Miss Beadle's Bags

While this weekend was no home run for bag sales at the holiday craft fair in Sonoma, all was not lost. I met some nice artists, including two talented members of Roots Collaborative: Samantha Barsky of Note•ify greeting cards, and Emily Fitzpatrick of Cottage Home Decor Oilcloth Products. One of my highlights was meeting a cast member from my favorite childhood TV show, Little House on the Prairie. Charlotte Stewart played the sweet school teacher Miss Beadle. She was not a visitor at the craft show this weekend, but a vendor — and guess what? She is a bag-maker, of all things! Hers are small, cotton floral pouches, and great shopping totes made from recycled dog food bags. Knowing I was a Little House fan, and a fellow bag-maker, she signed a photo for me (usually reserved for her customers, with the purchase of a Charlotte Stewart bag). She made me swear not to tell anyone... but here I go spilling the beans! Seriously, how could I help myself? Click the image for Charlotte Stewart on Wikipedia.

The Magic of Spoonflower

I got my first fabric sample from Spoonflower! I chose to sample one of my patterns with a dark background because I wanted to see how accurately the color would print. It printed as a dark brown rather than the dark charcoal gray I specified, but even so, I like how it came out.

I would suggest to anyone to create your sample with a variety of colors, and shades of similar colors so that you can adjust your final design to come out closest to your desired effect when you send for your final yardage.

Spoonflower tells me "...you can order as small as an 8 in square, or a fat quarter." They offer an array of fabrics and weights:

1. Quilting Weight Cotton
2. Organic Cotton Sateen
3. Organic Cotton Interlock Knit
4. Upholstery Weight Cotton Twill
5. Linen-Cotton Canvas
6. Cotton Lawn

The organic cotton interlock knit feels a little too lightweight for clothing, but would work well for accessories, plush toys, etc. The crépe de chine (coming soon), is perfect for scarfs, rosettes, or other accessories... and all with your own pattern! Spoonflower.com has tips and links for creating your patterns and uploading them to the site for printing.

My test sample below, with Spoonflower's fabric sample booklet.