The Sewing Mom

Since moving to Dallas last year I have suffered from allergies more than I have in any other place I’ve ever lived. The pollen and grass counts are always so high and add to that the winds that are always blowing, it’s no wonder I feel miserable. Most times I can take an over the counter allergy medication and feel better. This time though, I wound up getting a sinus headache that has been putting me out of commission. I can’t see straight, and there is so much pressure behind my eyes and nose I just want someone to knock me out.

I finally couldn’t take it anymore. None of the over the counter methods I was trying were working. I went to the doctor last week. I was given a different over the counter allergy med., a bottle of eye drops and a prescription nasal spray. I used all of those for 3 days and felt no change. Monday morning I was about in tears my head hurt so bad. I called the doctor’s office again, went back and this time was prescribed an anti-biotic, a heavy duty allergy blocker, the nasal spray, and was told to continue taking the otc allergy meds and pain reliever, along with the eye drops. I have to tell you, I’m on so many different things right now that I wish I had one of those little pill boxes so I’d remember if I took everything I was supposed to take.

I’m on day four of this regimen and sad to say, I’m still not feeling any change. My head is still throbbing and I feel like crap. I have to wait until Wednesday of next week to go back to the doctor. I’m trying to think positive and hope that it will stop, but it is getting frustrating.

In the mean time, I’ve really been looking around the house to see if there are things in here that could be adding to the problem. I’ve been vacuuming the dog hair regularly. I change the filters in the a/c frequently. I do need to dust more often, something that’s so easy and yet gets forgotten. I’m hoping to clean out my bedroom this weekend. We still have a few boxes in there from when we moved in. With my husbands help I’ll be able to clear all of that out and give the room a good cleaning.

I’m thankful that we no longer have live plants indoors. I’ve been using silk plants to decorate my home for a long time. As long as I remember to keep them dusted, they look really nice. They stay green too because unlike real plants, I don’t have to remember to water them! My husband always likes ficus trees and we have several 6 ft silk ficus trees around the house and even one outside on our covered patio. It’s nice to add some greenery without adding to my allergies, I have trouble enough!

Silk plants, allergy free and no need to remember to water. That’s my kind of plant!

I often get asked why the fabric bags that are made by hand, such as the ones I make, are so expensive. I thought I’d provide several reasons for those who’d like to know.

First of all, cheap fabric is not used. I could use it, but then the bag wouldn’t take wear and tear very well. Most cheap fabric can’t hold up to washing and tend to tear easily. So, reason #1 is quality fabric.

Next, most quality bags have some sort of interlining between the outer fabric and the fabric lining. In my case, I tend to use a nice thick craft fleece. I do the same in the handles to make them comfortable on the shoulders for carrying.

Also, as in this bag, some bags have hardware. This bag has a metal tube that works to keep the bag closed and secure. These can range in price from $9-15, depending on the size. Some bags have zippers. Obviously these are less expensive, but they do still add to the cost.

Finally, there is the time involved to make a bag. Not counting the time spent purchasing supplies or advertising the bag, simply making a bag can take many hours. The fabric has to be cut and then sewn with purchased thread. I don’t use cheap thread, I want it to last. There is a lot of pressing with the iron and more sewing. My latest bag also had decorative trim (an additional cost) surround the bag and on the handles. All of this takes time.

So, those are the primary reasons that drive the price up on quality fabric bag like this one.

I just got back from picking up my daughter from school and I have to tell you, we are both laughing our heads off. Let me explain something. We live in a very nice subdivision with fairly pricey homes, all on a minimum of 1/2 acre. This is unheard of in the DFW area where most every home is built with zero lot lines where you can reach out and touch your neighbor through your windows. Most of the homes have beautiful landscaping on the property, it’s part of the appeal of the subdivision. Notice that I say MOST of the homes have beautiful landscaping.

The one home that really struggles with landscaping happens to be the house we can see from our front porch. I would have to guess that every home in this subdivision except that one has had the landscaping professionally done. This particular home owner seems to think that she has a talent for landscaping and, while I’m not sure how long she has owned that home, I do believe she has been working on it ever since moving in. The problem is that besides thinking she is an accomplished landscaper, she also appears to have ADD. She is always working out in her yard, but never in the same place. Basically, no task ever gets completed.

For example, last fall she dug up dirt from one spot in her yard and created a dirt mound in another spot in her yard. That same dirt mound was moved a few weeks ago to yet another spot in her yard. Another example, she had actually hired a crew to do some brick work along the edges of her flower beds (that have no flowers) last fall. A few weeks ago, she was outside pulling out the brick, now they’re piled in her yard. She continually purchases plants and leaves them in containers all over her yard, most of which die because they become root bound and aren’t cared for.

So, why were we laughing today? Because we noticed that she had gone out and purchased Solar Lights and placed them below several of the small trees in her yard. I’m not sure what she’s trying to put a spotlight on, the mess she calls a yard?

Now I’m all for solar lights, they cut down on energy costs and I believe in good landscape lighting. But to spotlight her mess is just silly! Besides, the lights she put out are tiny, if she wants to spotlight trees, she’s going to need bigger solar powered lights. Then again, it’s bad enough we have to look at her mess during the day, if she lights it up, we’ll be looking at it after dark too.

I have been feeling extremely under the weather with a sever sinus headache that, even with prescription medications, I’m having a terrible time getting rid of. With that in mind, you’ll understand why it took me over a week to create this bag, something that probably shouldn’t have taken longer than 2 days! It is finished though and I even have the second, smaller bag started. I’m very pleased with how this bag turned out. The high quality cotton fabric is from Moda. It is approximately 12″h x 15″w, is fully lined with 2 interior pockets, and a spring tension rod closure which keeps it “snapped” shut until you pull it open. I am selling this fabulous bag for $40. Today’s Thursday Thirteen is the steps I took to make this wonderful bag.

1. Cut the fabric for the outside, lining, pockets and handles.
2. Cut fusible fleece.
3. Iron fusible fleece to outside fabric. This provides added support to the bag.
4. Sew pocket fabric to pocket lining, press.
5. Place and sew pockets to lining fabric
6. Stitch side and bottom seams of bag fabric and then do the same with the lining fabric.
7. Sew lining to bag.
8. Turn top of bag to the outside and stitch in place.
9. Sew straps, then insert double layer of fleece for shoulder padding.
10. Sew trim to straps.
11. Sew straps to bag.
12. Sew trim around the folded edge of casing.
13. Insert spring tension metal frame.

Enjoy the bag! The hardest part of making this bag was inserting the metal frame. It took more than two hands to get the post inserted into the metal frames, so my husband helped with that step, along with a strong pair of pliers.