Due to the Lack of Due Diligence

Sew,  2nd Time Around always has a large collection of patterns for             50 cents each that she feels compelled to finger through each time she goes there!

This one, printed in the 70's got her attention. It looked like something that was basic and could be converted into a "Haute Handbag"...

When Ms. SpoolTeacher opened her "Accessory to Design" business way back before she had done her due diligence and market research, she ordered several 1 1/2 yard pieces of her favorite custom drapery fabrics thinking that people like to see big swaths they can finger and drape....
and that that might get them excited about ordering a custom window covering...
She also knew that she could convert these nice fabrics into sofa drapes and sell them that way...



















Sew, she got nice pieces of fabrics that were light weight and could work as linings as well....

One particular fabric has been peeking at her at every turn, begging her (as fabrics can do) to do something, anything with it...

Ah, ha! The 1970's Haute Handbag idea! 

It has a modern, wavy pattern that is tactile, the raised pattern feels like velvet.

The fabric itself is lightweight and somewhat transparent. 

She had also purchased a bolt of drapery weight flannel interlining. 

Interlining is used when a fabric is especially light weight and needs some body. 

It also makes the color richer and intercepts the lining fabric from "bleeding" through. White lining is the best to accomplish these goals as ivory will actually result in "yellowing" the face fabric and can even turn blue to green, etc... (which isn't always a bad thing...design is design, you decide)

Ms. SpoolTeacher is never happy not to gingerbread things up so she started  adding embellishments...

On the first one, she added a string of satin roses by hand-spooling cross stitches in the same color as the trim. The second one she used the rose thread over purple ribbon.
Originally, she was planning to use the two pieces as front and back but has since decided to make separate Haute Handbags out of each of them.

She ran across some little pearl strands and anchored a line to each by hand-spooling between each bead... It's a labor of love.

Much to think about for linings and construction. She's trying to figure a way to make them functional as well as Haute by adding pockets inside etc....but she hasn't finished visual-spooling yet so will have to do a follow-up.

In the meantime, while she was hand-spooling a Haute Handbag, the sunflowers were starting to go to seed....

These two were planted later and were being considered for bird food....

Little Red-Haired Girl is adamant that she not mow down the weed grass because it is so cool to lay on and grasshoppers are jumping and she can catch them in a snap and likes to do it.

Snap, snap

Ms. SpoolTeacher loves to see her new collection of remnants drying in the breeze on her makeshift clothesline...
There is just something about making use of things that might have been thrown away.

All by herself, with a little help from the birds, the bees, the bugs and rain and sun!
A little too much rain, the tomatoes say...
No less tasty though! 

Black Krim Tomatoes are apparently prone to cracking, "heirloom types", he says in the video below, "aren't bred to be perfect".