Purses a-plenty...

My coin purses are always a side-dish to the main course of what I'm sewing.

I'm a stickler for preventing waste - 

mini off-cuts can end up as detail on bags and wristlets, mini-mini off-cuts are used to create shelleyberelli tags 

- and the 'left-overs' that are a little larger become coin purses.

That's not to say that they are an after-thought.

After all, they are all made from loved fabrics that I've had stashed away for ever, not daring to cut....

or have been carefully selected on a recent shopping trip for their colours, patterns, or textures.

Each one is a unique creation..

that I'm always a little sad to farewell, 

but I always know it's going to a good home.

And just every once in a while I keep one for myself x

Hello, 2014!

I *have* been a busy bee over the Christmas period - sewing, tidying, cleaning, resting, socialising. Everything but blogging. But all that's about to change! Here's my first post of the year. 

I want to share a bit of what I got up to, craft-wise, over the silly season. 

In upcoming posts I will reflect on my 2013 - I usually trawl through my year's worth of photos over the Christmas break, deciding what to print and what to cull. This is also a nice chance to re-live some of the events of the year and get my head into the upcoming year. I plan to do that in the next week or so - putting off getting my teeth into 2014 just yet. I think I'm still getting over last year. It wasn't a bad year, just a busy year. 

Sewing has been very therapeutic in that regard. Creating. Short term gratification. Pretty-ness.

But before you can sew, you need to be able to access your fabric. I had some feline-roadblocks in that regard. 

More than once.

But I soon got into the swing of things and sewed many coin purses and tote bags in fun and new combinations, as well as a new creation - an iPad sleeve.

 More will be revealed in my next post.

Happy 2014 x

Two sleeps to go...

Have you got anything on this Saturday? 

Why not drop by and meet these new purses at the ....

BrisStyle indie Designers Market

Saturday, July 14

9.00am - 2.00pm

St. Augustine's Church Hall & Grounds

Racecourse Road, Hamilton

shelleyberelli presents ... new zippered purses

We've not had much of a summer. Plenty of rain and dark days that make it dash hard to get the light just right for photographing new wares. I've made a pile of purses for the upcoming the BrisStyle indie Twilight Markets (the BiTM for those in the know). My trigger finger's itchy and I'd love to share some of my new creations with you. Hopefully we'll have a fine week end, but in the mean time, here are three I managed to capture on a gorgeous April afternoon.