The winner is . . . Vicki Page!

It was very hard for me to pick a winner as so many of the fabric bags that were sent in were so creative! Scroll down to the next post to see an amazing slide show of all the bags!

With much pleasure, I am chosing Vicki Page for the most creative bag sent in for our swap. Her bag is incredibly beautiful and shows an amazing amount of work! She quilt-pieced (I think that is best how to describe it) and sewed and embroidered and embellished and put a lot of thought into her bag. She calls it a Japanese inspired bag and the Japanese word you see on the front of the bag means 'Artist'. The small green butterfly to the left of the Japanese woman represents the human soul, and the koi fish she appliquéd onto the other side of the bag means 'fearless'. Well done, Vicki!

Here are a few more photos (click on any photo for a larger picture) of Vicki's award winning bag -- and photos her prize below that! I am giving Vicki a shoulder bag I decorated : ) It was once a plain black bag. I added layers of paint, mostly Lumiere, then textured the paint with tools, stamped on top of that . . . and then added an image from artchix studio with alphabet beads which spell out, "let go". I hope you enjoy, Vicki!





Vicki's prize: a bag by lenna!

Thanks to all for participating!

Fabric Bag Swap Slide Show!

All the bags are in for our swap, so I thought I would give you a little slide show while I swap them out & decide on a first place winner for the most creative bag! Enjoy. Yours creatively, lenna

Fabric Bag Swap - Sue Simpson, WA

From Sue Simpson who lives in Camano Island, WA - a lovely knitted & felted bag! It's very, very soft to the touch. A close up and the whole bag - click on any photo for more detail.

Thanks sue!

Fabric Bag Swap - Victoria Talcott Wormell, CT

A very cool hand crocheted and felted bag got here just in the nick of time from my friend & student, Victoria Talcott Wormell! I love the bright color, short handles and fuzzy fibers that embellish it - Thank you Victoria, for being part of this fun swap!!

swap update!

I am just waiting for a couple more bags that are due to arrive tomorrow, right on time on the deadline day. I want to say thanks so much to everyone in this swap for being so clever and creative and for getting your swaps here on time so I can include them! Also, many thanks to those of you who contacted me to gracefully bow out of the swap for one reason or another. You must know I will truly miss your art, but don't mind you dropping your participation in one of my swaps as long as you tell me -- so I'm not left wondering what happened! If you can't make the deadline but are considerate and let me know, I will welcome you with open arms to any future swaps I host : )) I do understand. Sometimes life happens! All you need to do is communicate with me. Thanks.

. . . Speaking of future swaps, I am planning on announcing the new swaps very soon! I have talking about them and have been wanting to announce them for a while, but really rather have all the specifics organized, laid out, and clear in my mind before I make the announcements. I've been distracted - sorry! We FINALLY closed the deal to buy the home that we moved to TWO months ago, late yesterday afternoon, the 13th of November. Everything was recorded this morning and we now own our new home - HOORAY! I will get to the announcements of new swaps & the swapping of this wonderful bag swap this weekend, after all the entries have arrived. ThanK YoU so much!

Fabric Bag Swap - Stacha Reed, WI

Stacha wrote that she doesn't usually sew, but you would not know that by looking at this bag! She even added a cool magnetic clasp. Click on any picture below for more detail. Thanks for participating, Stacha!

Fabric Bag Swap - Heather Alwaisi, MN

Heather from MN sent in the coolest knitted bag - I think it's knitted? (instead of crocheted). This bag is so soft and textured . . . mmm! thank you Heather! Here are a couple of photos:
So cool!

Fabric Bag Swap - Linda Bean, NY

From Linda Bean in NY - Two fabric bags that are different from all the others I have received! Linda has created bags with a hanger on top! Here are some pics so you can se what I mean. Thank you Linda, for your creative contribution to our Fabric bag swap - I love these! : ) lenna

Fabric Bag Swap - ShuWanna Stout, St. Thomas, USVI

From ShuWanna Stout in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands comes another fabric bag to amaze and impress me. Thank you, ShuWanna! This bag is quilted with beaded trim along the front flap and a velcro closure. It's just beautiful! I have been having so much fun with this swap that I am considering running it again; not due until the end of February, 2008. Let me know if you are interested by voting in the poll at the top right of this page. Here are some close up views of ShuWanna's beautiful fabric bag; click on any photo for more detail!

Fabric Bag Swap - Cynthia Weed - Wyo

From Miz Cynthia Weed in Wyoming, another most wonderful Fabric Bag to add to our swap, thank you Miz Weed! Wow, all of the participants just keep amazing me . . . . so glad i decided to host this one!
Cynthia wrote me a note saying she would love to do another fabric bag exchange now that she has explored some of the "Baggy" possibilities : )) -- well, what do you think? Maybe I will add a poll . . .

Fabric Bag Swap - Susan Metcalfe, Texas

What a sweet bag Susan Metcalfe has sent in for our Fabric Bag swap. It has a darling handle that looks like it's been stamped . . . made of beautiful silky fabric with a great closure & it has collage images on the back, wow! Take a look, I think you will agree with me -- it's fab! Click on the photos for more detail & enjoy! Thank you, Susan.

Fabric Bag Swap - Donna Eck, CA

Oh My goodness! More gorgeous fabric bags keep materializing (no pun intended!) in my mailbox. Wow, I just love the bag that Donna Eck has sent to us from California. The postcards & letters on the bag even bear the San Francisco postmark on them, so cool!! Donna wrote in an email to me, "I took a "Three Hour Tote Bag" class at my local quilt shop and I've been having so much fun with it, putting my on slant on it. This exchange really got me thinking and creating. I do appreciate you hosting these swaps. Can't wait to see everyone else's."
Me either, Donna!

For a closer look, just click on any of the photos . . .

Fabric Bag Swap - Fiona Brockie, Scotland, UK

Look what Fiona has sent from Scotland for our Fabric bag swap, WOW! Fiona chose to make 2 bags and they are both beautiful! One is a quilted bag I think, obviously not knowing a lot about quilts! But the bag on the left looks like a quilt block pattern to me. It is such a neat shape too. The orange one is just dreamy, Thank you Fiona!

Here are a couple more pics - click on them for a larger picture.

Fabric Bag Swap - Pam Chasen, Montreal, Canada

A beautiful silk bag has arrived for our swap from Pamela Chasen in Montreal, Canada. Pam writes, "I enjoyed creating this bag. The lining is cotton that I dyed. The outside is silk, hand-dyed by me using shibori techniques. The background silk surface of the pouch (front pocket) is also handmade by me, embellished with Angelina fibers, mesh and other threads. I also made the cord of the bag by twisting three different fibers and machine sewing them together. I hope the recipient of this bag enjoys using it as much as I enjoyed making it." I am sure they will Pam : ) thanks so much! Here is a new close-up that I scanned because the flash of my camera did not let you see the work on the pocket Pam created as you should . . . . click on any picture for more detail.

Fabric Bag Swap - Ruth Lane, MT

Ruth Lane in Montana sent in a bag that she created from a recycled wool sweater . . . that she also felted!!! Wow. It has these beautiful felted flowers with beaded centers as well. Awesome! Ruth owns a shop in Whitefish, Montana with her sister Rebekah, called The Purple Pomegranate. Yum! Click on the link to learn more; they showcase decorative arts & fine crafts. Thanks so much for taking the time to participate in this swap, Ruth!

Fabric Bag Swap - Patricia Schweitzer, KY

From Patricia Schweitzer in Kentucky comes a wonderful vintage tea towel bag! Patricia started with a hand-embroidered tea towel and added beaded accents herself. Then she braided 3 lengths of silk ribbon to make a handle, and sewed the bag together with a nice lining. Thank you, Patricia! See a close up of the bag below and click on any image to see more detail.

Fabric Bag Swap - Frieda Oxenham - it's here!

Frieda's bag is here! Because of the postal strikes in the UK we were worried about this beautiful bag making here to swap on time . . . but here it is! Frieda has written a wonderful post about how she created her bag and you will find it on her blog, Frieda Quilter Musings. She has decorated both sides of the handmade bag, each side done differently, although on the same theme of romance & lovers I know she is so fond of. She freely admits to being a romantic, and "believing in love and happy ever after!!" She makes me smile. I took a number of photos to share with you here, but there are more on Frieda's blog along with more explanation! Thank you, Frieda. I am so glad you were able to join this swap!

Fabric Bag Swap - Cat Dodt-Ellis, ID

Cat Dodt-Ellis from Idaho has sent in a beautiful felted bag that she knitted herself and then felted. Oh my goodness! When I got the idea to host a fabric bag swap it was a small pebble of an idea that I thought sounded good and had potential. All of the participants have really knoocked my socks off with the variety and artistic vision and ideas that everyone has shared. You have all risen to the challenge & made my pebble of an idea turn into a bunch of shiny, beautiful faceted stones!!

I hope you understand what I am trying to say . . . thank you all!

I thought it might be a little hard to see the nice big shape of Cat's felted bag, so I enlisted the help of my 2 five month old kittens, farfel & star. They thought Cat's bag was rather cozy and did not want to get out!!

Fabric Bag Swap - Jo~Ann Reichert, PA

From Jo~Ann Reichert in PA, an absolutely lovely fall-themed wool bag! Jo~Ann wrote to me when she shared her bag making process:
"Lenna, This purse was purchased. It's wool. All the leaves were made from vintage suit jackets, washed and felted. Then they were cut out and embroidered. The lady is from Luna.com a company who has beautiful victorian photos. She is free motion stitched under a veil material.The acorns are real but gold embossed on top and glazed. Hope who ever gets this likes it. This was fun and exciting, as all your swaps. Jo~Ann Reichert, Butler, Pa. "

Isn't it wonderful? here is another close-up photo of Jo~Ann's bag for our swap. Click on the photo for more detail & enjoy!!

Fabric Bag Swap - Frieda Oxenham

Frieda's fabric bag has not arrived here yet because of a postal strike in the Scottish Borders, but she has uploaded what she has created for our fabric bag swap on her blog! You are welcome to go view the photos there and read about how she created it using her new embellisher machine, a Pfaff Smart 350. I have heard of this machine, but never tried one. It sounds yummy!

Frieda is very cute when she writes about how the theme for her bag became very amorous with the Alpha Stamps Lovers fabric images, and she decided she must be thinking about my (Lenna's) "romantic life" while creating this bag : )) -- I know she is referring to the serendipitous way I connected again with Steven who was an old friend of mine at the time when my first husband left me for another woman just a few years ago. Steven & I fell in love almost immediately when I was 'single' again (preface this to say Steven has now revealed he had a crush on me since he was 16yrs old! Note: we are now 50 & 51). We were married very soon after my divorce, only some 9 months later . . . but Frieda watched all this via email & the web in 2004 & 2005 from Scotland, very approvingly I might add, because she knew the romance and marriage were meant to be!!! : )) Thank you Frieda for your fun comments. Steven & I will definitely come to the Scottish Borders & meet you one day!