Here in Washington, grocery stores and many retail stores charge five cents per bag if you don’t bring your own to carry out your produce or miscellaneous household items. A pragmatic and environmentally sound move, but I’m constantly forgetting to bring my handy nylon eco bags because they’re always filled with library books. Between the accumulating nickel charges and overdue library fines, I’m sure I’m frittering away enough money to feed a small country.
I’ve been thinking that I need to really make my own eco bags, and it’s as though Tuttle Publishing sensed my thoughts and sent me this lovely book:
Handmade Bags in Natural Fabrics has 60 (!!) ideas and patterns and also comes with a couple of extremely detailed and picture heavy “lessons”. When I saw the eco bag on the cover, I knew that I had to make one right away. Well, I ended up making two because it’s such a quick sew. My favorite part of the pattern is that the bag folds itself into the front pocket (you attach a button on the backside of the pocket and a loop for closure on the opposite side — steps you could easily skip and still have the transformative effect). I’ve had this robot Kokka fabric for so long, it’s practically an antique. It underwent some mishap and was dyed pink when I accidentally washed it with something red. Until now, I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
My first bag took less than an hour, and the second one took less than half an hour. The blue and grey striped fabric is cotton from here. The french seams make the insides look nice and tidy, though I should point out that the instructions for creating a french seam are incorrect in the book. There’s a section in the back of the book that provides mini tutorials on various stitches and methods, and the technique shown under “french seams” is actually for a turned-and-stitched seam. This is a well-done tutorial for actual french seams.
Another unique aspect of this book is that it’s intended for hand-sewing. There’s an abundance of running stitches required. Of course, I ignored this and used my machine, and there’s no shame in that.
Minor issues aside, this bag is great for scrap busting as are all the bags in the book. Would you like to see a sampling of the projects?
So many sweet ones! And as always, I love the styling of Japanese craft books.
Now, I’m a big believer in paying things forward, and it seems silly for me to keep this book in my possession when all I really needed was an eco bag pattern. Which, by the way, isn’t too big or too small and will fit perfectly in my purse when tucked into its pocket.
Are you interested in the book?
As for the giveaway question…hmmmmmm. Yesterday, K told me that a classmate of hers instructed his grandma that the word “awesome” is essentially passe, and updated her lingo. This hip grandma now likes to say “I’m rad”. I think that’s rad on so many levels, not the least of which is that she refers to herself as awesome and rad (relates to my post from earlier this week, no?). These words actually feel like throwbacks from the nineties, and it’s fun to see them in active use now. I remember my college roommate liked to tell me how “stoked” she was about everything — do people still say that?
“That’s cool” has always been my go-to phrase, but what about you? Is there a particular slang that you tend to use to describe something interesting/great/delightful? Or one that used to roll off your tongue when you were younger and is no longer in general circulation?
I’ll keep the giveaway open until next Thursday, November 13th and will announce the winner the next day! Go for it, international folks (those of you in the US are always welcome to participate, naturally) – I love to learn about colloquialisms and slang in other countries. Good luck!
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Happy weekend to all!
It’s wicked awesome
to be part of this cool world
of groovy people
Hey Sanae, I don’t need that book, so don’t enter me into the giveaway. I just wanted to answer the question anyway for fun. I tend to say “awesome” way too much than is awesome, but I also really like the word “splendid”. I still remember that it was my favourite word right away when we started to learn English in school. (English is not my native language.) I have an irrational dislike to the word “rad”, but I don’t know where that comes from.
I use awesome more than I probably should…it sometimes becomes a verbal tic of sorts. But I’m okay with that!
I know I use awesome way more often than I should and when I used it to compliment a teenager on his ‘awesome costume’ on Halloween I know he and his friends walked away snickering.. hahah
I also still say wicked a lot, which is a throwback to my New England roots and I like “cool beans” a lot too!
The book looks really cute!
What a great looking book, I love your eco bag. I also live in a town with a bag ban, so I can always use more tote bags. 🙂 I remember in middle school my friends and I would say we were “pysched” about things, and that people were always being “pyscho”. Those are two words that I don’t use anymore!
This book looks great! I love that patchwork looking one with the flap
I say “neat” and “that’s neat!” alot. I think the eco bags are neat! 🙂
I say “that’s nice” or that’s SOOOOOO nice!” Nice was my mother’s favorite word, as in “You look nice.”
A friend recently used the term “bitchin”. I laughed because it sort of reminds me of “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” or “Dazed and Confused”. At any rate, I tend to overuse “awesome” and would love to find a replacement that doesn’t date me.
Hello! I use awesome all the time! I also use brilliant. Its wonderful that the words that I used to use as a teenager (rad, bitchin and sick!) are coming back around again but boy, this tells me that time is flying by!
My favorite slang from my year in France is hypercool, pronounced ee-pare-cool!
I use “sweet” a lot, like “that’s sweet!” Oh, and the length to which you draw out the syllable indicates how cool something is, so the niftier the thing, the longer the “sweeeeet.” I also occasionally use “hype”, because sometimes I am painfully Northern Californian. 😉
I LOVE that those bags fold into their own pocket!s The striped fabric you used is particularly lovely, in my opinion. I have a small collection of Japanese reusable nylon bags (they have the cutest prints!) but you can always use more reusable bags.
I love splendid and brilliant and excellent (with a British accent, please!) but don’t use them very often. I also overuse awesome… and I also like delightful and lovely! We use a lot of English words in German, like the ever present “cool”. When I was young we used to say “geil”, which could be translated to “horny” but means cool or rad. My kids at work say “Hammer” or “Bombe” which I guess can easily be translated 😉
I would be “chuffed” to win this book! 🙂
We’ve just bought a picture which is the word Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious spelled out in vintage playing cards. So that is the word we’re both using now! I don’t think it’s going to last though…
What a great book, Sanae! As you know, portuguese ia our everyday linguage so I will try to translate a little joke my daughter told me this week that has both English words and Portuguese slang put together. The Portuguese word for “cool” sounds just like “fish” and if you want to say “super cool” you say “bué da fish”. Well, “bué” also can be used for “lots of” or “a lot”. So she asked me what was the English word for “fish” and I asked “fish”. Then she asked me for the word for “shoal” and I said I didn’t know I would have to look for it on my iPad. But she replayed there was no need the English word for “shoal” was “bué da fish”!
Your robot fabric is awesome! So awesome. My mother-in-law once told my husband and I that we should go “boogie at the disco”. We couldn’t stop laughing and she had no idea why until we told her. She started laughing too. But seriously, who goes “clubbing” anymore? Not awesome.
Ooh, great book!
When I was a teenager (growing up in South Africa) we used “stoked” and “chuffed” a lot!
I recently realised that perhaps I use “fabulous” too much – I overheard my 4yr old daughter say to her 2yr old sister “L you look fabeeless!” Made me chuckle though.
Happy weekend!
Man, that book is boss! Far out! (I used these terms only jokingly).
I love that the projects can be made by hand sewing, it’s a great excuse for practicing.
I am a lover of any type of hand bag and would love your book!
I’ve been known to say “Wow” once too many times and need to retire that word. How about “fascinating” or “dynamite”? I had a nightgown years ago that said Dynamite along the side.
I say “take care” and “bye bye” when I end a phone conversation. I also say “have a good day” to all the kids at the high school I work at when they leave the room. The last thing a graduate told his dad before he was killed in the line of duty was “have a good day!”. That has stuck with me. Thank you for the chance to win a delightful book. I love bags, and I love to make them!
Your bags are just awesome, would love to try to make some of those!
I’m afraid things like “cool” and “awesome” still roll off my lips!
My daughter got us all saying, “Winning!” for anything that is super awesome! : ) Silly and Charlie-Sheen-ish – but fun!
As for local/regional word variations – for example I love to know what people call the green tube that we attach to the outdoor faucet to carry water in – – in Gastonia, NC and in parts of Ireland (at least) that thing is called a hosepipe ~
I tend to use “just sayin” for everything. Thanks for the giveaway.
I’m pretty old I think Rad goes back to the 60’s, as does cool. Wonderful is one I use too much. I need to drop that one from my vocabulary.
Cool is what I use, too. These bags are wonderful!
On a school cross country bus trip we had to research interesting facts about towns we passed through. A friend and I gave a talk about the Chaffey brothers who brought new irrigation techniques to the district. Our school then adopted “Chaffey” as a substitute for Rad (which had been the word until then)
It kind of took off and about a year later I overheard some girls in their Grammar school uniforms saying something was Chaffey. I was very much amused.
Book looks fantastic (that’s my new Chaffey)
love this! I have two that I use quite often that still surprises people (I def.need an update) they are:
Sa wheat (sweet)
shut up (like when someone surprises you)
🙂
love the book and I also use awesome a lot.
I’m sorry I’m french, so the words I have in mind won’t tell you anything at all…
I knew the word “awesome” (for a very long time) but the word “rad” is new to me, never saw it anywhere before. Thanks to improve my english !
And thanks for the bag book, I love bags and pouches.
Hi Sanae,
I often use : “Ohlala, c’est craquant” (this french expression means “cute” but also “crisp and crunchy”), perfect for something delicious…. 😉
This book looks really wonderful! Thanks for this great giveaway!
Greetings from France!
I’m a grandma so I’m embarrassed to admit I still use awesome, that’s cool, and amazing! Thanks for the lovely book giveaway.
I’m a preschool teacher, so my vocabulary has to stay appropriate. I use “super’ and “neat” a lot, (they never go out of style, right?) and I don’t like to use “pretty” or “beautiful” very much to the girls, so I tend to go for “fabulous” and “lovely”. That book looks super lovely. 🙂
I like to say “groovy”. I get a kick out of it. Thanks for the giveaway and the great blogging!
I’m guilty of using the word awesome all the time. I clearly remember my grandfather teasing me about it at least 20 years ago, so it is quite a habit apparently. And my toddler started saying “awe-mum” before he spoke many other (more practical) words. I’m trying to make a switch to fantastic, but it is a work in progress. 😉
My mother-in-law overuses “awesome” in a very Africaans way that lengthens the “awe” sound to 2 full seconds, which is just enough for me to avoid the word. I find myself say “yay” a lot when I’m with kids, like I fake my excitement all the time…..
*not here for the book btw
As teens we used to say ‘mint’ all the time. Its now long gone! As for teen talk now, we have been out of the UK for 10 years and getting the kids into school and hearing some of the new slang is really quite eye opening! Or maybe its the way my kids deliver it!!!
We used to say, “That’s bad!” for something cool back in the day. I think it may be coming back!
I think it would have to be ‘masta’ when I am speaking in Marathi (translates something like great or fabulous). In English, I think i tend to over use ‘great’ or ‘nice.’ American English is slowly but surely creeping in iinto our everyday lingo so cool pops in now more often than not.
What a great giveaway, Sanae. I think I also enjoyed reading the words that people used in different languages too, thanks to your question.
I don’t remember when I started to say “C’est super!”, but it was a long, long time ago. And I still say “super!” just about everything that is super, including this book.
I use ‘awesome’ and ‘cool’ frequently, but I’ve never been known for my hipness. I’ll say “Have a good rest of your day!” to cashiers at shops, which is kind of awkward sounding.
By the way, I think that was a perfect use for the robot fabric!
Hmm, well I grew up in Australia and if we thought something was awesome, we often said it was Funky. Then I moved to the States 10 years ago, and if I said something was funky, people thought I meant that it was odd/weird/gross. Lol 🙂
I grew up in New Zealand and said ‘choice’ when things were awesome, sometimes followed by ‘bro’.
I’m definitely an “awesome” person. I use it all the time and my go-to phase for things that are bad is “not awesome.”
great haiku! you managed to fit a great many “hip” words in there:) When we moved to Michigan years ago, I was struck by the prolific use of the word “sweet” (pronounced suh-weet) to describe things that were cool. Can’t say I use it often though:)
“That’s so neat!”. Not so awesome, but now that you’ve made me think about it, that ‘s my go-to.
As an Aussie, I still use funky and awesome. And I am fond of calling people douches if they’re not awesome. Although my son likes to quantify how big the douche-bag. eg. Douche coin purse for a little douche and douche shipping container for those huge douches. Always makes me laugh.
I tend to use ‘lovely’ or ‘awesome’ all the time 😉
I find myself saying “More power to you!” every now and then. Another is “That’s cool!”, which I’d say about your giveaway! Thanks and Greetings from Guam!
How about “legend”? I know that a legend is an arcane tale of mythic proportions, usually involving world-making, tests of stength and a coming of age experience, but nowadays, if I put a few things in a drawer, I can be Legend!!!
And “hot” is the new “cool”! “Sick!” is very nice too, also cool. Ok, stay cool, man!
That book is awesome! Yes I still use awesome, along with cool and sweet. Thanks for the chance!
“Wow… keren!!” that’s phrase I used to say in Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian language) last time. The meaning is same as you said “That’s cool!” 🙂
Sanae, if you wonder how to pronounce “keren”, it is similar like “que” (French) and “rent” (English), got it? 🙂
Hi I love your style! I say “Sugoi” or “Sugoooi!!” in Japanese. My 3 year old daughter says “Ha-cha-cha!” from Mickey Mouse clubhouse. Everything in your blog is “Kawaii and Suteki!”
What a lovely book! And yes lovely is my awesome word 🙂
I am one of those who use awesome wayyyy too much. Might start with rad…
Lovely giveaway, but even lovelier question… I am really going to have find a new word… (Maybe fab?!)
My granddaughter says ‘wow’ she is only two. I say excellent, to both her and the book
Darling bags !! Darling was my great aunt’s highest praise for anything and anyone. And thrilling. Always signed her letters LUV. She’d be about 130 today. I’m slightly younger. Anybody else still remember Stone Groove ?
I say that’s awesome about pretty much everything 🙂
This is so COOL! That’s my go to phrase. I sometimes like to use OH MY GOD BECKY! for fun.
Right on!