You may think that stabilizers are sooo boring, .....but,

well, sometimes they can be boring.
 Did I get your attention?

I was looking through my pictures to find fine examples of how stabilizers are sewn into all the different handbags that I design.

Then, I found the pictures.  The pictures that I took of a lovely lady of a handbag, that I bid fair well to in San Francisco last September.

I would call this well used and well loved!
But see how good the top stitching looks.

I went to a wedding in August with a couple that are dear friends of mine, and Jenn looked at my then filthy dirty, worn-out handbag that yes I had brought to a beautiful wedding, and said "Really Cheryl?".  She again said "Really Cheryl?". 

"You design handbags, and this is what you are carrying, as a representation of your design work, really? 

Now, I have to admit that I had thought twice about taking this ratty looking endearment with me to this event...but I work tons, and I dashed to Jenn's house after teaching a beading class in Swellevue ( my name for Bellevue).  I had to drag all my jewelry stuff (there is alot), and a change of clothes, and my self, and hope that I did not lose my head in the process. Did I really have time to even think of using one of my samples?  Obviously not.

Check out this cracked bag bottom, I use iron-on vinyl on my handbag bottoms, and it lasted for over 3 years, and I ladore this classic Amy Butler Home Dec fabric, and I love the colors !!

I have to say that I do not have alot of time to whip myself up a handbag that often.  So, I had a new design that I was going to film with Sandra Betzina in San Francisco, so I thought....that will be my new handbag!  Problem solved.

But even as this girl was quite worn, she really did hold up, and the lining looks great...which of course made it even harder to through her away.

So, as I walked to the bus stop...thank-god it was down hill, I threw that weary bag away.  I buried it in a waste basket on Hayes Street in San Francisco!  But, like any good sewist that never wastes anything that could be used again,..not before I cut off the buttons and metal rings. 

Now I am using my new design, that will make it's debut in a magazine to be named later this year.  Two months later I officially intiated this bag when i dumped a cup of coffee in it......ladies that is the true test of a handbag, if you can dump an entire cup of coffee in it, and still use it again after it dries out!
I am very good at dumping cups of coffee into my bags , I have done this to all of them, at least once.

Please keep these pictures in mind next week when I really talk about stabilizers, because when you use good materials and good stabilizers, and the correct way to use your stabilizers, your bag will hold up even if the ribbon frays, and the bag gets really grubby!!
And I will happily tell you what will makes a handbag really be a handbag!!
xoxoxox,
Cheryl
See you tomorrow with Method Monday...oh yeah it will still be on applique because I did not blog about it last week...Sorry,
silly, tired  me.