I'm still frantically trying to catch up on posting piccies of finished projects and here's a few project bags that I made recently to keep you going. Hopefully I'll have my ISE5 stuff online very soon.
The first bag is made using navy recycled linen and a pretty co-ordinating floral lining. The drawstring is made from Rowan Cotton Glace. I added a small fabric patch to the front of the bag to break up the solid colour without detracing away from the beautiful linen. This bag was sent to Blueadt in exchange for some gorgeous Rowan All Seasons cotton. .JPG)
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Next is Katie's project bag. I made this using a scrap of the linen fabric and some of the 'ladybird' fabric that I used to make Ladybird Linz's needle roll. Katie needed something simple that she could stuff full with knitting projects. I lined this in simple calico with a small pocket for notions.
Lastly is this blue bag that I made Anna for her Birthday as part of the Winter Birthday Swap on the Crafty Threads n Yarn forum at the beginning of December. It's unusual fabric in that's a fleece or flannel. The print is a blue toille and I used Simplicity Pattern (tbc). There is an external pocket in the same fabric and the inside is lined with calico fabric. I also enclosed a couple of Fat Quarters and two balls of lovely yarn in her birthday swap package.
More FO's and swap piccies coming soon including my ISE5 scarf and goodies! I've been a busy bee in January. Time to knuckle down for February as we're almost half way through - eek!
Showing posts with label bag. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bag. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sewing: Bags & Totes
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Swap: first Craftster swap finished!
I've just finished my commitment on my first Craftster swap - the 'I want what I can't make' swap. It's been torture making things and not being able to share them on here for fear of being found out. It wasn't a secret swap so my pal knew everything about me and I had to keep my gifts on the DL.
So, here's the things I made for my pal. I had a really great time making them and learned some great new techniques in the process. Enjoy!!
BAGSKET: made in canvas and lined with calico. The drawstring top is part of a recycled linen blend fabric. The tutorial for making the bagsket are available on Foofangle with links to the original designer. The embroidery pattern is one of many that is available free on Knitting-And.com.
NEEDLE ROLL: made in canvas and lined in calico (as the bagsket), panel of Amy Butler's Lotus on the front and edged with blue grosgrain ribbon.
MINI QUILT: the flower fairy is a design taken in a book at home (title to follow). I embroidered the fairy onto a piece of recycled white fabric. I felt bad sending just the embroidered panel to my pal so I made it into this little quilt or wall hanging. I'm not entirely happy with it as a quilt but what the hey!
FABRIC POSTCARD: Fabric scraps, heavyweight interfacing, zig zag stitch on my trusty old Singer 507.
FABRIC FLOWER: made using my treasured & favourite fabrics - the tutorial is available on Mollychicken. It's a very simple concept but every scrap of fabric is used up - I even used the very last strip of fabric to make the flower fairy's skirt.
FLOWER FAIRY: made the same as all my other fairies, the hair is mohair that has been twisted around wooden skewers which were immersed in hot boiling water and then freezing cold water. Once the yarn was dry, unwind the yarn from the skewers and you'll have lovely curly doll hair! The skirt is made using the leftover fabric from the fabric flower above.
So, here's the things I made for my pal. I had a really great time making them and learned some great new techniques in the process. Enjoy!!
BAGSKET: made in canvas and lined with calico. The drawstring top is part of a recycled linen blend fabric. The tutorial for making the bagsket are available on Foofangle with links to the original designer. The embroidery pattern is one of many that is available free on Knitting-And.com.
NEEDLE ROLL: made in canvas and lined in calico (as the bagsket), panel of Amy Butler's Lotus on the front and edged with blue grosgrain ribbon.
MINI QUILT: the flower fairy is a design taken in a book at home (title to follow). I embroidered the fairy onto a piece of recycled white fabric. I felt bad sending just the embroidered panel to my pal so I made it into this little quilt or wall hanging. I'm not entirely happy with it as a quilt but what the hey!
FABRIC POSTCARD: Fabric scraps, heavyweight interfacing, zig zag stitch on my trusty old Singer 507.
FABRIC FLOWER: made using my treasured & favourite fabrics - the tutorial is available on Mollychicken. It's a very simple concept but every scrap of fabric is used up - I even used the very last strip of fabric to make the flower fairy's skirt.
FLOWER FAIRY: made the same as all my other fairies, the hair is mohair that has been twisted around wooden skewers which were immersed in hot boiling water and then freezing cold water. Once the yarn was dry, unwind the yarn from the skewers and you'll have lovely curly doll hair! The skirt is made using the leftover fabric from the fabric flower above.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Sewing: Bags & Pouches from recycled dress & trousers
What can you make with the shirt off your husbands back, a dress and an old pair of pink cargo pants?Handy little pouches and a hobo bag. I kid you not! The fabric used to make these items was recycled from a Laura Ashley dress and a pair of pink trouser type thingies! The red lining in the pouches is from one of Mr CBs shirts (it was never actually on his back, he never wore it at all)!!!
The little pouches are pretty nifty. They are a lovely size for holding small projects or toiletries, makeup, and even a potted plant! I place a small bag of dried lavender from the garden in one and hang it on the desk near the window where I'm working. Ahhhhhhh.....
I also made this hobo bag (top right) using the same floral dress and the pink fabric. I'm very pleased with the lovely 'dusky' shades in these two fabrics. I wish I had more.... :(The bright tote bag (left) is made from a big piece of fabric I recently purchased off e-bay for a couple of quid. It looks like it might have been a duvet cover in a previous life but I'm not 100% sure.
Anyway, it made a nice roomy tote for Little Miss CB to take on her hols to Spain. I added a lime green panel on either side of the bag and lined it with some bright yellow fabric from my stash (yes I do have a fabric stash!)
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Coming Soon - Tutorial: Wet Felted Camera Pouch
The clue's in the title folks!
I'm in the process of typing up a tutorial for a felted pouch that I made.
It's big enough to hold my Nintendo DS or my Olympus Digital camera. Stay tuned!!!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Sewing: Refashioning & Reconstruction of sorts
I've taken to refashioning and reconstructing stuff lately. Someting caught my eye over on craftster and I thought "I could do that". I've got a lot of clothes (that are too small for me) and other goodies lying around that need to be attended to. So the plan of action at the moment is:
1) if it's a WIP (be it knitting, sewing, etc..) either finish it or rip it back & recycle and reuse the materials, OR 2) if it's a FO that's not being used, I'll reconstruct or refashion it into something wearable or an accessory.
So here are some photos to show you what I've been up to.
1) This cream blouse was refashioned from a well worn dress. I didn't get a photo beforehand but I can tell you that it was the same style as the black and beige polka dot dress pictured left.
2) This brown and pink pinstripe skirt used to be two pairs of trousers. I inserted a plain brown panel at the center front and back. This was two pairs of poly/cotton trousers made into a skirt. I think some pink lining would go nice (Tee hee hee).
3) The Nintendo DS case (top of post) was reconstructed from a felted bag. Some of you may remember this bag from the Bag Me KAL last September. It was my first attempt at tapestry crochet and I found the flower chart on the internet. The bag has never been used so out came the scissors. The back piece was large enough to fold in half to make a case for he holder. I simply stitched up the sides and inserted a zip on the top.
Keep watching for other felted projects which are in the process of being deconstructed and then morphing into something new and useful. Nothing is safe!!!
1) if it's a WIP (be it knitting, sewing, etc..) either finish it or rip it back & recycle and reuse the materials, OR 2) if it's a FO that's not being used, I'll reconstruct or refashion it into something wearable or an accessory.
So here are some photos to show you what I've been up to.1) This cream blouse was refashioned from a well worn dress. I didn't get a photo beforehand but I can tell you that it was the same style as the black and beige polka dot dress pictured left.
2) This brown and pink pinstripe skirt used to be two pairs of trousers. I inserted a plain brown panel at the center front and back. This was two pairs of poly/cotton trousers made into a skirt. I think some pink lining would go nice (Tee hee hee).
3) The Nintendo DS case (top of post) was reconstructed from a felted bag. Some of you may remember this bag from the Bag Me KAL last September. It was my first attempt at tapestry crochet and I found the flower chart on the internet. The bag has never been used so out came the scissors. The back piece was large enough to fold in half to make a case for he holder. I simply stitched up the sides and inserted a zip on the top.Keep watching for other felted projects which are in the process of being deconstructed and then morphing into something new and useful. Nothing is safe!!!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
English Garden Bag: Back on the Menu!
Yay. The English Garden Bag is back on the menu!Remember, I found it in July, fell in love, bought some wool, got disheartened with my choice, frogged my work and promptly dumped this one on the 'to do' pile. Well the challenge for the October Bag KAL has been set. We will be working on the English Garden Bag by Crystal Palace Yarns.
The bag is made with two strands of yarn held together: CPY Taos (which is a striated yarn) and CPY Aran in contrasting colours. Now, the only real problem I have is that I couldn't find the recommended yarn for the project. So I will be improvising. And as it is 3 months since I last considered this project, I'm confident (ish) that I can figure out a decent colour combo.I really like the reddish tones in the new version of this bag (to the left) so I will probably work along these lines. However until the yarn is in the bag, so to speak, anything can happen.
PS Crystal Palace Yarns has a blog now. The moderator is Angela and she is very helpful. Especially if you have any questions re their projects or yarn. Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
September Bag KAL: Finished!
Here are some pictures of the finished crochet bag from the September Bag KAL. Although the challenge was to knit a bag with some colourwork and felt it, I decided to crochet mine using 'Tapestry Crochet'. As I've mentioned a lot lately, this is a technique I learned from Debbie Stoller's SnB Happy Hooker book.
The bag is simply two crochet squares with a basic flower chart worked in.
I really enjoyed the colour work and wouldn't mind doing more again in either a knitting or a crochet project! It did take me a long time to chart out properly but once that side was done, the rest was easy.
I was surprised how differently the crochet bag felted compared to the knit bags I have made. It seemed to lose more width than height, which I have found is the norm when I felt my knit bags. Must be something to do with the way the stitches are constructed. The bag started out as 9.5 square and lost about 2" from the height and 3" from the width. The strap was 59" before felting and 50" after.
I didn't have anybody in mind when making the bag but I made it in Miss CB's favourite colours in case she fancied it when it was finished. And she likes it. She was all 'oooh' and 'wow' when she saw the flower pattern appear.
The strap is long enough for her to carry the bag across her body, keeping her hands free for the things that 9 year old girls need to do. Hope you all like it.
Enjoy! X Bernie X
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
September Bag KAL: Teaser photos
Here's some teaser photos re my progress on the bag for the September Bag KAL. I'm making a bag which when felted, should be the right size for Little Miss CB's new Nintendo DS.
This tapestry crochet is fun. But I really must give intarsia a go sometime soon.
Enjoy the photos!
Monday, September 11, 2006
September Bag Me KAL & 'Granny's no square'
The challenge for the September Bag Me KAL is to make a felted bag using colour work.
Now, technically it should be a knit bag with some intarsia on it and I had planned to follow these instructions like a good lickle girlie. But as I am happily riding the crochet train at the moment, I decided to crochet a bag using a technique called Tapestry Crochet (which is basically intarsia for crochet).
There are loads of tapestry crochet patterns out there and I am going to keep this one a surprise until it's finished.
Originally I was going to use the 'Granny's no square' bag from the SnB crochet book as my bag for the September KAL but that would be cheating. I'm guessing that crocheting in circles with different colours of wool doesn't count?!?
Anyway, for the SnB bag, I am using a combination of Debbie Bliss Merino aran and the usual feltable wool that I get from Knitshop.co.uk. I am hoping that when the bag is felted, I will have a very colourful bag with lovely colourful circles. Did I mention this is a bit of an experiment??? as the SnB bag is made with Berroco Suede and therefore not a felted bag.
I've never felted crochet work before. Should be fun. =^.^= In the meantime, I leave you with a piccie of my progress on the 'Granny's no square' bag.
Now, technically it should be a knit bag with some intarsia on it and I had planned to follow these instructions like a good lickle girlie. But as I am happily riding the crochet train at the moment, I decided to crochet a bag using a technique called Tapestry Crochet (which is basically intarsia for crochet).
There are loads of tapestry crochet patterns out there and I am going to keep this one a surprise until it's finished.
Originally I was going to use the 'Granny's no square' bag from the SnB crochet book as my bag for the September KAL but that would be cheating. I'm guessing that crocheting in circles with different colours of wool doesn't count?!?
Anyway, for the SnB bag, I am using a combination of Debbie Bliss Merino aran and the usual feltable wool that I get from Knitshop.co.uk. I am hoping that when the bag is felted, I will have a very colourful bag with lovely colourful circles. Did I mention this is a bit of an experiment??? as the SnB bag is made with Berroco Suede and therefore not a felted bag.I've never felted crochet work before. Should be fun. =^.^= In the meantime, I leave you with a piccie of my progress on the 'Granny's no square' bag.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Lion Brand: Self-lined bag
See! I really have been knitting in the wings. Here's my version of the Striped Self-lined Bag by Lion Brand. I used just under four 50g balls of Rowan All Seasons Cotton in shade 164.
I was originally going to knit this bag with the Ohhh, Bag Me KAL but never got round to it. The finished dimensions of my bag are 12" x 8", slightly bigger than the pattern specified. However, as I knit the bag in cotton rather than Lion Brand I crochet the handles for this bag instead of knitting I-cords, as I usually do. The bag is a bit soft and floppy, and I'm wondering if the suede yarn would have made a firmer bag? Hmmm!
Anyway, here it is modelled by the hand of the lovely Little Miss CB (while eating cheese)!
EDIT 05/09: Oops... forgot to put on the button. Doh!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Royal Manx Agricultural Show: Gallery
I've set up a small gallery on Flickr.com with photos from the show yesterday. There are only a few photos in the gallery so it won't take long to go through them. You can either click on the flickr badge in the sidebar or click here.
It was a great experience entering the show and I'm sure we'll be entering again next year. However I'll make sure we have plenty of time to enjoy all the demonstrations and displays next time.
We saw the following demonstrations: felt making, spinning, tatting and lacemaking. One of the lace exhibitors had her very young grandchild on her lap (probably about a 18 months old) and she was moving the lace bobbins around while her grandma counted. It was really sweet. Catch them young, that's what I always say!
The chairperson of the embroidery guild was making felt in the exhibition tent and it was great to see. I meant to get a photo but somebody muscled in. I've never seen felting in the flesh before. Only in magazines or books. The chairperson was very chatty and kindly explained the process.
We popped into the the Women's Institute (WI) tent to look at their displays. Each year they choose a theme and this year it was 'Rainbows, butterflies and fairies'. I only liked this display. The others weren't my cup of tea.
In addition to the displays in the WI tent, there was a lady spinning on a modern wheel, rather effortlessly I might add. I didn't appreciate that the quality of the wool wool varied from the sheep's shoulders down to the legs. You learn something new every day!
My FIL's partner entered the produce section and won first prize for her profiteroles and scones. In addition, she won 2nd prize for her plated apple tart.
So, it was a good day out all around.
Here is a picture of all the items that we entered into the Arts & Crafts classes:
It was a great experience entering the show and I'm sure we'll be entering again next year. However I'll make sure we have plenty of time to enjoy all the demonstrations and displays next time.
We saw the following demonstrations: felt making, spinning, tatting and lacemaking. One of the lace exhibitors had her very young grandchild on her lap (probably about a 18 months old) and she was moving the lace bobbins around while her grandma counted. It was really sweet. Catch them young, that's what I always say!
The chairperson of the embroidery guild was making felt in the exhibition tent and it was great to see. I meant to get a photo but somebody muscled in. I've never seen felting in the flesh before. Only in magazines or books. The chairperson was very chatty and kindly explained the process.We popped into the the Women's Institute (WI) tent to look at their displays. Each year they choose a theme and this year it was 'Rainbows, butterflies and fairies'. I only liked this display. The others weren't my cup of tea.
In addition to the displays in the WI tent, there was a lady spinning on a modern wheel, rather effortlessly I might add. I didn't appreciate that the quality of the wool wool varied from the sheep's shoulders down to the legs. You learn something new every day!
My FIL's partner entered the produce section and won first prize for her profiteroles and scones. In addition, she won 2nd prize for her plated apple tart.
So, it was a good day out all around.
Here is a picture of all the items that we entered into the Arts & Crafts classes:
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Royal Manx Agricultural Show: Judging Over....
I created. I entered. I kicked some booty!Yes, what you see before your very eyes are the winning exhibits in the knitting & felting classes. More details about the Agricultural Show to follow soon but for now, I won:
- FIRST prize in the 'coarse yarn' knitting class for my lengthways knitted scarf (NOT the Liesel, funny story that.... later);
- FIRST prize in the 'felting' class for my turquoise 'B4 bag';
- SECOND prize in the 'felting' class for my red 'Romantic Ruffles' bag.
How can one top that, I hear you say. Well I'll tell ya. I received the Reserve Silver Cup ROSETTE for the best exhibit in the Open Classes in the Arts & Crafts Section for my lengthways knitted scarf.
How cool is that!!!
Little Miss CB didn't do too badly either. She who doesn't normally enter raffles or competitions, was delighted when she discovered she had won:- FIRST prize in the 'drawing - colour work' class for her age for her picture of a bowl of fruit;
- THIRD prize in the 'needlework' class for 11yrs and under for her felt bunny pin cushion.
Didn't she do well!
That's all for now. I'll try to post a more detailed update in the coming days. So much to share, so little time and so very VERY tired. Yawn.
Thank you all for your kind wishes and luck.
Related topic: agricultural show update.
Ohhh, bag me KAL: August
Well I'm just about to cast on for the August Bag Me KAL. This month we're knitting the berroco knitting tote. And being the creative (thrifty) crafter that I am, I purchased some Rowan All Seasons Cotton in a navy/denim colour. The wool is from Jannettes Rare Yarns where the service and delivery is superdeeduper fast! More info soon.
Love ya! Bernie
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Rowan All Seasons Cotton: Aug 'Bag Me KAL'
Look who's trying to muscle in on the action! I only just brought him into the world and he's already taking over my new stash. Cheekly little 'no face' bear!
Anyway, miss kind postlady brought a little something for mummy bear this morning: a mill sealed bag of Rowan All Seasons Cotton from Jannettes-Rare-Yarns which I bought with August's KAL in mind.I hope there's going to be some yarn left over so that I can make another amigurimi. Although, if the next one is anything like this 'no face' bear...... I'll have to keep my wits about me!
ooo xxx ooo
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Knitting Bag: Sassy Yarn Bag
May I introduce you to the prettiest knitting bag I have found (so far). I absolutely love the colours on this funky bag which BTW is called the 'Sassy Yarn Bag'.
The downside? In the UK, the bag is priced at £25 but in the US, the bag is priced at $18.74. That must be about 1/2 price in the US. Doh!
Here's a couple of shops where you can get it: JustAMemory.co.uk and joann.com.
Sneaky Peeky at my purse:
Here's a sneaky peeky at a little something I'm making to go with my 'little coco' bag. I need to add some piping and maybe some beads then into the machine with her. I used just under one skein of Noro Kureyon and knit it up in about 3 hours last night so it's a nice little 'tween project. When it's felted I'll post a picture of the FO.Little Coco Bag (pre felting):
I've finished knitting the Little Coco bag. I love bags like this as they are so quick to knit up and you don't have to concentrate too much. The whole bag is knit in two strands of wool, that includes the piping around the base and the top.
Here's a pic of the base of the bag - isn't the stitch pattern lovely! It makes a change from the garter stitch which can sometimes still be visible after the felting process.
Here's a little look at the pre felted bag. I knit this with one strand of Noro Kureyon 159 and some dark lilac wool. It kind of reminds me of a sweater I had when I was a kid in the 1970's! Here's hoping it looks ok when felted.
Now I just have to make 9 ft of I-cord. NINE FEET OF I-CORD!!! Holy Moley! I'm considering crocheting the cord or using Little Miss CB's 'Knitting Nancy' just for a change. I'll let you know what I do later.
To view my previous post about this bag here's the link.
Here's a pic of the base of the bag - isn't the stitch pattern lovely! It makes a change from the garter stitch which can sometimes still be visible after the felting process.
Here's a little look at the pre felted bag. I knit this with one strand of Noro Kureyon 159 and some dark lilac wool. It kind of reminds me of a sweater I had when I was a kid in the 1970's! Here's hoping it looks ok when felted.Now I just have to make 9 ft of I-cord. NINE FEET OF I-CORD!!! Holy Moley! I'm considering crocheting the cord or using Little Miss CB's 'Knitting Nancy' just for a change. I'll let you know what I do later.
To view my previous post about this bag here's the link.
Temporary link to K1B2 while my Blog was down: Knitting Update.
Dye-vine inspiration Crochet Bag
Here she is. My 'Dye-vine' inspiration crochet bag. My first actual crochet bag. I can crochet!
I made this with the wool I dyed using food colouring. It's not bad for a first attempt if I do say so myself. Hopefully the bobble rows will sit better once I've blocked it.
If you want to see piccies of the wool that I used and also the pattern, here's the link to my first post about this.
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