Answering Questions About My Frankenbags, and Some Other Stuff

I’ve had several people ask me recently how big my Frankenbags end up being. So I took this picture to show you in context with me.

I’m not a tiny person. I’m about 5’8″ and am the size of the average American woman. This bag is a good size bag, but it’s not a suitcase.

This photo also shows how my 24 inch handles work. Someone recently said that they didn’t see how these handles could be considered shoulder straps. For me, these handles make the bag ride exactly where it should. If you’ve noticed, women typically have some curves. I like a bag that rides comfortably where my torso is smallest, at my waist, rather than riding on my hip, where I’m widest. These 24 inch handles make this bag nestle in right where I want it to. It also makes it comfy to keep my hand on the bag for security.

The other thing I like about this length of handle is that they also allow me to carry the bag by the handles without the bag dragging on the ground.

But the really good thing is that you can make your handles any length you want and they will be perfect for you.

I’ve been thinking about my next project and I think it will be another bag. A friend of mine mailed me some pieces of the Kaffe sunburst fabric in the dark colorway from her stash, which I am not able to find anywhere. So I’m going to combine it with some 2.5 inch KFC strips that the same friend gave me a couple of years ago. These are all older prints and they will be fun with this sunburst fabric. I pulled the darker strips out of the group and I like the way this combo looks.

That color way of the sunburst is really gorgeous! And I found that piece of Brandon’s Jolly, on the far left, while I was looking for these strips. I think it will make a great lining for this bag.

And speaking of looking for those strips… I nearly had to tear my sewing room apart to find them! In the process I went through nearly all my KFC fabrics and found some stuff that I’d forgotten about.

One of the pieces I found was a yard of the blue sunburst fabric! I had no recollection that I had this in my stash. Remember that I ordered more so I could line my last bag with it. Oy.

Well, now I have even more of it! That’s probably not a bad thing!

Another piece I found is this green colorway of Kaffe’s Jupiter.

It’s nearly impossible to find and has been out of production for years. I bought several yards of it a few years ago when I happened upon it in an online store. I’ve been rationing it in projects ever since. And the other night I happened upon some in a different online store and bought five yards of it!!! I’m so excited to be putting more of this in my stash. The colors are just so amazing. And green is my favorite color — this is just so good and it makes me very happy!

I also found this strip set. I don’t even remember buying this. It might have been from a Missouri Star daily special several years ago. I have an idea of what to make from this. More on this later.

In the last few days I’ve received more photos of Frankenbags made from my tutorial.

This first one is from Mary Jo Mix. This was Mary Jo’s first try at the Frankenbag and she said she had never done scrappy before. I think this is a really good first adventure in scrappy piecing! I love it.

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This next bag is from Wendy Patrick. She has a vintage green button (shown in the first photo) that she will add to the bag along with the tassel in the last photo.

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I really love how scrappy and random Wendy’s piecing is! The way she’s put the black and white fabrics in here and there is fantastic!

This last bag is from Sandra Jane Spear. She said she had a lot of fun and some not so much putting this bag together. While taking this outdoor photo she stepped into a nest of fire ants! And a few days later she sliced off part of her finger with her rotary cutter.

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I love this bag… especially knowing how Sandra suffered to make it!!! And look at the work she put into piecing that interior pocket. She’s a rock star… a wounded rock star!

Thanks to Mary Jo, Wendy and Sandra for sharing their photos. If you’ve sent me a photo that hasn’t made it to my blog, let me know! It’s been a little tricky keeping track of all these photos!

The weather here in Portland has been pretty amazing the last few days. Really nice temps, a shower here and there, and absolutely amazing skies! This photo was taken during our afternoon walk today.

Last week I finally turned my air conditioner on. Yesterday, I had to turn the furnace on again! We’re all enjoying the long and light evenings! My favorite part of summer!