Where did you get that bag? It's a long story

Well it all started last summer when Penny Sewtakeahike and Ayumi Pink Penguin asked me to join their new bee, Ringo Pie. A more star studded bee you cannot imagine so of course I said yes, for the fame and fortune. And then they said you have to make paper pieced pictures and I had a funny turn and said I can't do that so I'm leaving, I'm not worthy. So Amy Badskirt said "buy the 318 book"...


... and she said the first month is Kerry Verrykerryberry's month and we have to make collectibles so you can do books because they're square. So I bought the book and for Kerry I made books because they're square and it all seemed to be going quite well.

"Collectibles" block for Kerry


Well from then on, the bee went downhill for me, the low points being making a coffee pot for Penny which my son guessed was a one armed lady in a bad dress.


And making a Liberty of London letterbox for Ayumi which my son guessed was a grandfather clock and my husband guessed was a penis.  (On the plus side, I did get a spam comment about where to buy sex toys as a result of this block).


Then lo and behold July was my month and I asked everyone to make Design Classics. As a quick recap, Amber One Shabby Chick made a classic English telephone box.

For Lynne

Corey Little Miss Shabby made a classic English mini with my name on the number plate.


Lucinda made a classic plastic chair.


Kerry, verykerryberry made me a Mary Quant dress.


And since then, along have come Ayumi's Orla Kiely notebook which any longer term followers of this blog will know was perfectly chosen since my previous blog logo was very heavily inspired by this logo. Look at the 3D-ness of this block, the perfect piecing and the fabulous fabric choices.  And typical Ayumi, she actually wrote in the card she sent with the block that she was ashamed of the quality of her work and I could put the block on the back of the quilt if I wanted.  Is she kidding???  Is she nuts???
Orla Kiely inspired Notebook Block for Lynne - Ringo Pie
And then Penny Sewtakeahike made these kinky boots. They're a kind of wild crazy Liberty boot with a teetering heel from the era of Austen Powers, Minis, Mary Quant dresses and telephone boxes. Yeah baby.  I wish they were real and they were mine although I do tend to look like a transvestite when I wear anything high heeled or flowery.  


And Anna Noodlehead has just made this wonderful Dutch dresser with bowls and books on top.  I love the wooden frame and the white fronts on this as well as those little pointy legs.



And anyway, back to where the bag came from. I was chatting to my long term blogland friend Leila Where the Orchids Grow (if you don't know her, visit her blog here, she is very very talented and lovely too).  As an example of her talent, take a look at her August mosaic:


And take a look at this quilt she made which is one of my all time favourite quilts anyone has made ever.


Anyway so Leila said she was joining a new bee along the same lines as Ringo Pie but couldn't get hold of the 318 book she needed for the bee.  I told her about my ill-fated time in Ringo Pie with one armed ladies and penis blocks and confessed that the book she was after was being used by me as a snow scraper because it was rubbish. OK so I'll be honest here and say actually the book is not rubbish but I have been rubbish at this bee and would be quite happy to see the back of my erstwhile snowscraper. So I mailed it off to her and back in the mail came an embarrassingly generous parcel of bounty. Some fabulous fabrics. A wonderful coin purse made with lots of lovely little patches and with a little dangly thing.  I've never had a coin purse and so it's now stuffed to the gills with my coinage.


And my new favourite handbag with double front pocket and viewmasters on the front.  You can put all the rubbish in the main bit and then put your phone in the front pocket where it's easy to find and then your keys and purse in the extra front zippered pocket where they're easy to find but also safe.  That's a lot of booty in return for a battered old snowscraper but I'm not complaining.  Not at all.  Thank you Leila for my lovely fabrics, my new handbag and my first ever coin purse.  

Comments

  1. Love the coin purse! Had one when I was little.

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  2. From this and other recent posts I'm getting that the men in your household just get it soooo wrong when it comes to your work. And as a rule of thumb you should just reverse their disparaging comments. If they say something is not cool it actually means it's the coolest thing on the planet. Great bundle of lovelies!

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  3. I owed you one for making you believe my bee fabrics were in fact a gift!
    Thanks for your lovely post Lynne, I am glad you're enjoying your bag and goodies, I am having equally as much fun with my snow scraper!

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  4. oh and p.s the little dangly thing is a Chinese luck doll, it's supposed to bring good luck when you receive one.

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  5. Ahh Lynne, I can never read your posts without a huge grin on my face! Fabulous baggy gifts esp love the coin purse. xo

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  6. I hope this doesn't seem too cheeky from someone you don't know, but you are a silly head! Fact!

    Your blocks are all fantastic- really. Instantly recognizable and lovely. In fact, the only thing I would say, is that you actually made it harder for yourself...

    Look at all the other blocks you posted as examples...see what they all have in common..?

    Solids.

    Imagine how perfect your coffee pot would be in greys, or your postbox in reds!

    You can totally paper-piece and are really good at it, in my opinion...so stop being a silly head! ;)

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  7. Lynne, you are making me laugh so much this morning, and I'm trying not to wake the baby, so quit! Seriously, your blocks are completely fabulous, as is all your other work. I always love seeing what loveliness you have come up with.

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  8. Your post cracked me up Lynne. Hubby said I needed to stop laughing over here. Need I remind you of my "mouse chewed on the cord" hand mixer? I think this bee has us all stretching ourselves quite a bit. =)

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  9. I was having fits of laughter over your son and hubsband's comments. They do have good imaginations. Your blocks are lovely. It can be hard doing something you do not enjoy, but you did a marvellous job.

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  10. as always this was so funny to read...but really i think the blocks are great!!!!

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  11. A very amusing read.

    I have not yet tried paper piecing and am not in a hurry to do so!

    Apparently the 318 book is very hard to get hold of!

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  12. Oh, you make me laugh! What a funny story. Your family teasing sounds a lot like mine.
    I think your work is lovely!
    Love the patchwork coinpurse.

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  13. Ohh you got one of Leila's bags! Lucky you, they're gorgeous :-) Awww Lynne, you post pics of your bee mates blocks, and you can see yourself how stunning they are - one day you'll see what we see, that your blocks are just as awesome. (Even if the postbox did seem to be missing its balls...) ;-)

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  14. I have a fear that someone in the Brit Bee is going to come up with paper pieced blocks (Laura Jane I mean you!). I think your blocks are wonderful but you haven't alleviated my fear one bit!

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  15. I too love these little coin purses. My grandfather had a leather one when I was a little girl and carried his coins in it, he would always find a nickel in it for me when we were in town. A nickel for candy ~ I'm really telling my age.. Lynne, I had forgotten that you were the one who made the pieced sex toy! :) Your post are always so much fun.

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  16. Thankyou for this Hilarious post !! I truly did Laugh Out Loud!

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  17. fun post, & the goodies you got in return for the snow scraper are delightful!

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  18. Too funny, and I'm talking comments too xx

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  19. woohoo! Yay for lovely friends, sharing and killer bees. Your classics quilt is going to be the bomb, and we just might have to start calling you Foxxy Cleopatra.

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  20. Now I know you'll be getting even more trafic for se* toys :)))))) [no, I don't wanna be a part of this, that's why I have the star :D]

    I love your friends, all of them :D, and the new handbag.

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  21. 1.Just so you know, your coffee pot looks just like the one that we use every Saturday morning to make Cuban Coffee (Cafe con leche.) Your son just didn't know those things existed. Just tell yourself that.
    2. Leila is very talented! Thanks for sharing her with us.
    3. No more peni$ piecing....so where did the spam take you? Lol
    4. Thanks for the laugh today:)

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  22. I got a good giggle out of this post. Who knew a snow scrapper would morph into such cute bags.

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  23. That was such a funny read Lynne and what a happy ending! That book has suffered enough abuse, you are free from the prison of paper piecing and 318 is with a happy owner who has made you a beautiful bounty!

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  24. Ringo Pie looks well scary - do you hate pp or just these intricate pic blocks?
    So funny to hear you got spam....God help us if our flickr threads ever gets hit!!

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  25. toooo funny! i saw the coin purse on flickr and guessed it was Leila's and was surprised to see that you posted it. now it all comes together :) that 318 book is much-coveted. if you know anyone else using it as a snow scraper, let me know and i'll make and send all sorts of goodies :)

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  26. I really don't know what you are talking about. I am a fan of you and your blog since your penguin books quilt! That coffee pot is just perfect. It looks exactly like the one I am using every morning - just mine is not green ;-) And that letterbox ... you did sooooooo well making it look 3D with the different shades of fabrics.

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  27. .....and......breathe!!! What a great story! Jxo

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  28. Your post had me grinning. Although your paper piecing is fab! Although I'm not going to argue about the postbox/penis...

    Also, I never realised before that I NEED a coin purse.

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  29. Your post made me laugh so much. The blocks all look amazing and leila's bags are fab, I love her blog.

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  30. That is a GREAT story! And so well written too. I just love finding stories in the blogs I follow. Especially with my morning coffee, thanks!

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  31. It's always good to start the day with a laugh. Delightful post.

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  32. I didn't know you were in that ringo bee! I've been a distant looker and admirer for months and months. You guys are seriously so creative!
    I love that you have your family guess your blocks!

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  33. This is so funny!! I love your humour! Thanks for cheering me up :)
    xx

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  34. Well sweetie, you had me laughing out loud at this post, for sure! Now you know why I don't join bees! too funny!

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  35. I think it says more about what's on the viewer's mind....what they see in your blocks! A bit of a psychological test! We know what hubby was thinking about!!

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  36. What a great post - I chuckled all the way through, especially at the one armed woman in a bad dress! I think all your bee blocks are great and I love your bag and coin purse even though I'm now singing the song and can't stop - I'm blaming you if it's still whizzing round my head at bedtime!

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  37. Are all of your blog posts this funny. Maybe I should follow them.
    Sewgentle

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  38. OMG! I made a similar bitty block version of a moka pot and look at the second comment on the photo on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/suzettra/6116645896/ "Is this a one armed dress for the clothing bitty"? And the commenter had never read your blog post. Aieee! It used to look like a moka pot to me, now it looks like a one armed dress. Spoilers!

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  39. I'm slowly catching up with a bit of reader reading ...

    what wonderful pressies .. I love the coin purse a LOT!

    Ah, sweet memories of phallic piecing ... this is going to be a wonderful quilt ... I love the kinky boots, oh heck I'd just have to list them all, which would be silly ... x

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  40. All you guys in the Ringo Pie knock my socks off. Knocked clear into another universe they got knocked so hard. You're all freaking amazing!

    Me in my sock knocked off feet… I wonder if the one armed lady in the bad dress would like to join me for coffee?

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  41. PS, the one armed lady in a bad dress wanted to know if you by chance knew of a great place to purchase sex toys. Don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger.

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  42. And since Monica is being so cheeky I'm going to add...you better get that book back so you can make me my paper-pieced Santa with sleigh and reindeer....

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  43. Lynne your blocks all look wonderful, you really are very talented and you always tell such amusing stories, I normally have a big smile on my face reading your blog. Kelly over at Zerbert is trying to put together a paper piecing bee as we have admired ringo pie for so long. I wondered if there was any chance you might be able to blog about it as we are both quite new blogs without many followers at the moment so I think we might struggle to get people on board. Keep up the great blocks (and funny stories)

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