizes you can e-mail me at IHaveANotion@Yahoo.com

Please don't forget to vote for you favorite Roc-Lon Challenge Entry. If you missed them....click HERE.

Excited Smiles,
Kelly