Some side projects

I'm starting to regret selling my old Viking. The only disadvantage to my new Babylock is that it is a straight stitch only machine. No zigging or zagging. I picked up a heavy duty Singer from Goodwill that seemed like it zig zagged just fine in the testing stage, has rebelled in practice. The Pikachu hat required zig zag stitches to tack all the eyes and whatnot on it. Oops. The good news is that I was able to freehand stitch around the pieces and my mom has a little Brother she said I could borrow in the future. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Anyway, here is the finished hat:

 

I used a Simplicity pattern for fleece hats and improvised. Only the flannel was on sale at the time, so that is what I bought. I measured my daughter's head and settled on the Miss size M. Maybe I measured wrong. Either that, or the flannel is just too thin. This hat is BIG! It fits me quite nicely. Fortunately, my daughter has given it the stamp of approval (It is big enough to fit that pony tale that she never lets down) and she is especially happy that it ended up with 'angry' eyes. Time for the cape next and Halloween costumes will be completed!

I finished this handbag today and I really like how it turned out. I'm not really into big colorful purses, so this burlap-like material (also culled from the Joann Fabrics remnants bin) works well for me. It is actually quite soft. And the purple floral works well as the lining. I love the pattern, but it is too busy for me have on the outside of the bag.

I got this free pattern from U-handbag.com. This lady has some great patterns on her website and the instructions are easy to follow.

I got really lucky finding these purse handles. A local knitting store went out of business recently and I picked these up at 60% off. The normal purchase price was $69.99. They feel great and it is so nice to have real leather. Think I'll be keeping this handbag for myself.