Been a long time since I posted on the sewing side of my blog.  :O

I've mentioned before that I attend a nearby Renaissance Faire every summer. I've purchased a few items over the past year, but I've been itching to make something again. I'm not in for making a garment that's historically accurate, though. I've made those in the past.  This time, I just want some comfortable (a relative term) faire wear.  :D

I've been sorting patterns and fabrics, and I'll detail what I'm working on for the ensemble.  In the meantime, I'm starting a fun project that's a good crossover piece.  It's McCall's 7914, an accessories pattern for decorated handbags.

I was drawn to the bird bag, because it's rustic and easily translated into a less modern design for faire.  It's a larger bag than I need, but the bird doesn't take up the whole flap so there's room to reduce the width.  I need it to hold my ID, monies, phone, keys, tissues and maybe a makeup compact.  Here's a detail of the bird.

Even though I hadn't read the pattern envelope yet, the buttons recommended and shown on the pattern are the very company who made the packages I bought!  :D  These are for contrast detailing.

And, these are for the main button and beadwork.  According to the instructions, you are to glue the buttons and beads in place.  I don't trust that for longevity, so I will be sewing my embellishments in place.

I saw these once before and thought, "How great to have the beads and buttons already coordinated for you in one package, but I have no reason to buy these."  hahaha

I bought a remnant of this upholstery linen for cheap and washed it even though it recommended professional cleaning.  This is so I can wash the bag as needed in the future.  If I were using the fabric for upholstery as it was intended, I wouldn't have washed it.  Washing linen tends to wrinkle it mercilessly, but a good ironing fixes that.

I will likely use this linen for the flap with the bird for good contrast and make the main bag brown.  I have some remnants in my stash that will work well.  First up is a quick muslin for sizing and a trial run on construction.  I don't want to do all that work just to find I would have preferred other unforeseen changes.  For the mockup, I'll make it true to pattern size.

Stay tuned....