L is for Scrumptious!

I made this cutie-pie bag ages ago--I think it may have been one of the first ones I felted.  It's finally going to a proper home. My co-worker is going to give it to his niece for her birthday. She's just a little girl of four or so, and she may very well color all over it with magic marker and drag it through puke. I just hope she enjoys it and learns to make a pretty cursive "L."

And no, I did not make this bag with the "L" thinking that someday I would meet a really sweet guy with a niece whose name begins with "L." The green accents were an add-on!

The Thinque Bag!

This bag is a collaborative effort between my friend Bridget Gethins and myself. I call it the Thinque bag because that is the name of the Etsy shop we started together--THIN for the last part of her name and QUE for the last part of mine. I have since moved on from Etsy, but Bridget is still going strong with it, adding new and wonderful creations to the shop all the time!

Bridget did all the beadwork on this bag and I did the knitting, felting and finishing. I love the delicate tree design, and how the pearls remind me of when the buds on the trees are nice and fat in the spring. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I had this stored in an unfinished state for well over a year. I was so happy to finish it today and I can't wait to give it to Bridget!

The Peru Bag

This little number is called The Peru Bag because that's where the yarn is from. The yarn luckily made its way to Bay City, Michigan, where I bought it in a very nice little shop called A Piece of Ewe. 

When the yarn was not yet felted, it was a clownish mix of really bright colors, but once felted, it turned into this beautifully muted piece that reminds me of a landscape. The "sky" bit across the top is an alpaca and merino wool blend. It's lined in a similar azure blue fabric I trimmed it with some cute wooden buttons that I found in a drawer at my mom's house. To give credit where credit is due, I must mention that using the buttons was Andy's idea. 

My friend Jenny is having a birthday in a couple of weeks, and I am looking forward to giving this to her. Don't you dare tell! 

Sunshine Day Bag!

Finished this yummy little bag this morning! Doesn't it just make you want to sing "Sunshine Day" by the Brady Bunch? This purse is all happy inside, as is illustrated in the picture below.

The craft use-up challenge is still going strong, and my yarn pile is getting smaller! I am having fun with these projects, and not planning them out too carefully. The bag tells me when it's done. It says, "Don't sew any more stuff onto me--I've had enough." I sound like the Psycho Craft Lady.

The Miss Priss Clutch

This is another bag I began so long ago that I literally don't recall knitting it at all! Ah, the joys of menopause brain. Everything looks new again if you ignore it for a few months!

Before my dear co-worker Emily Cole moved away, she gave me some pretty yarns in rosy and purple hues. I knitted the small leftover bits into rectangles and felted them so I could cut them up and make little flowers out of them.

This little clutch bag is just big enough for the essentials when you're out for an evening. Credit card, lipstick, iPhone, Virginia Rep Theatre tickets.

I embellished it with teensy glass iridescent beads. This was a very fussy and fiddly process that I must say I enjoyed. It's lined in a pink and silver micro-animal print.

Don't know who I will give or sell it to yet. I'm waiting for the right prissy person to come along and claim it.

Hot Fun in the Summertime Bag

The craft challenge marches on...

It is 105 degrees outside today. Great day to stay indoors and finish this bag that I don't even remember starting! I unearthed it, in its unfelted state, from my knitting box a couple of days ago and just put the finishing touches on it today! I'm going to send it to Emma for her birthday--she loves orange. I like the splashy lining fabric. It makes me think of when you take a bite of sun ripened summer fruit.

Now I'm hungry.

The Great Craft Use-Up Challenge of 2012

I am a chronic starter of craft projects. I am not a chronic finisher, unfortunately.

I was poking through my ever-growing box of yarn--well, now it's two boxes of yarn--well, I have a third box upstairs in the attic but we don't talk about that box--and I was overwhelmed by the number of projects I have in various stages of incompletion.

I hereby challenge myself to come up with a creative solution. The object of the game is to use up all this yarn by making all sorts of pretty things. I will spend zero to little money on these projects, as to assuage my guilt about accumulating and procrastinating.

I will then use these pretty things, sell them or give them away as gifts. Everything must get used! I am not allowed to buy any more yarn until I use all of what I have on hand.

This is the first fruit of my challenge. It is beautiful, if I do say so myself. When I knitted it, it was probably a third again this size. It looked like a baggy sweater, but it felted down to a perfectly sized purse. I lined it in a recycled tablecloth. The swirly designs on each side are made of scraps that were cut off the shoulder strap, which was too long at first. No scraps of wool were harmed or wasted in the making of this bag.

I am almost finished with another bag as well--I will post pics of everything to generate excitement and draw undue attention to myself. Just want to see if you are reading!