Monday 28 May 2012

my 'Pass It On' gifts



You can find out about The Pass it On Project here. You gift a couple of things to other bloggers, and they keep one and give the other to a friend. Then, they pass on the blogger gratitude by sending two gifts each, to any of their own blogger friends, and so it goes on.




The bloggers I chose, Danielle at Silver Pennies and Maureen at It's All Connected have received their gifts, so now I can reveal what I made.

It took me ages to come up with the idea. I kept thinking of framing beach junk, but I felt that I wanted to create something that could be used.

I was looking around my studio and was suddenly inspired by this.


A bag for twine that I bought in a friends shop, years ago.

I bought some balls of twine, an eyelet kit, some toggles and some fabric. It was called 'scrim', but I guess it's similar to burlap. Anyway, it was close to the original.

I looked in my trunk of material for some contrast fabric and found some blue silk (Danielle loves blue) and a piece of fabric with Spode's Blue Italian pattern printed on it (Maureen likes Willow pattern china). I used to sell Spode china years ago, and I must have had a piece to make a tablecloth.  

In the end I just used the blue and white fabric because it looked so effective.



I really liked the selvage, so I was able to use it on the front of the bag.

I cut out some pieces for the front, that are from the edging pattern of Blue Italian, not the scene.


I had to unpick the stitching of whatever had been made before. I frayed the edges, and just used the eyelets to hold them in place (also, the tighter weave of the cotton, would hopefully make the eyelets stronger).

Putting in eyelets is THE best fun. Using a heavy duty hammer is always a pleasure - lol - and I feel many more projects with eyelets coming up in the future !

The toggles I bought wouldn't actually go through the eyelets (clever me, huh !), and anyway, they were plastic so I discarded them. I couldn't find any tiny wooden toggles or even long beads to fit, so was struggling for a few days.

I had a lightbulb moment in a shop - why not use driftwood.

I had to break up a piece and sand the edges and then glue them onto the string.  The glue is a little bit visible, but it couldn't really be helped, and I think they look really cute.


The string is attached to the inside of the back of the bag. It is knotted at the top to make a loop for hanging, and then the other end is attached to the toggle, so that the bag sits neatly when hung.


You then put a ball of twine in the bag and feed the end through the other hole (I think the picture above is the one where I got hammer-happy and bashed the eyelet too much. Luckily I made 5 bags, for just such an eventuality !).






So, thanks once again to Natalie  for passing on some wonderful gifts to me, which you can read about here. And also to Karah at The Space Between for the original idea. I'm now looking forward to seeing what Maureen and Danielle come up with !



probably linking up with some parties soon !




linking up with
Motivate me Monday @ Keeping it Simple
Take-a-look-Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts
Cowgirl Up @ The Farmhouse Porch
Wow Us Wednesdays @ Savvy Southern Style
Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts
Link Party Thursday @ Somewhat Simple
Inspiration Friday @ At the Picket Fence
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Air Your Laundry (Friday Textile Party) @ Freckled Laundry
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Showoff Saturday @ Nutmeg Place
Sunday's Best @ My 1929 Charmer
Sunday Showcase Party @ Under The Table and Dreaming



20 comments:

  1. So very, very cute! I love this idea for twine! And I love the fabric you used. Wonderful gifts!

    Holly

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  2. Oh my, I am in love with these bags. So sweet! And the Made By Me signs are just perfect!! :)

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  3. Danielle and Maureen must have been very happy and excited!

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  4. Fiona, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my twine bag. Thank you so much for making it for me. I'm going to give the other one to my mom. I love the burlap, the driftwood (is so cool!) and that blue and white fabric - I'm in heaven. Thank you again so much. x

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  5. I was absolutely thrilled to get my twine bag! It's hanging on the glass knob of the medicine cabinet I use for a spice rack until I can find the perfect hook. I passed the other gift on to a friend of a friend and she was thrilled with it. Thanks again, Fiona!

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  6. The pass it on project is so wonderful. The bags of twine are a lovely thing to share. Hugs!

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  7. I love your bags. I can' wait until summer vacation - 15 days more- so I can make some fun projects. You are so clever!

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  8. Wow, I just love them - so pretty and functional! XOL

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  9. These are adorable!!! Makes me want to go buy some twine so I will need to make a bag! Great work Fiona!
    Karen

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  10. Very clever! Could definitely use one for all my ribbon, which looks like a hot mess at the moment! And the pass it on project sounds very cool...I'll have to check it out! Thanks!

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  11. Fiona your bags are adorable, I'm sure the recipients will get plenty of use out of them!

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  12. I too, am in love with these! They are so pretty and practical too, doesn't get any better!

    Thanks for always linking up Fiona. Have a great weekend!

    XO

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  13. Great idea, and so very pretty, Congrats on being "gifted" I sure hope someone gifts me! Thanks for sharing your creative inspiration over at Sunday's Best!

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  14. These are great, Fiona! Simply genius. I would love to make several of these for my twine and favorite laces & ribbons. Thanks for sharing with air your laundry friday! xo Jami

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  15. Practical and pretty!!! Great idea!!! nice job!

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  16. Featured these bags on by blog today!

    http://www.nutmegplace.com/2012/06/show-off-saturday-features-and-little.html

    Thanks so much for linking up!!

    XO

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  17. these are so darling, fiona! congrats on your features:)

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  18. These are so pretty....love them! I think this concept could be knocked off into a really cute bags if all sizes maybe even beach bags, flea market bags and so on. Well done!

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  19. Well, it's beach time here on the island, and that means blue and white and sandy hues, like your beautiful BAG! 'Hammer happy'...you crack me up! How ingenious of you to have thought of real driftwood - it looks very chic!

    Poppy

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It's always a pleasure to receive your comments. I really enjoy reading them, and a huge thank you if you are following as well !