The Osoberry made it onto Whipup.net!

The full Osoberry tutorial was  on whipup.net today! (click the photo to be taken to the site). I love whipup and am so happy and honored to be featured on it. Happy sewing!

Osoberry: the free foxflat-illustrated purse pattern

Thank you friends for all of your (fun and unpretentious) name suggestions! I’m going to give the award to Sandra, landscape architect extraordinaire and former roomie, who suggested “Osoberry”. Sandra, I’m sitting here with Samson and we’re commiserating about how much we miss you. He even confesses to missing Rider…

Sandra and Rider

So, back to this bag and its new name. Osoberry, also called “Indian Plum,” is native to the Pacific Northwest and it’s one of the first plants to flower in early spring. Yeah!! What a positive namesake. And appropriate. For some reason the bag feels very Pacific-Northwesty…maybe because most Boston ladies I know carry nice leather handbags. I’ve considered assimilating, but with my track record of busted pens and spilled hair oil, investing in a pricey handbag seems ill-advised.

Osoberry, also called Indian Plum; Syn. Nuttallia cerasiformis (c) J.G. in S.F.

I had in mind a tall fold-over shape, but wasn’t sure how to construct the bottom until I saw the $4 reusable bags in the checkout aisle of Market Basket in Somerville (best grocery store ever, by the way). The body of the Market Basket bags is made from one piece, which just needed a little height to reach the fold-over shape I was envisioning. I added a reinforced bottom that doubles as a set of exterior pockets, and replaced the double handles with one long shoulder strap.

Osoberry bag- folded over

Unfolded, it can fit a lot...lunch, a knitting project, some books...

The blue fabric is from IKEA, and the orange and purple are dissected thriftstore pants. I used light blue thread for some fun contrast. Last week someone asked where I bought it, which as all knitters and sewers know, translates as “that doesn’t immediately strike me as homemade.”  Exccccellent…

Osoberry bag closeup. Blue IKEA fabric plus two pairs of thrifted pants

Inspired by an  Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook that I bought at a used book sale this fall, I wrote out the pattern by hand. So if you’re in need of a new bag, a one-day project, and a way to use up some mismatched fabric, click here for the very special foxflat-illustrated Osoberry Bag Pattern. Happy Spring!

My birthday present from Read is peeking out of the upper right-hand corner. No more sharing a laptop with a grad student in residence! yay!!

Help – this spring bag pattern needs a name…

A bright foldover hobo-slung bag with external pockets

This weekend I finished my new spring bag and I’m working on writing out the pattern. But the pattern needs a name! Something spring-like. Unpretentious. Cheerful but not cutesy. The winner gets a foxflat-created-surprise.