The Night Shift Designs A Handbag...

A few days ago, at 4:20 A.M., my sub-conscious Night Shift designed a new handbag.

I was asleep, but aware that there was a lot of work going on.  Do you ever do that?

Softly but busily, my central processing unit ran through how to make these handles, how to pleat and attach the top trim, how to sew the difficult inside corners at the bottom.  The only time it bothered me was when I tried to enter the debate on the need for an outside pocket...then I realized "I" wasn't needed and went back to sleep.

When I woke up, I was trained and ready to go.  After a quick breakfast and shower, I sat down and just sewed it up.  No thinking, no fiddling.  Just cut and sew.  You gotta love a brain that will do that for you.

Two roomy pockets inside.  Love the piping on this bag pocket - it gives the bag stability, besides looking so finished when you open the bag to look for something.

Thanks, Night Shift.  You made that part easy.  The hard part is figuring out how to get them in front of customers without schlepping them down to Market.   Any ideas?

And, does anyone know where I can get more of that Houles Paris trim?

I simply adore those opposing diagonals!

Diagonals and Happiness

This week, I've been working on my entry for the Spoonflower Shark Design Contest, and after hours and hours of work and still coming back to the same design, it occurred to me why I'm doing that.  It's because the visuals that automatically get my attention and make my shoulders relax for a moment always have diagonal lines them:

That Trellis just had to be in there...had to.

Most all flowers make me smile, but the ones that were on top of the Rocky Mountains just grabbed me by the heart and eyes...take a look at all those diagonals pointing back to their centers:

Look at me, Look at me!

In Art School, they teach you the Rule of Threes and all about Diagonals leading in from the Upper Left, Lower Right, Lower Left...you get the picture.  They point to things and make your eyes Happy that they don't have to look around for the Most Important Part!

And then there are the Complicated Diagonals:

The Diagonal in this group is...the group of Hot Pink and Purple blooms spilling down from upper center left to lower right.  

Those hot pink and purple flowers spill diagonally across the picture, but what gives me so much pleasure in this group is the gentle curve in the line...feels soft and sensual, like relaxing against someone you love.

The very Stylish Vera knew all about the lines in any arrangement~

Look at this early photo of my Mother-In-Law, Vera.  She knew that the single diagonal strap on her bikini top was the perfect style point to catch the eye...not to mention the placement of her right arm and left leg for this photo.  They lead your eye right to her face, and the strap emphasizes...well, you know!

When we were traveling from Denver up to Keystone Lodge, we stopped about halfway to check out Georgetown, an old mining town that looked intriguing - plus it had a rest stop.  When we got out of the car, we were greeted with cool, dry air.  Which made us grin.  And all around us were towering peaks...diagonals pointing to the blue sky and back down to the perfect valley!

And it was there that I snapped the Happiest Diagonal photo of the trip:

I have no clue who this man is; when he saw I was taking enthusiastic pictures of the mountains with my Iphone, he happily jumped in front of the camera and posed with his arms raised in the classic, universal sign of Happy Victory.  Victory for escaping the heat of the plains below.  We laughed at each other without speaking - he moved away to his car and we got in ours.  I can't believe we never spoke, but shared such a happy moment. A Happy Diagonal moment.