Mother Sews Lazy Inspiration For Writer Daughter
by admin — 10 Comments » Lazies, This beautiful coffee-themed Summer Tote (LGD122) has a special story behind it. Lazy Girl Susan Fogel sent a letter and pictures to tell us all about this fun bag.
Here’s Susan
My daughter Melissa has been accepted into a competitive writer’s workshop in Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. She will be groomed to publish her first novel. This Summer Tote bag is a gift to carry along to the ‘City by the Bay’ and be inspired.
Susan Fogel’s ‘Universal Blend’ themed Summer Tote. Click image to enlarge.
I am an accomplished seamstress and design totes and home dec items, and in my younger days, clothing. Your totes and purses are exquisite, and the Summer Tote pattern caught my eye. The last few weeks have been weeks of obsession, I was enthralled with the process, could visualize my finished product, and loved working on it!
Back of Universal Blend. Click image to enlarge.
The name of Melissa’s book is ‘Universal Blend’. Espresso and coffee society are important parts of our lives, and we have both left our beloved California to live saner lives, me to Baja California Sur and Melissa to Dallas.
Universal Blend Summer Tote
The outer body of the Summer Tote is linen embroidered with sequins. The lining is a brushed cotton with a stamped 60’s style floral.
The inner pockets and the lining of the outer pockets are a print of Mardi-Gras beads with stars and touches of metallic, part of Kaufman’s “Celebrations” fabric line.
Coffee Cup Panel Fabric
The outer pockets are from the “Spill the Beans” collection by Barbara Tourtillotte for Clothworks. This fabric is panels of coffee cups. My pockets front and back are sized to show off the cups.
And I could not bear to hide any cups inside, so I lined the pockets with the Mardi Gras fabric. Very un-Lazy-like.
Special Touches
I stabilized some black satin blanket binding and embroidered the name of the book Universal Blend on it. And on the back I did the same with some black ribbon.
Zipper Pull
The zipper pull is decorated with ribbon that reminds me of colored tile in a city coffee shop. And I adorned the ribbon with a coffee cup button and some Murano glass beads.
Today, after inspecting some properties on a sandbar ( big sand bar) a friend and I collected shells for several hours, took the boat back to town, had lunch and a swim in my pool. I showed Melissa’s tote to my friend, and told her of my plans to make an identical tote for myself. Now she wants a Universal Blend tote too!
Your designs are wonderful! I love your attitude and I hope you continue to design and be successful.
– Lazy Girl Susan Fogel in beautiful beachy La Paz, Baja California Sur.
Thanks to Susan for sharing the story of her Summer Tote with us. Good luck to Melissa on her writing journey.
Summer Tote Demonstration
Have you had a chance to see the Summer Tote? You can watch a video demonstration of the Summer Tote project at KayeWoodTV.com here.
Enjoy!
Joan
Images courtesy of Susan Fogel.
[tags]zipper tote bag, Lazy Girl Designs[/tags]
Wow….I knew I purchased those coffee mugs/fabric for a reason…
I think I may have found it, even if I maybe adapt it to a mug bag.
But fabulous bag….and lots of lovely carefully worked ideas.
Best wishes for writing also.
Oh my goodness this bag is beautiful!!! where o where did you find the fabric and can i buy some lol
Debbie O in Idaho
Enjoyed this one with a cup of coffee. But would love to see pictures of the inside too. I can imagine how wonderfully creative it will look. And what a perfect way to inspire your daughter each and every day.
Debbie, I saw the coffee cup fabric at Material Girl in Grand Island, NE. They have a website. It is http://www.materialgirlfabrics.com/.
Hey Lazies!
I so loved making this bag for my daughter! And it cost me $55.00 to send it via DHL from Mexico to Dallas.
The customs inspector said she needed to see it ( for her own pleasure) and she also congratulated my daughter. she called sobbing with joy! And her Macbook fits inside.
I bought the coffee fabric and a companion piece at http://www.equilters.com
Ihave to wait for someone that is coming down to La Paz, and then I order fabric and ship it to my friends or family. I am ordering based on pictures. I have not been disapointed yet.
Some of my friends now email and say they are planning a trip and need my shopping list, and that they are leaving room for my fabrics!
Beautiful… a woman of good taste!
All I can say is “WOW” what a tote bag.
Dear Joan and Susan,
Thanks so much for sharing the details of Melissa’s bag–it is wonderful and very inspiring.
I wish Melissa much success with her writing career.
Susan, you’re not the only one who buys fabric sight unseen. I’m in rural North Dakota and that’s what I need to do if I want anything ‘out of the ordinary.’ Of course, I don’t have to have personal delivered by friends. If I had to wait for that I wouldn’t sew! Southwestern North Dakota, unfortunately, is not high on everyone’s vacation list tee hee.
Hola Lazies!
Melissa is in San Francisco right now at her writing workshop, and her bag is a hit!
I have lots of friends demanding a ‘coffee tote’ for Christmas.The lucky ones that live in La Paz will get one.
Thank you all for your kind remarks and wishes of success to Melissa.
She promises to buy me a house in the south of France when her book becomes a best seller. I have three words for her Write, Write, SELL!
Do you ANY of the spill the beans fabric left no matter how small the quantity