Making the Gryffindor Scarf: The S.P.E.W. Tote

I have had a lot of fun participating in the two Craftster HP swaps I've done so far. I have also received some cool stuff! While crafting for the most recent swap, I loved having a HP project tote to use for my HP swap project: the wonderful S.P.E.W. tote that ShardaeDobby made for me in my first swap was my project bag for the Gryffindor scarf I made for rosesanplacebos in the next swap!

S.P.E.W. Tote with Gryffindor Scarf WIP:








Because I love this bag so much, I carry it everywhere. So I've made it my own by adding pin-back buttons!

Craftster Buttons on the front of the S.P.E.W. tote:

Crafty Like Ice Is Cold:


Well, yes. ;-)


Craftster Pirate Pin:


Knit fast, die warm! Arrrgh!


Political buttons on the back of the S.P.E.W. tote:




"Obama '08" and "Women for Obama":


I agree with Norman Solomon on this issue: "The best way to avoid becoming disillusioned is to not have illusions in the first place."


"Freedom Is Participation In Power" and "Ignore Your Rights & They'll Go Away":


I added these to the bag very recently. I've had them for years, but they've been just collecting dust for a while. I decided that if I'm going to keep using the Obama buttons -- and I am -- these need to come back out and play as well. (FISA, anyone?)


American Flag Peace Symbol:


This is the button that is most visible when the bag is on my shoulder: it is positioned so it sits to the front when the bag is worn. This is also one of my earliest political buttons. I bought it way back in 2001 when -- suddenly, tragically -- the peace symbol was obscure and old-fashioned no longer. I chose the one with the flag because peace is patriotic, of course.

HP Craft Swap at Craftster: Summary Post

June and the beginning of July was Harry Potter crafting! The "I Miss Harry Potter Swap" at Craftster was lots of fun. My lovely partner, rosesanplacebos, had lots of green items on her wists, so I made her a fun HP shopping tote set:



And some other stuff!

The whole swap package:




More posts to come detailing all the crafts, and other info from the swap!

Swap Info:

Swap: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap" at Craftster
Swap Gallery: "I Miss Harry Potter Swap Gallery"
Crafting Dates: June 2 - July 10, 2008
Date Sent: July 10, 2008


Posted at Craftster: (this section will be updated with links as posts are made on Craftster)

rosesanplacebos's posts (the crafts I made, that she received):

• post with action shot of the scarf
• gallery post of the whole package

My posts:

• Gryffindor Scarf! POA (trapped bar) style

Patchwork Lunch Bag

DD has been in an art program at a local college for these past two weeks. The weekend before the program started, I made her a lunch bag.

The lunch bag:




With front flap open:



We used scraps we have accumulated from our own sewing and from a grab bag of scraps I bought from cascadelemonade's etsy. DD looked through all the scraps and picked the ones she wanted in her lunch bag. I then made them into strips, cutting them down if needed or placing shorter bits together into longer strips.

To make the pieced fabric for the front and back/flap panels, I laid all the pieces out on a lightweight woven cotton and zig-zag stitched over the edges of the strips of the novelty fabrics. The backing fabric makes it easier to sew the edges of the pieces and also adds stability.

I am particularly pleased with the placement of the pieces in the back/flap panel!

Back of bag:




Back of bag with flap open:




The strap is a piece of webbing that Sommersbreezeantique used as a ribbon to wrap a vintage dress I bought from her etsy.

I made loops of turquoise grosgrain ribbon to run the strap through, lapped the ends of the webbing and zig-zagged over the edges.

Detail of the strap attachment and stitching at the strap ends:



The strap is a long loop that runs through the two ribbon loops. When it is worn long, the "bottom" of the loop is under the flap, and the bag hangs from the flap. When the strap is worn short (doubled up), the bag hangs from the grosgrain loops. (This is how DD mostly likes to use it.)

The strap, long or doubled up:



The vintage button also comes from Sommersbreezeantique's etsy. She bought a big lot of vintage buttons from an older lady who did not want her buttons any more, but who did want money to go traveling with her friend. And we bought three big scoops of buttons from Sommersbreezeantique, which included two of these wonderful turquoise buttons. (So we still have one to play with.)

It was a lot of fun making this bag, especially working out the how to place the pieces. I am particularly pleased with the placement of the two pirate pieces, on the front of the bag and on the flap, so they are close when the flap is closed. DD is particularly pleased with the little bit of cowgirl and chicken at the base of the bag.

Close ups of the patchwork detail and vintage button:







I made DD a purse for summer camp last year. Because she has been increasingly focused on her own environmental responsibility and on inspiring our family to live more lightly on the earth, I wanted to make something this year to support her in her environmentalist efforts. A reusable lunch bag is obviously better than a disposable one, but what is less obvious is that using reusable containers in the lunch bag takes up more room than disposable food packaging. Disposable food packets tend to be more closely fitted to the item they contain than we can achieve at home putting food into reusable containers: we end up with more air space throughout the lunch. So I made the bag nice and roomy to fit an eco-friendly lunch!


Craft Info:

Made for: DD
Occasion: Save the world
Date made: June 15, 2008

Fabrics: Front and back/flap: Scraps of woven cotton novelty fabrics (from our stash and from cascadelemonade's etsy); lightweight woven cotton for backing. Sides and lining: lightweight black denim.
Other materials: Strap: green webbing reconned from package wrapping. Loops for strap and button: turquoise grosgrain ribbon. Button: vintage turquoise button from Sommersbreezeantique's etsy. Thread: green, pink and turquoise. Elastic to cinch in the sides.
Dimensions: Front panel: 10" x 10". Back/flap panel: 10" x 16". Sides: 5" x 10". Bottom: 10" x 5". Strap: approx 1 yard.
Construction notes: The bag is fully lined with the black denim (five pieces in the same dimensions as the outside pieces). Dimensions are cut dimensions, before sewing; 1/4" seams throughout. The top stitching on the denim is turquoise and green. There is turquoise, green, and pink top stitching on the pieced panels. There is a casing for the elastic at the top of each side panel made by stitching the outside and lining pieces together.

Sewing Party Totes: Photos

A photo post of what we did at my dear daughter's recent birthday party:









The girls made the bags, with some help and lots of support. This is what my dining room looked like:



Three sewing machines!

And these were the party favors (plus the bags, of course):









Needle books with needles and novelty pins, and tiny spools of thread tied with ribbon. They also made button brooches (one of which can be seen in the last photo of the bags, above).

It was lots of fun!

Hey Mister DJ

So my Weird Sisters record purse project was initially delayed just a bit as I worked on acquiring suitable records.

In my first attempt, I purchased three records from the thrift store and brought them home. Not wanting to commit Crimes Against Music, I asked our resident DJ (my dear brother) to approve the crafty use of the records.

The records were small releases by artists from the seventies. One was bad country music. I thought, "Great. No one will miss this!" Thinking that the few folks who had listened to the record in the first place would have moved on to other music by now, that there would be no great demand for the records. Or in other words, that I wasn't "taking away" the record from anyone who would want to buy it and listen to it.

Just one problem: break beats. You see, these "small releases by artists from the seventies" could possibly have breaks on them -- little samples of music -- that a DJ could use.

"It's not even very likely," the resident DJ explained, "but, you know . . ."

"You have to listen to them first . . . "

Yeah. So Mister DJ went home with the records, and I went back to the thrift store. This time with new information: find records by prominent artists whose fans have moved on to CDs (or iTunes). Any breaks from those songs have already been used -- no new discoveries there -- so I really wouldn't be taking music away from anyone, DJs included.

So I came home with three new records -- love songs by famous pop artists from the seventies and early eighties -- and called the DJ if to ask if he wanted to come over and check them out before I used them. When I told him what they were he laughed.

"No, no," he said. "You need to cut those records up."

Weird Sisters Record Purse

My swap partner for the recent HP swap had a record purse on her wists, so I had to make one for her! The Weird Sisters are the wizard rock band from the Harry Potter series, and I decided they had to have released some albums (though there aren't any in the books -- we both enjoy a loose interpretation of canon.)

I used this tutorial: Mod Record Purse for instructions, and this Craftster project for additional inspiration: Vinyl Record Purse (from my partner's wists).

The Weird Sisters record purse:



Both sides:



Each side of the purse is Side One of a different album. I printed out the labels on colored heavy weight printer paper, and used double-sided paper adhesive to attach them over the existing labels on the records. ("Do the Hippogriff" is a song from the HP books, but the rest are not. Loose canon, right? And fair warning: this post only gets geekier from here on in.)

Close up of the labels (Conjuring the Rock Produtions, charmed to play in the Divinaphone):

WS's first album (1978):


Sophmore album (1980):


My two favorite titles are "From the Owlery" and "Arithmancy of the Soul". Just don't ask me what they mean, because I don't know. But that is some Wizarding rock.

I used two layers of records for the handles, and attached the handles and sides with hemp twine (in purple).

Close up of attachment:



The concept of the purse is that it is "partially transfigured" -- that is, transfigured from records into a purse, but still retaining characteristics of the original item. (See what I mean about even geekier?) So, the circles in the lining fabric are reminiscent of records, and the pockets are lined with sheet music fabric, of course.

Inside:



There are two flat pockets on one side; the snap-close pocket is just peeking out on the other side. The ends are pinched and stitched so they fold inward when the purse is shut.

Snap-close pocket open:



Close up of fabrics:



This was my favorite item to make for this swap, and I am so thankful to my partner for allowing me to subject her to my super HP geekiness!

Craft Info:

Swap: "Because We Miss Harry Potter" Swap at Craftster
Swap Partner: ShardaeDobby at Craftster
Date made: March 2008
Pattern: Mod Record Purse, Vinyl Record Purse
Fabrics: Pink vinyl, woven cotton novelty fabrics (pink with colored circles and pink sheet music)
Other materials: Records, heavy weight paper for labels (pink and green), double-sided adhesive, hemp twine (purple), magnetic snap


Posted at Craftster:
Weird Sisters (Harry Potter) Record Purse

"Every Flavour" Shopping Tote with Pouch

My partner from the "Because We Miss Harry Potter" Swap at Craftster, ShardaeDobby, was really good at asking fun HP questions to help us get to know each other's HP interests. (This was in addition to the swap questionnaire!) Based on her answers, I thought she would like something from Honeydukes! So here it is:

"Every Flavour" drawstring pouch:



Open it up:



What's inside:



Let's go shopping:


(action shot with DD before sending out)

The pouch has a double drawstring, so it stays shut nicely. The drawstrings are turquoise-color hemp twine with plastic beads. I painted "Every Flavour" and the little stars on the finished pouch with a couple of coats of yellow flexible fabric paint. When that was dry, I painted over and around the letters with gold glitter flexible fabric paint to give it a magical effect.

The shopping tote is made from jelly bean novelty fabric: the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans inside the pouch! The tote's straps are the same pink fabric as the pouch. The tote has French seams, so it should be sturdy, and a gusset at the bottom, so it's pretty roomy.

Tote with pouch:



This was lots of fun to make!

Craft Info:

Swap: "Because We Miss Harry Potter" Swap at Craftster
Swap Partner: ShardaeDobby at Craftster

"Every Flavour" Pouch

Date made: March 2008
Construction: Double drawstring pouch
Fabric: Cotton blend woven fabric, hemp drawstring
Other materials: Fabric paint, glitter fabric paint, plastic beads

Every Flavour Beans Shopping Tote

Date made: March 2008
Construction: French seams, bottom gusset
Fabric: Woven cotton jelly beans novelty fabric, strap fabric same as pouch


Posted at Craftster:
"Every Flavour" Shopping Tote with Pouch