Thursday is Purse Day - Atkinson Autumn Tote

Here's another tote bag made from Terry Atkinson's "Happy Hour" book.  I made it the same time I made the yellow/black/white one we looked at last week.

Not that we want to start thinking about autumn, but this one has a fall theme.

The buttons on the front are polymer.  I'm pretty sure I got them at the International Quilt Festival once upon a time.  Back then they were really exciting.  Now you can find buttons just as cute at Jo-Ann.

I didn't have pink buttons bright enough to suit me, so I glued a 5/8" sparkly bead on top of the hand stitching that attached the handle to the bag. 

A different fabric on the inside.

I made a different kind of wallet for this tote.  It's a triangle that's held closed with a polymer leaf pin.  

 Here's the open wallet, so you can see construction details.

You wouldn't want to undo that pin every time you get something out of the wallet, and you don't have to.  When it's folded back up and pinned, you can still slip bills and other goodies in and out.

Leaving July in the Prairie

I never paid so much attention to prairie flowers as I have this summer.  I guess that happens when you have a camera.

Chicory is my favorite flower in the whole wide world.  I wish they sold it at the garden center.

A young Queen Anne's Lace, often seen with Chicory.

A mature Queen Anne.

Purple Coneflower getting groomed.

Later in the year I won't feel so charmed by this Burdock, but right now it looks all soft and cuddly.  Now that I think about it, I didn't reach out and touch it, so maybe at this young age it's already prickly.

Deadly Nightshade.  You know what else is in the Nightshade family?  Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, paprika, morning glory, tobacco, and 2800 other plant species.  They contain alkaloids which can have an adverse effect on joints as well as nerve/muscle and digestive functions.

The alkaloid levels in our edible vegetables is much lower than in the other plants, and cooking will lower it even more.  Still, be sure to get rid of the sprouts and green skins on your potatoes, since they are indicators of higher levels of alkaloids.

I clearly remember eating some of the red berries of Deadly Nightshade when I was young.  Nobody told me you shouldn't eat them, and our yard was filled with raspberries, so to a child, it was just another fruit.  They were really bitter, and I quickly ran to the house and grabbed a glass of milk that was sitting on the kitchen table.  That was completely warm and disgusting, so I spit that out, too.  Not my best day.

 

Cup Plant leaves, so named because of their cupping form which hold little pools of water for birds and insects.

Here it is blooming - see the "cuppiness" of the leaves?

No, it's not a repeat.  This is a Compass Plant, another really tall yellow prairie plant.  This one is named after its tendency to follow the sun as it moves across the sky.

It used to be so frustrating to not be able to tell them apart.  But it's really easy ....

The difference is in the leaves.  Remember how the Cup Plant had those cup-like leaves?  The Compass Plant has these really flat leaves, with lots of lobes.

Curly Dock, looking decent at this stage.  Later in the year the seed heads are one big mush of dark brown.

I don't know what this is.  I'm hoping my gardening friends will enlighten me.

Crown Vetch is on Indiana's list of "Most Unwanted Invasive Plants".  And it's toxic to horses.  Pretty nonetheless, and the leaves look like those of the Sensitive Plant, a houseplant we used to have.  I don't see those for sale any longer - that's too bad.

Lots more wonderful prairie flowers to look forward to next month and beyond.  Number one on my list to keep an eye out for is Hog Peanut.  I just like saying it.  Hog Peanut.

 

Monday is Fun Day - Napkin Holder???

Monday is the day we look at fun items I've collected from vintage or new sources.  I bought something at a resale shop over the weekend, and I'm not sure what it is.  I think it might be a napkin holder.

I have books in it right now, but I've also tried out patterns and fat quarters and they all look good.  I like the versatility of this piece.

The base is 4" tall, made of glass and plain old brass.  Since it only cost a few dollars, that's what I'd expect.  I like it as much as if it were crystal and gold-plate. 

For the time being, it's sharing space with some other sparkly objects and a couple of my orchids.

Have you read any of the "Sew Zoey" books by Chloe Taylor?   I'm slowly collecting the whole set.  They're meant for tweens, but are of interest to anyone who likes to sew.

Thursday is Purse Day - Black/White/Yellow Tote

Several years ago I made a tote bag from Terry Atkinson's Happy Hour Book. 

It's 16" tall (including the handle), 10" wide at the top, and 4" deep.

The handle is attached with a button and seed beads.

Same fabric on the other side, but with a different repeat.

After cutting the tote bag from the strip set, there were leftovers, so I made a small, coordinating wallet.  

There was no pattern - I just made a quilted rectangle, bound the edges, folded it in thirds, and hand stitched the sides.  There's a snap to keep it closed, and the stitching on the snap closure is covered by the linear golden "chicken bone" bead that I used when attaching the front and back of my Voodoo Purse.

I like the patterns and books from Atkinson Designs because they're attractive, modern, and simple to make. Two summers ago, I made this Urban Cabin quilt from one of her patterns. See this post for details on the inspiration.