New Knit Bag & Something I’ve Never Seen Before

Finished a new bag, knit with my favorite cotton – Luna by Cascade Yarns.  Pattern by Leah of 200 shawl project.

 

From the inside, I had thought a leaf was stuck to my kitchen screen. Looked closer…. it’s alive!  Kind of scary.  Never saw anything like this before.  Great camouflage if it had been in a tree, or on the ground.

 

I actually took these pictures over a week ago, so have some catching up to do.  Pictures on my camera, pictures waiting to be taken, projects to finish.  More updates coming this week! 

So, I saw this bug and was creeped out a little, but still surprised and appreciate how unique it is.  Have you seen anything new or unique lately?

8 comments bags, gardening, knitting

New Handbag

New handbag, knit and wet-felted in the washing machine.  Chain and clamps from local Ace Hardware store, right across the street from the yarn shop – very convenient!  Made with Cascade’s Eco yarn - 100% Natural Peruvian Wool.  Very firm and sturdy!  Made this one for myself.

7 comments bags, knitting

Finished Wool & Silk Handbag

Created with flickr slideshow.

This bag was easy to make – just knitted rows, 22 squares, 17stitches x 17rows each, alternating colors every 2 rows.  Since it was going to be fulled/felted, I wasn’t very concerned about yarn ends.  At The Spotted Sheep Yarn Shoppe for display – the Boku yarn was fantastic!  Free Garter Stripe Square Bag pattern at Ravelry.  I’ll bet this would look great without felting, too… just a tighter gauge to keep the bag snug.

5 comments bags, knitting

Knitting and Thinking

In case you needed an explanation for Wednesday’s post, this is the stack of blocks I was working with, and the little doll was only about 1.25” tall.  Will be sewn together, handle added and then fulled/felted in the washing machine to be a nice handbag.

Since I’m making a lot of these one-of projects, and others that are dedicated to a specific gift or purpose before I even finish them, I haven’t updated my Etsy shop in a while.  So, I’m not sure what to do about that.  Of course I still have a few things available at Apotheca, in town, and there is a project I have in mind that I’d like to make a few of, and put up for sale (I just have to make the time to do it!). 

I could certainly postpone the online shop opening a little longer, but there’s the subject of the Etsy groups I’m a part of.  The networking and effort it takes to keep up with each group is, in my situation, very disproportionate to the sales I received last year and the projects I have in mind for the coming month.  The problem is, I love sharing and reading everyone’s blogs… but I have to make creating a priority or I should just drop out of groups.  I feel an obligation to participate in everything, I’ve definitely been slacking, but without anything to sell, it’s all kind of ridiculous.  This week, I’m going to focus on creating and re-opening my shop.  I’ll take it month-by-month and see what I can do and decide before the year is up – prioritizing my time and efforts and deciding what endeavors make the most sense.

7 comments bags, knitting

Wordless Wednesday

10 comments bags, knitting

A Fall New England Weekend

Knitting a little and enjoying the cooler weather.

Thinking of pumpkin decorations that I don’t have to carve or clean up after.

Here’s a little slideshow – only 6 pictures from the Goffstown Giant Pumpkin Regatta this year.  If you don’t have the flash player to see it, you can see them at my flickr site.

 

Created with flickr slideshow.

This week I’m looking to catch up on some online blog reading, organizing my workspace and keep working on fingerless mittens for sale locally. 

A luscious, soft clutch knit and whipped up in under an hour - made as a store sample.  The Trendsetter Orbit yarn worked up beautifully as a dense fabric on size 35 needles.

 

That’s all I’ve got for now.

6 comments bags, knitting, local

Shifting from Summer to Winter Creating

Finally finished the bag and listed it for sale at my etsy shop!  It has a little bit of summer sunshine in it, so I’m keeping it near my desk so I can look at it once in a while.

 Quilted Handbag - Rapunzel in Sunlight

I’m including it here, too:

 

While that has been going on, I’ve been working on a bunch of other projects, too.   (What, did you think I was just procrastinating finishing that handbag?  No way! I’m the queen of distracted crafting, staring something new almost daily – it’s the finishing that I have so much trouble with!)

More to come! 

Crafters, do your projects change seasonally?  If I’m creating for sale, I definitely shift my color schemes and weights of fibers.  What about shopping?  If you see something you like out of season will you still buy it?

2 comments bags, knitting

New Handbag Progress

New quilted bag coming soon.  Here’s a little photo detail…. I’ve been piecing this slowly and only working on it about 30 minutes each day – if I had more time to myself during the daytime I’d have it done already.  (Never thought that teenagers would take so much of my summer hours – I haven’t had time to craft let alone blog about any of it!) 

It’s been a fun project, as it progresses I’ve added different elements.  Learned how to make my own bias tape and created my own piping with it; that’ll coordinate with the green handles that I found for this crazy mix of fabrics.  (Which have been in a bag in my stash since I picked them up at PurlSoho last summer!) 

Tonight and tomorrow I’ll be hand-stitching some inside seam-binding down.  I used to dislike sewing by hand – why complicate things when a sewing machine is so much quicker?  Why add hours (and thus raise the price) when it might not be appreciated?  Well, I’ve found two things-  sometimes doing it by hand is just necessary to finish something off nicely, so it’s worth the time.  And, it’s not really a chore, it’s even relaxing. 

So, tomorrow, if the weather is nice, I’ll be picking up branches from Hurricane Irene’s aftermath and doing some quiet stitching when I need a break.

2 comments bags, sewing

Flower or Alien?

 

I saw this unopened Columbine flower in my garden and immediately thought it looked like the monster from Alien.  What do you think?

More crafty and bread pictures and updates on my Facebook page and at Flickr:

3 comments bags, baking, gardening, photography

Juice Carton Coin Purse

  

A cute, clever project.  My favorite part – just cutting and folding, no glue needed!

Thanks to Carole Ann of Connect the Dots and her tutorial, I will no longer be throwing juice and milk cartons into the recycling bin.

 

 

Failed project posted here:

3 comments bags, recycling, use what you have

T-Shirt & Jeans Bag

Once upon a time, there were a t-shirt and a pair of jeans that did not fit their respective owners anymore:

With some nimble cutting, fusible interfacing and a bit of patience, the two were pieced together:

A clever pattern* brought the new creation to life:

One side – soft, cotton t-shirt, the other side – comfortably worn blue jeans, small pocket added for convenience whether worn inside or out.

I love the t-shirt & jeans combo!  There were tiny abrasions and worn areas on the jeans, those I reinforced with some cotton threads so they don’t wear through.  It was fun & I will be making the pattern again, but doubt I’ll be using denim next time!  (It was pretty tricky turning such a thick fabric and used up all my patience.)

On Thursday morning (3/24) I’ll list this for sale online at my etsy shop. 

3/24 update: – Listed!  You can find it right here: Goonies Reversible Bag.

*pattern by verypurpleperson.

9 comments bags, business, recycling, sewing, use what you have

Crochet Bag

One bag sans handles + stack of squares working towards a second bag:

 

I have a billion projects going on lately.  This crochet project is actually keeping me calm.  I’ve memorized the square pattern so it doesn’t take long to whip one up, taking a ball of yarn and crochet hook with me everywhere - even at a hockey game yesterday where I didn’t have my girls with me – I was watching the game while making these and it kept me distracted enough to not worry about what the kids were doing.  My mind is always racing, having this bit of focus to occupy some part of my brain works to relax me.

Around New Year’s is when I bought a random bag of cotton yarn remnants to make this pattern and I think there is enough to make two bags.  Left off the handles of the first – if I run out of yarn while making the 2nd, I’m pretty sure I have white in my stash to finish these up.

Don’t know what I’ll do when this is finished.  I have other crochet photos, some indoor gardening and a hand-sewing project I’ll blog about this week – making goals and “to-do” lists so I will get things done!

Sourdough bread from the weekend – misshapen loaves, doesn’t alter the taste!  I really don’t care for the sour flavor, but the family loves it.

1 comment bags, baking, crochet

Green Goddess Handbag

Green Goddess Bag

A unique bag, roomy, with two inner pockets.

Outer: linen & cotton upholstery 5th Avenue Design (Covington)
screen printed fabric with Scotchgard finish

Inner: Linen

Wooden Handles

My version of "Free U-Handbag Bag Pattern: The Everyday Glam Bag".  (I made it a little longer to square off the bottom and did the inside pocket a little differently.)

Going to donate this bag to a local group that will auction it off in their upcoming fundraiser.

2 comments bags, local

Engineering Creativity Handbag Construction

Here’s the new bag I completed today and offering for sale locally:I know, must also get my online shop re-stocked with new things… going to work on that!

On Wednesday of this week, this is the picture I took of my kitchen counter: I started off with a wool, knit and wet-felted tube.   My original plan was to make it into a purse by itself, but I thought it was too bulky to stitch together into a simple clutch – I ran out of yarn and couldn’t knit it any longer.  That’s when the “engineering creativity” began. 

Using some purple fabric I had stashed for ages… I stitched, ripped, basted, stitched again and re-did the bag over until I was happy with it today.  Inside is a drawstring center:  It slips inside pretty nicely and the bag turned out well!  I love how the black fades to blue then purple as the knitting progresses to the top. 

Making one-of-a-kind bags can be tricky sometimes, and I can’t make as many to sell as I’d like because they do take a lot of time.  I know there’s someone out there that’s going to love this bag!

I used to hate doing things over, but now I take my time and have a lot more patience because I know that it’s worth the effort in the end.  Crafters, do you do the same?

7 comments bags

Love Bots Reveal for Valentine’s Day

I received a couple of guesses in my last post’s comments, and on Facebook… so here’s a preview of what the little cubes are becoming!  Mini Love-Bots for Valentine’s Day.  Each one will be unique – so far I have just the 8 blocks assembled.

I truly have such a hard time sitting still to work on these, but with some bad weather coming tomorrow, maybe I can get them completed.  They’ll be available locally and maybe one or two will show up in my Etsy shop, also.  (Let me know if you have a preference.)  The ’bot above is made with a sweater that had been felted and repurposed into this cutie.

One of my other current projects is a bag that I’ve been crocheting.  It still needs a handle, lining and assembly – but since it’s a summery colored yarn, there’s no rush: 

I got the bag of yarn as a “1lb. remnant”  - maybe when I’m done with this one I can make a second – it was certainly easy enough.  I’ll check my yarn quantity by weighing it to see if I have 1/2lb. or more leftover when I’m finished.  Anyone else out there weigh their yarn?

Thanks for your support and votes in the champagne cork challenge!  I didn’t win, but I was happy with the results, and found another great blog to follow because of it.

I hope this is the beginning of a very creative week.  What are you going to do?

4 comments bags, crochet, dolls, holiday - valentine, recycling, robots and aliens, use what you have

You Can Take It With You

You can take it with you and be stylish in a one-of-a-kind handbag!  I love making purses, although I don’t do it too often.  A sneak peek:

Been stitching and experimenting on some new bag designs for a craft fair coming up this Sunday.  I’ve known about this event since the summertime – do you think I’ve been sewing since then?  Not so.  It’s hard for me to sit still and make one thing from start to finish so my creating has been sporadic and full of interruptions.

Won’t have a big inventory, but what I have will definitely be unique.  If you’ll be in southern NH this coming Sunday, December 5th, be sure to stop by!

1 comment bags, sewing

Sewing Do-Over to Get it Right

Flowers from my husband.  A nice blast of color in the house.

Thanks for your comments over at the hand-sewn skirt post.  Thea, here’s the kind of sticky thimble I used to try before I found the leather ones - Colonial brand ... finger pads. Jane, the fabric is jersey knit, t-shirt material, so I hope it holds up well under gentle washing!

And thanks for the horror-movie post comments!  Jacqueline I will have to check out those films when I get a chance.

Been working on handbags, and trying to get things “just right”.  Started quilting the outside of this one when I realized the bobbin thread was white… and I wanted the inside to look nice, so took out a few rows and did it over.  Before:

After:

Now I just have to add some handles:

Love this fabric:

I bought yards of this a long time ago, thinking to make it into clothing for my girls, but never got around to it.  Will try to tackle handles today.  Do you have any luck with things you buy for one purpose and end up using for another?

4 comments bags, sewing

Planning for a December Craft Fair

Here’s one of the bags I’ve been working on for a craft fair in December: 

I’m pretty slow about cutting, sewing and assembling these.  Each one will be one-of-a-kind.  Right now I have a half-dozen bags in various stages of completion.  Some need assembly, handles, zippers or all of those. 

I have fun making the basic shape, but I’m not really motivated to finish them once I can visualize the completed piece.  I guess after that, the creativity part is over and that’s the part I really like.  It’s not really  a problem – whatever part I’m working on, I do enjoy the sewing … but the finishing is usually what I have to be business-like about forcing myself to work on. 

Anyone else have parts of their projects that they like to work on better than others?

5 comments bags, sewing

Practical Sewing

"Necessity is the mother of all inventions"

Necessity:

I’m the mother. 

Invention:

Soft polar fleece lining to keep my sunglasses scratch-free:

Squares were cut 1.75” x 1.75” and pieced together using the help of this tutorial.  In addition to finally using the flexi frames that I purchased a long  while back, I got to use up a bunch of scraps that I had piled in a basket on the floor near my work table.  Add your scrappy pictures to my “Off the Floor Recycling” flickr group here:

(You can save that picture to your blog and link to the group if you like.)

“Before” picture:

At my Etsy Shop - ** SALE through 8/15 ** 40% off non-ribbon items with "Birthday" in notes to seller.
My birthday - your gift! Everything sold this week will ship 8/16. **

1 comment bags, fabric, recycling