Saturday, February 5, 2011

It's all about the fabric

I have a fabric crush on Moomin. I only just found out about it recently because I never grew up with these troll characters.  I needed some of course so got it from here. 
I bought just a few pieces but I'm pretty certain it's not enough.
This is my first reject prototype bag that turned out to be a bit too wide on the top and needed top stitching to stop the zip getting caught up in  the lining. I should have known that.
Prototype #2  I wanted it to be tall enough to accommodate my donut of threads I use for applique. That's much better, I think I'll be making maybe two sizes, one small cosmetic bag size and a larger one for stuff. These aren't loved up hippos, they're trolls, can you imagine it? I still think of hippos.
The weather conditions are so crazy in Australia at the moment but at least the cyclone didn't cause as much destruction as first thought. The last I heard, there was one life lost, two missing and three babies born. There is a lot of damage in some smaller towns. We are in the middle of a energy draining heat wave so it's hard to do much of anything. Lets hope for respite from all this and the snow blizzards on the other side of the globe.
Until next time, Janet

48 comments:

Terry said...

Are you sure they're not hippos? They sure look like hippos to me! LOL Cute bag, btw! :0)

bettsylyn (Lynda) said...

I grew up with the Moomin books back in the 60's in Brisbane. I wonder how they made it through to Australia then. I loved them so much I bought a boxed set of the books when I was a teenager in the 70's. They really took off when the Japanese found them in the 80's and I have a few items from that time. Have you read the books? Sadly I could never get my children interested. :(
I love the fabric and the bags.Sooooo cute.

Lori said...

Never heard of moomin, but they make a cute little bag!!

Anonymous said...

Never heard of them either, but gosh they are cute fabrics and I love the bags.

Janet it is so humid here too, I can't wait till April gets here.

cheers
Christine

Susan said...

I love the fabric and it's perfect for your bags! (I think they look like hippos too!)

Seems that there are weather extremes all over the world! I'm glad to hear that the storm wasn't any worse than what it was.

Jess @ Scrappy n Happy said...

I've never heard of Moomin, going to check out your links now.
The bag sure is cute!

Darlene said...

These are not familiar to me but they are truly cute. Love your bags.

Quilts And Pieces said...

Now how fun is that fabric made into your bags! Very cool!

FlourishingPalms said...

Your bags look so professional! Even store-bought looking, and I mean that as a compliment.

My heart's breaking for Queenslanders. So much devastation. It's beyond comprehension. When it comes to blizzards, here in Iowa (we've had only 55 cm of snow this winter) it's business as usual. But certainly in other places where a lot of snow has fallen and they aren't accustomed to it, they're helpless.

Julia said...

Never heard of them either, but gosh they are too cute...love the bags.
Too humid here too Janet...sure could do with some rain..

Nat Palaskas said...

Cute bags and you never have too many of them! I thought they were hippo too. Love the fabric too. I'm sitting my purse (credit card) these days. Need to save up for my trip again - Hugs
Nat

Anonymous said...

Janet you have done a wonderful job of the bags luv them and the fabris is awesome.
cheers Shez
http://shez-enjoyinglife.blogspot.com

antique quilter said...

great fabrics cute bags!
Kathie

Shirley said...

Love the bags Janet. How could you not be cheered with one of them, they look such fun and sew unique.
Love Shirley.x

Kat said...

haha, yes, I can understand why you like the fabric. :))
the Moomins have a very long tradition and history in Sweden and Finland.there are books about them since 1945.and there are movies.
they are really very popular in Europe for children.

video on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiZ0eBFTH6k

I love your cute bags !! :))

greetings
Kat

BenteOO said...

The figure was made of the Swedish-Finn illustrator and writer Tove Jansson - still an important part of Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian kids and grown-ups as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomin

The Finnish company Arabia has made lovely cups:
http://www.arabia.fi/web/Arabiawww.nsf/file/astiasarjat_muumi-valikoima_muumit_mukit_kautta_aikojen/$file/muumit_mukit.pdf

Elisabeth said...

Your bags are so cute. In Sweden/Norway they are known as trolls :-) If I remember rigth, they coms from Finland. There is a Mumi land there where you can com visiting with your family.

Elisabeth

Maria Harrits said...

Cute bag. In Denmark we call them "Mumi trolls"! I remember them, from when I was a child - and now my kids love them.

Abby and Stephanie said...

I'm a huge fan of Moomin...having learned of them through a Finnish blog friend. Darling fabrics and sweet zippy bag.

Victoria Findlay Wolfe said...

I just gave my daughter the Moomin book for Xmas, I had no idea they had FABRIC!!! ow stinkin cute!!

Crispy said...

I've never heard of Moomin either. The fabric sure does make up into some really sweet bags :0)

Crispy

Barb said...

what cute fabric. Your little totes are just great.
Hope your weather improves. As much as I hate humidity, it would be a nice change from the ice we're dealing with.
Hopefully our planet will calm down soon. It's the year of the Hare and supposed to be more gentle, let's hope.

ranette said...

Haven't heard of Moomin's before, but I'll have to check the books out now for sure. Very cute bags Janet!

Dixie Howard said...

Very cool fabric that makes up into even cooler bags! I'm with you - hope the weather calms down soon for everyone.

Dolores said...

Cute fabric and I am so glad that the destruction caused by the cyclone wasn't greater.

Terrie Sandelin said...

Good lord, that is the cutest fabric ever! The bags are darling.

Janet said...

They sure look like hippos to me.
Cute whatever they are.
Janet

Pinkadot Quilts said...

Adorable fabric! Love your little prototypes too!

Anonymous said...

I love the fabric - but I've never heard of the characters! The bags look really good!

Joan said...

FAbric and bags are SO cute -

SewWhatsNew said...

Janet,
How cute! I just got my ticket to Sydney/Melbourne at the end of the month. Can't wait to be there again. Thanks for the hint about the Art Gallery. One of my favorite spots.Keep up the great work.

Sewjournal said...

I've never heard of them either and they definitely look like hippos to me.

Mimi said...

What cute fabrics. I have never heard of them. Must be an Australian thing. Kind of hard imaging that you are in extremely hot weather while I am sitting here in a blizzard. Earlier today I felt like I was living in a snow globe.

Miriam said...

Very cute fabrics. I haven't heard of Moomin before either!

Cute little bags!

I hope the heat lets up for you soon. We have been deluged by rain!

Rachaeldaisy said...

How cute is that fabric!!! I've never seen it or heard of the books. I always say I learn a knew thing with every one of your posts. Thank God the cyclone wasn't as bad as it might have been. And it feel like a cool change might be blowing in.. phew!!

Kaaren said...

I never heard of them either, Janet. They look to be a perfect size to hold a bobbin donut. Super idea! Now if only I could get over my zipper phobia.

Hedgehog said...

Very cute idea to make little bags with the Mumin fabrics! Greetings from Mumindalen (Finland)!

wishes, true and kind said...

They make adorable bags! And they look like hippos to me, too :D

Barb said...

Your fabric is just adorable....

pratima said...

Janet, your purses are adorable! The fabrics you picked are so cute. Love these sweet and smiley faces :-)

Lisa said...

These bags are adorable Janet! I've never heard of your trolls, but they are very cute.

Cathy @ CabbageQuilts said...

These are divine Janet! Gorgeous little bags. I hope you have had your cool change through now? See you soon. xo

Sonja♥ said...

I grew up with them:)
Thank YOU for the link to the fabric, Janet!!!

Sujata Shah said...

Love your bags and the cute fabrics they are made out of!

circle retreat quilter said...

I make loads of these little purses, and i have never thought to do them in a fabric like that. Its fab. well done and i must look out for some.

Barbara Arcement said...

Hi
I tried making a little purse using your neat tutorial. Great
instructions. I am not that good at following them. When I turned it right side I realizied that I put the zipper in with the pull on the inside. LOL. Now I have a great sample to help me do it right. I am going to try again tomorrow. Thanks for the directions. They are great. Love your blog site.

Nanette Merrill said...

Super super cute Janet.

beaquilter said...

Oh my gosh, I grew up with Mummi trolls!! will check out the fabrics.... too cute