Betsy Bag in Black & White Collection
Posted by Jennifer Sampou on Jan 28th 2015
We are thrilled to have the fabulous Jennifer Sampou here in our corner of the internet to talk about her Black & White Insta-Blog hop, her new fabric line with Robert Kaufman Co and the gorgeous 3-in-1 Betsy Bag made with kraft•tex using her very own fabric!
Take it away, Jennifer!
Collaborating is a process I love doing with other creatives. Working with Betsy LaHonta is such fun because we bounce ideas off each other and the product development improves with the more brainstorming we do. Round the table I throw out my swatches (and lots of them). My entire Black & White group lay in a heap which covers the table. Energy and excitement flows.
Betsy says, "oooh I like this!"
Jennifer retorts, "Ooooohh how bout this!" and "look at these together!"
Betsy counters, "Ok really, what should we do for the outer part of bag?" and "what about the lining, strap accents and hardware?"
We kick around a bunch of possibilities. Each seems better than the last. This is how it goes. Exploration is invigorating. Next we have three colors of kraft•tex to chose from. Natural was a no brainier for us both. We immediately loved the casual look of this kinda British tan with the black & white fabric.
Back to the fabric choices. Funny how our initial 'aha!' moment came full circle again. Feathers for sure. And the mid gray feathers look fabulous with the Natural kraft•tex. An everyday bag I can use day and night. Great with jeans. Looks better and better with age. Multi-seasonal and the print is inspired by my barred rock chickens. Quite personal (no other pet in our house pulls their weight like our 8 chickens). Use with simple grey polka dot lining and charcoal yarn dye is a classic accent that brings a nice dark into play.
Indie likes the bag too. It's a good place to keep her favorite tennis balls. The upper right photo above shows all 24 prints. And no, table looks nothing like this during brainstorming session.
If you love hand stitching, embellish the Black & White feathers with a little color before you sew up the Besty Bag!
I love how Betsy designed such a versatile bag. I will be using a lot more kraft•tex on future projects as it gives form and stability to bags. I love the texture and it wears beautifully. Plus, new colors are being introduced, such as stone and chocolate.
Want to make a Betsy bag of your own? Enter to win the 3-in-1 Betsy Bag pattern here: a Rafflecopter giveaway
And be sure to follow the Black&White Insta-Blog Hop & enter at JenniferSampou.com for your chance to win a Fat Quarter B&W Tower!
BLOG HOP SCHEDULE
January 23 JenniferSampou.com, Robert Kaufman Blog
January 24 Jenny Pedigo and Helen Robinson-Sew Kind of Wonderful blog
January 25 Teresa Coates- Fabric Depot
January 26 Amy Gibson- Stitchery Dickory Dock
January 27 AnneMarie Chany- Gen X Quilters
January 28 Casey York- The Studiolo
January 29 C&T Publishing - Stash Books
January 30 APQ- All People Quilt
January 31 Angela Pingel
February 1 Angela Walters / Janice Zeller Ryan
February 2 Sarah Sharp
February 3 Dritz- Make Something
February 4 Nicole Daksiewicz- Modern Handcraft
February 5 Liesel Gibson- Oliver + S
February 6 Christopher Thompson / Natalie Barnes
February 7 Jennifer Sampou Wrap up
February 9 Jennifer Sampou Announce Winner. Must have comment in by February 9th on my 1/23 opening blog post.
