Jammin'!

Ann very kindly gifted three kilos of mulberries from her backyard tree, when we visited her in Dalby.  I processed one kilo as pie/pudding filling on Friday night, which made three containers for the freezer.

I made the remaining mulberries into jam yesterday, batching one kilo at a time because that's the capacity of my two-litre pyrex jug (which I use in the microwave).

Last year I was able to make just one jar of mulberry/apple jam, using the small berries we can access from branches that overhang into our yard.  The berries are even smaller this year, so I didn't try to beat the birds.  As pretty as that single jar of jam was, I'd overdone the cooking a little so it was almost fruity toffee!

I was very conscious of extra carefully watching these batches, peering through the microwave door to check on the bubbling concoction!

My increased scrutiny worked and I was far more pleased with the end result - six large, fabulously red jars of mulberry jam!

Bags not removing rivets!

Earlier in the week I dropped our $20.00 vinyl bag to a leather-worker.  It made sense to have the handles repaired by someone more experienced in that work.  I returned to collect the bag today but the lovely fellow hadn't finished due to having difficulty extracting two rivets, necessary to enable the repair.  

Nick had the same difficulties removing similar rivets from the second (leather) $20.00 bag, so I'll collect the vinyl one next week.  In the meantime I have ordered waxed thread and harness needles, which I'll need to re-attach the frame to the bag (at the same time as replacing the lining). 

We ordered a different style of rivet to replace all those removed from the brown leather bag.  The new style screws in and can be removed fairly easily, if necessary.

I took out the lining from the doctor bag and unpicked it carefully so I can use it as a pattern.  However, I am still deciding whether I want to make the new lining in the same style or more like the one I did for the other bag.

While I ponder the lining, I removed a lot of the cardboard stiffeners from the bag.  Nick started that mission the other night and then I did more yesterday.  I lay a damp cloth over the old cardboard, which then scraped away fairly easily.  At this stage, the base cardboard has been left in place.  The bottom of the bag bows somewhat and we are thinking of the best method to flatten it.  If we can avoid taking out that last support piece, we will.  We do plan to replace the four side support pieces so as to give the bag better shape and structure.  And yes, there has been a lot of YouTube research about vintage luggage restoration!

I polished the metal hardware on the frame today, as well as two clasp pieces that mount on the narrow ends of the bag.  I used Brasso and fine steel wool to brighten all of them.  Given the replacement rivets will be shiny new, I polished more vigorously than I had for the other two Gladstone bags.  The handle received a bit of attention also. (I'll take some "after" pics of the centre section another day).  

Just what the doctor ordered?!

I bought the $20.00 vinyl Gladstone bag last week as an experiment.  It was an unplanned buy but I am enjoying the process of taking it apart - and organising to put it back together.

I'd actually gone into that op-shop to look for a small box, one that might be suitable for carrying a couple of port glasses on our road-trips.  When I explained my vague idea, the lovely volunteer went "out the back" and returned with a $4.50 hinged wine box.  

Nick and I bought some very cheap glasses yesterday, from a different op-shop.  $4.40 was exchanged for four shorter flutes, three small brandy balloons (for port), one 20-cent ice-cube tray and a 20-cent bottle opener. Yep, we had a big spend-up! (Not all the glasses will come away, spares will stay at home).

Later in the afternoon we purchased another $20.00 bag.  This one is leather and a different style.  This version is sometimes referred to as a medicine or doctor's bag.  Ours is being dismantled, ready to be revamped.

As I've researched vintage luggage repairs and restorations, I've seen lots of neat projects. Some clever people converted old suitcases into traveling mini bars. Our latest bag isn't going to be quite that fancy but we are scheming for it to become a port port - or a doctor's bag carrying medicinal alcohol!  

Racing along!

I quite enjoyed making a new lining for the vinyl bag.  It was a very easy, straight-forward task.  

The original lining was a light cotton, whereas the replacement is a quality drill fabric.  I used two remnant pieces from the infamous stash.  I can't remember if I paid $4.00 each or $4.00 in total for them.  Either way, they were a bargain!  

I've overlocked all raw edges and used a generous turnover on the pocket.  I really think my work is far superior to the original and am looking forward to fitting it properly, when the bag returns from the leather repair shop.  We dropped it yesterday to have two handle loops fixed and a patch applied to the hole.  The lovely gentleman quoted $10 for the loops and didn't mention a price for the patch but I don't expect it will be a huge extra.  

After fitting the lining, I'll need to re-attach the frame but have yet to acquire leather-work needles and some waxed thread.  Well, I think that's what I need.  I'm still researching that aspect!

Three times as glad?!

I was very chuffed to finish the renovation of Nick's Gladstone bag. I bragged about it to friends and posted on FaceBook - and I really thought that was the end of our monogrammed luggage story.  Hah!

Just to recap.  My bag was $40.00 and in great condition.  Nick's bag cost $60.00 and came with keys that fit both - but needed a little more work. I opted to replace part of it's lining only as I wasn't confident of completely replacing it. 

I've made a lot of non-leather bags so sewing a new fabric lining would be fairly easy. I was worried about taking the bag apart, properly attaching the new lining and then re-assembling the bag without causing any damage.  The project seemed beyond my skill-set, so I chose a work-around solution.

The day after finishing Nick's bag we were poking around an op-shop and I spotted another Gladstone bag!  This one was smaller than the other two and in worse condition.  It was priced at $40.00 and after discussion, I put it back on the shelf.

When I went to the counter to pay for my other items, I started chatting with the lovely volunteer who found something else I was looking for - and offered the bag for $20.00! 

I'm going to use this bag a practice piece.  $20.00 is a modest outlay for quite a few hours of entertainment.  If all goes well, we could have an extra bag in our monogrammed luggage set! Fingers crossed!

Like the other two bags, this one needed a spa treatment. Some repairs were necessary, as well as a replacement lining.

My rough plan was to remove the frame piece from the bag, take out the lining, repair the hole at one end and also reinforce the same area of the other end, make a replacement lining and then (hopefully!) reassemble the bag.

I've watched several tutorials about re-stitching leather bags and although this bag is vinyl, the principle will be the same.  

The bigger issue is how to repair the handle attachment loops on one side of the bag.  (There is wear to the frame covering on the opposite side of the bag, so we think a previous owner may have carried the bag by one handle).  

I'll take the bag to a reputable shoe repairer to get a quote for having that work done.

I gave the bag a very thorough clean and removed a few marks (magic sponge worked on some and I used goo remover for others).  

Fine grade steel wool and a bit of metal polish worked on the clasp, which was rusty. (Nick sprayed inside with WD40). It's the same lock as the other two, so our keys fit - bonus!

I've removed the frame from the bag body, just using a large unpicker and a bit of oomph.  I'll repair the worn areas of the vinyl before re-sewing it around the frame. That will need some leather needles and waxed thread, I think. (I've also applied leather/vinyl conditioner to the vinyl frame pieces and the bag itself).

Once the frame was off, it was fairly easy to pull the lining out.  I've taken measurements and expect making a new lining will be quite straight-forward. I won't bother covering cardboard with fabric for the base.  Instead I'll buy another sheet of the light plastic that we used for the other two bags. I didn't glue the bases down in those bags, preferring to keep them removable for cleaning.

Making the lining is my next mission and I might then consult a repairer to see what options are suggested for the handle repair. It may not be as involved as I think - and if the cost is quite reasonable, I'd be happy for someone else to do that work.  We'll see what happens.

Monogrammed Luggage - the movie!

 

Glad it's (finally) finished!

Nick's bag is finally finished - hooray!

Replacing the end lining pieces was more of a mission than I expected and I needed to revise my thinking a few times. 

The guitar fabric was leftover from where I covered a notebook for Nick earlier in the year.  I cut it carefully to create two rectangles. 

My original plan was to sew the pieces to the existing lining edges but that proved more difficult than envisaged, so I used strong adhesive instead.  As you can can see in the second collage, the raw edges of the original lining were still visible beside the fixed guitar pieces.  

I then decided to use some green webbing to create a better finish between the sides of the replacement lining sections and original lining edges.

I'd used E6000 for the first part of the project but originally bought it to repair some jewelery pieces (and didnt want to buy more), so opted to use Aquadhere on the webbing pieces.  

The E6000 had a tacky consistency.  In contrast the Aquadhere was quite liquid. Yep.  It was a messy operation!

I'd used kitchen weights (and wrapped rocks) to press down the lining panels but those options weren't very effective for the webbing, so I tried a couple of makeshift methods - i.e. the foldback clip with a piece of sponge as well as a few pins.

Nick walked past and remembered some proper clamps hiding downstairs, which were much easier to use - and far more suitable!  

The clamps stayed in place overnight and I removed them this morning.  Happy to report they worked well and held everything in place nicely.  I'm very pleased with how the complete bag looks - and so is Nick!  

The small guitar buttons hold the replacement pocket elastic in place.  I needed to remove the label from it's original position when I replaced the end linings.  It's now on the pocket, secured by one of the buttons.

(I've now published  footage of all the bags to give a better overview of how good they look)!