interlude

I was preparing and am still preparing for the UDT exam. So I haven’t sewn anything from the bags, apart from the barter ones for an old friend. I made him two, a mini and a small tote bag from canvas, from a piece of fabric I bought in a shop that no longer exists. I decided to give him a third one as a bonus, made from an IKEA sofa cushion cover, with all the other details made from his fabrics, tiny cut-outs from a fabric catalogue.

I warned him that these bags should not be washed in a washing machine, only dry-cleaned. I hope his daughter will carry a lunchbox or some fruit to kindergarten in it, and he will take the small one and put something in it too. I love it when my friends use these bags. When those bags travel with them, live their own lives, continue to serve. And they were just jeans, waste, in some cases almost rubbish.

I’m still preparing for those tests without much hope of passing, because there was little time to prepare, and even less time for practical training directly on the forklift trucks. But I’m still taking the tests online, reading, trying to remember all this information in Polish. I’ll pass it and return to sewing again. To new photos without the orange background, yes - yes.
Because while preparing for the tests and working, I was also thinking a lot. Especially after a consultation with a product photographer. I definitely had a lot to think about.
When I return to sewing, I also have to return to the barter list, because my old friend isn’t the only one who supplied me with material for sewing. A woman from Zaporizhzhia, who is clearing rubble, sent me a whole bag of stretch jeans. I don’t use this kind, but I don’t reject them either. She doesn’t need a tote bag during the war, so we agreed that I would sew her something she could carry on her shoulder. Everything else, beautiful, fashionable, she wants to have after the war.
My Ukrainian language and literature teacher also joined the queue of people wanting a bag. So that she can come to school and say:

* Look, Dmytro not only writes about sex, but also sews bags! I have a bag from my student, who used to write poems at my desk, right under my nose! Our Dmytro! The one the whole 8B was in love with, remember?

As if they could forget.

There are a couple more people. People want those bags, I want to pass that test, the exam, and return to sewing. To go further into craft, into making. To make my own limited runs and learn how to create a collection.
And for now, we still have limited bags, and they can still be purchased on our website.