I am off on my World Tour....See ya in September.

This is where I will be for the next week....then off to the States to see my sisters and in-laws. MY parents are up in Alaska hanging out, so we couldn't go up there. Our kids are very sad about that, but maybe Grandma and Grandpa will try to visit down here via AMC. After the States we will be swinging over to Scotland for about another week, then back home via stop in Perth. Wow....it will be good to get home again after all that, but I am wildly excited to go to a big huge grocery store and a mall. How very American of me. I also want to be rained on, so I figured if Hawaii couldn't do that for me then Scotland could. We almost tried to work Seattle into our journey, but something off with the flight schedule....(I was pretty sure I would find rain in Seattle) so rain must be found in the UK

These last couple weeks I have been less than social. When I haven't been cutting and sewing, I have been thinking about cutting and sewing. My husband and kids are so excited that I have the dining room table cleaned off. To them that means that I am going to take a break. I do want to make some pencil cases for the kiddos before we leave tomorrow... and I new bag for me, but I don't know if I will have time. Oh well. Such is life!
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Another "Ethan School Backpack" and a matching Molly Purse. Won't the Walsh's look great on the first day of school? So....I am really debating on if I am going to add this backpack to my lineup of bag styles. It is pretty mush a big fat pain in the butt to make. It is adorable, and Emma's has done very well for her this year at school, but some of the hardware is annoying. I had to use open ended zippers so sometimes she has to fight it when she unzips it all the way. No real big deal in the greater scheme of things, but annoying nevertheless. I changed from d-rings to strap adjusters, because Emma's d-rings were a little less than useless. I ended up just tying her straps to the d-rings. These bags (this one above and the Anderson backpack) should not have that problem. They also take forever to make. Time wise they are my most lengthy bag to produce, so that will certainly play a part in if it gets added to the line-up. I have a month to think about it, huh?

This is my latest Hero Bag. I will be making their son a Hero Quilt when I return from our trip. Here is the write up about Anthony on the Army Times website.

Army Cpl. Anthony K. Bento
23, of San Diego; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Sept. 24, in Bayji, Iraq, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire.
US Army times

Here is the Doll Quilt Swap 4 that I just sent out to it's new home in another hemisphere. This was hard to do....not because it was difficult to get the the post office or anything, but this little quilt and I really bonded. I guess I can make another just for me...but that requires time, which I never have enough of. But that will change after my little vacation. I am going to cut WAY back my custom bag orders. I have several other plans up my sleeve, so time will tell on them.

I decided to take this clutch up a notch. I had some thinking to do about Emma's teacher, so I decided that I would do some hand sewing while I mind wrestled my daughter's school situation. OK....note to self (and you for that matter) hand sewing tiny glass beads is made even more challenging with invisible thread. But I got it done dammit! I also figured time would cool me off in regards to Emma's teacher. Which it did.

I have good news and bad news and more good news about my list of bags over there -}. I have finished all the bags I possibly can and still send out. I am stunned by the amount of sewing I completed over the past couple months all by myself. If you have any doubts as to my productivity check out my Flickr gallery. Sometimes it is almost unbelievable to me that I made all that stuff! Sooooo that means if your name is over on that list I have not been able to finish your order. That is the bad news. The good news is that if your name is over on that list you are going to get something extra special added to your order for your awesome patience and support of me and my sewing gig. You can keep it for yourself, or give it for Christmas to some one special. I tried sooooo hard to get all those bags finished before our R&R, but too many other things happened despite staying up until midnight sewing. Now if this is an issue for you, I have no problem packing up your husband's uniform and refunding your money, no problem whatsoever. I just need to know STAT as I am getting on a plane tomorrow morning and leaving for a month.

At any rate have a wonderful August, ladies. I will try to post from our vacation....we will see how the Internet situation is.

Aloha!