Pesky Cat Designs

M y latest creation, the seagull applique handbag above, sold to a customer in Los Angeles, CA today. It was inspired by my many trips to Fire Island , NY on the Atlantic Ocean. I often bring my watercolors and paint on the beach. I get such a sense of peace and calm there.  

T he past two weeks I've been busy working on my spring collection of handbags. Check them out in my shop . They are all made with natural materials such as linen, cotton and raw silk. I've also thrown in some microsuede since it works so well with my applique designs. The handbag above is made from a cotton canvas in burnt orange with a cream microsuede applique. The flap is made from microsuede as well and is adorned by a vintage button.

T his week I discovered a product called  HeatnBond Lite  for my applique work. It has made my life so much easier. It is a paper backed lightweight adhesive designed for the bonding of lightweight fabrics. In the past I would draw my design directly to the wrong side of my applique fabric, cut it out, pin it to my main fabric and sew it on. Sometimes the applique would shift causing me some aggravation. With HeatnBond I draw my design freehand directly onto the paper using a pencil so I can erase if I need to. Once I have my drawing complete, I roughly cut it out from the paper and iron it on to the wrong side of my applique fabric. Next I precisely cut out my applique, peel off the paper, place my applique right side up onto my main fabric and iron it on! Now my applique is securely in place so I can easily sew the edges with a decorate stitch. I found a website with a good  tutorial  to follow. This week I made some new handbags using this technique. Above I posted a semi-circle des...

I spent an afternoon last week perusing my art books and got inspired by some Art Deco designs from the 1920's. After making several drawings on paper, I decided to go ahead and draw a freehand design onto some blue cotton velvet. I used gray herringbone wool for the main body of the handbag. 

T here is a wonderful antique store in New York City located in the East Village called Archangel Antiques . They have drawers and drawers filled with antique and vintage buttons. I found this beautiful brown velvet button that turned out to be perfect for one of my newest creations that was inspired by a vintage handbag from the 1930's. 

T his is another design in Harris Tweed wool with a blue velvet applique.  A customer in Seattle bought this one last week.