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But she has not yet had to sit down at her computer to make a sale.
Striegel discovered that all she has to do is walk down the street carrying one of her unique creations, and they will sell themselves. Striegel became acquainted with many people in Monticello while working for decades at her mother's downtown florist store, Boka Shoppe.
And although she has been making her bags for only about a year, the word has been getting around that her one-of-a-kind creations are available at ridiculously low prices.
She began making handbags to take her mind off events that have been weighing her down. Her oldest son was injured in a 1996 car accident, which has kept him confined in a nursing home, and both of her parents have died in recent years.
"The bags are a therapy and a little bit of an income for me," Striegel said. "I like to get creative, sewing things."
An example of Striegel's imaginative powers is a large bag she carries, with images of a pair of colorful socks sewed onto each side. She produced it in honor of her sister-in-law. An inner pocket is made from a piece of the silky dress she wore at her sister-in-law's wedding.
"Sometimes, I think about people," she said. "My sister-in-law always wears wild socks."
Striegel learned to sew when she was 5.
"Mom started me sewing on writing paper, without thread," she recalled. "I would sew on the lines, to guide it through straight. I just punched holes in the lines."
By the time she was 10 or 11, she was winning ribbons for her clothing creations at the Piatt County Fair.
"I had to model the clothes I made," Striegel said.
Creating useful items from raw fabric was a skill passed down to her through the generations.
"Both of my grandmothers quilted," Striegel said. "My mom sewed a lot of clothes for herself and for me."
She uses fabric, buttons, thread and zippers handed down from her mother and grandmother.
"I put a little bit of my family history in each bag," she said, adding she also is expressing her love for her family. "Both sides of my family collected buttons, also zippers. They would cut the buttons off of old shirts. I have a big collection of buttons and zippers. I ended up with the whole kit and caboodle."
Striegel's handiwork, which ranges from small zipper bags to large ones, capable of carrying pillows and blankets, is characterized by many pockets, including inner ones, and a great variety of fabrics, patterns and colors.
The bags, which range from $15 to $75, may be purchased by contacting Striegel at 762-7445.
Martha Edwards, one of Striegel's best customers, has bought about nine bags. She is especially impressed by her ability to create custom bags, such as the ones she fashioned from Thomas the Tank Engine material for her three grandsons.
"They have different colored handles, so the boys know which one is theirs," Edwards said.
Striegel said she does not want to expand her business anytime soon, partly because of her devotion to her son. Josh Scott, who turns 31 Tuesday, was injured when the car in which he was riding on a country road was involved in an accident Dec. 10, 1996.
Diagnosed with traumatic brain injury, he is severely disabled.
"He needs a lot of attention," Striegel said.
Unable to speak, her son communicates with her by blinking his eyes as she asks him questions or tells him letters of the alphabet.
"I would stay with him every day," Striegel said. "But in the evenings, I needed something to do, so I started making bags."
hfreeman@herald-review.com|421-6985
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