A Philosophical Bag and An African Skirt

The fabric of my latest bag made me think of the quote about the tree falling in a forest, with no one there to hear it. If no one hears it, has it made a sound?

This is my second attempt at making a bag from Amy Butler's book. It is the small teardrop bag. Again I found the cutting out and interfacing the fabric hard work, but really enjoyed the sewing. I love the shape of this bag, and its pleat, but I think the larger version might make a more practical bag.  I like a bag with room to keep a purse, book and numerous other things. My first go at fitting a magnetic clip, which was fairly simple.

Although I have a big box full of fabrics, I found it very hard to find two that would go together well. A lot are things like old curtains, or bits left over from other projects. So I cheated a bit and used the edge of this African waxed cotton for the handle and top band, and the main part of the fabric for the bag.  It is a rather busy pattern, which I am not sure would be to everyone's taste, but I think is rather unique and beautiful.

I love this fabric, which I bought a long time ago in Shepherd's Bush for a skirt project when I was doing my City and Guild. I had to buy a lot more fabric that I really needed as the picture on the wrap around sections of the skirt had to match exactly. 

So here is my African-inspired skirt. I am rather pleased that over 13 years and 2 children later it still (just about if I hold my breath) fits. It was the first garment I made on my fashion course, and my first go at designing a garment and blocking a pattern. The regulations of the course meant all the garments had to have a theme, which led to a few rather unusual outfits.

It has one major design flaw, that it is not comfortable to sit down in. You end up with a beading imprint! So it languishes at the back of my wardrobe, but it took so much work, especially the beading which was all done by hand, that I cannot bear to part with it. And I have made so many different things from the fabric that I had left over, which is really lovely to work with.