Reversible Bag

It has been very quiet here because I have been very lazy the last two weeks. I am in my sewing room a lot, planning to start projects or finish some of the WIP's lying around, but no action as yet. I did make two bags last weekend.

This is the Reversible Bag from a very crafty lady's blog. Visit http://verypurpleperson.com/ to get the free pattern to make this cute bag and see this lady's fantastic sewing projects at the same time. I hate sloppy bags, so I ironed on some interfacing to the outer fabric. This was a mistake. Not only did it make the bag more bulky for sewing the curves, it is a bit stiff as well. I already used some home dec type fabric that is rather thick for the outer fabric, so it did not need interfacing.

This is another view of the bag showing the darts in the bottom. This fabric was a cut-off piece I got for a very good price at Jo-Ann's in Chicago last year. The photo does not do this fabric any justice. The pink flowers are gorgeous. A quick and easy bag to make. I plan to make another bag like this, but without interfacing.

Then I also tried my hand at making a leather bag. I have always wanted to try this. I was great fun to design my own bag and make it. I drafted the basic pattern and then cut it into three parts, including seem allowances. After attaching the three parts, I did topstitching on both sides of the seams. Love the way it came out. I do hate the handles though. I saw a bag where the handles were sewn on and tried it, but it does not look good. Maybe the handles are also too small for this bag? Looks that way to me. I am planning to remove them and make other handles. Maybe handles attached with O-rings.

I adore the inside of the bag. I used a fat quarter that I bought at Hobby Lobby earlier this year with the cutest pink flowers and birds on it. I also tried my hand at sewing in a divider with a zip. Yeah! Love how it came out.

I did however forget to add lining! When do I discover this? Of course it was after the whole bag was sewn. I am so not re-doing it.

I have also cut out another bag I plan to make, but not sure when! Hope my sewing mojo comes back soon! Hope you all have a great week.

Positively Crochet - Patchwork Purse

I am an undying fan of Mary Jane Hall now! She says she is busy with another book and frankly, I cannot wait to see how she can improve on Positively Crochet and Crochet That Fits! I could not wait to share my Patchwork Purse. I finished the bag this past weekend, but still had to attach the lining, tassles and a few other odds and ends. So here it is!

Don't look too closely! My handsewing sucks! I used three of my favorite colors that reminds me of my visit to Mexico a few years ago. I incorporated all the colors into my handle and the tassles, but otherwise stayed very closely to the original pattern. A first for me! The little squares crochet up real fast. The most time is spent on assembling and finishes.

I used my favorite (discontinued - bah!) Elle Wool Boutique Merino Solids felting yarn. I am not planning to felt the bag, but this yarn is so nice to work with and the colors are simply awesome. I used plain black lining that is strengthened with stiff interfacing and also sewed lining to the long handle to avoid stretching. I can pack quite a bit into my bags every day, so it needs to be strong and big enough to hold all my stuff. Overall, once again, a fun easy bag to make!

On another note, all three our dogs have paid a visit to the VET in the last two weeks! This is our cheeky little man, Buksie. He was in on Monday to, hmm, have his manhood removed, poor thing. I cannot see any change in his aggressive attitude though!

And here is Jessie, our new baby. She is doing so well now and has grown three times her size when we got her a few weeks ago. She is such a lovely dog. Playful, sweet and yes, naughty too. She still pinches yarn! Here she is on her "bed" next to the heater.

Our old girl, Maxine, had her turn at the VET yesterday and was diagnozed with breast cancer. Fortunately it's in the early stages, so she will be operated the first week in August to remove the growths. I will post pics of her next week. She is such a lovable lady and caused great comotion at the VET. She loves people, especially kids and puppies, but she hates cats and the VET has two resident cats! The VET was extremely busy but the waiting room cleared very fast!

My next project? I am keen to make a very large, bulky crochet bag with my (very expensive) Rowan Little Big Wool yarn. I found a perfect pattern on Ravelry and hope to start on it tonight. Hope you are all having a good week!

Crochet That Fits - Completed Sweater Bag

I finished the Sweater Bag from my new book, Crochet That Fits. I crocheted this bag with Elle Toy Story yarn, a local brand, using two strands at the same time throughout the pattern, in Magenta. Not sure why the colors never show up right in my pics. Maybe I need to take pictures in daylight. Another super-easy and fun bag to make! I made this bag on our weekend away in ONE evening!

Because I crochet so lose, lining is essential for my bags. This bag presented a problem to line as the top opening was very narrow. After trying several ideas, I had a brainwave. I turned the bag inside out, attached the lining by hand just below the narrower top and turned it back right side out again. Worked like a charm!

This is a nice, roomy bag. It came out quite big, but I love it! The handles are made from my new leather fabric called "a touch of leather". I am not sure how fabric can have a touch of leather and not be leather, but this is great fabric. Soft to the touch, easy to handle and almost like real leather. It sews so much easier too. I attached O-rings to the handles and handsewed it onto the inside of the bag.

Despite all my plans to do some sewing this weekend, I never did. Instead I started on a new crochet bag from another new book, Positively Crochet, from Mary Jane Hall again. This is the Patchwork Purse and I selected three colors I think look awesome together - brown, orange and turqoise blue. I am almost finished with the bag and will share soon.

Hope you all had a great weekend and a fabulous week ahead.

Crochet That Fits - Lining my felted Houndstooth-check purse

As I mentioned in my previous post, this is a fantastic book with extremely easy, classy items to crochet inside. There are hats, scarves, belts, dresses, skirts, tops and my favorite, handbags, inside. I have made two bags from this book and last night worked like a crazy woman to finish the first - The Houndstooth-check felted bag.

Lining a felted bag is a bit easier than lining a plain crocheted or knitted bag. Mainly because the non-felted bag still has a lot of stretch in it, so you have to be careful to ensure the lining is big enough. I normally cut my fabric way bigger than the actual bag as you can see in this photo. I then start sewing the side only until I am happy with the fit. Then I sew the bottom and make a flat botton last. I leave a long extra piece at the top, which I fold over (on the inside) and then sew to the bag. With felted bags, sewing with the machine works well, but with plain crocheted or knitted bags, I find that machine sewing stretches the bag out of proportion and takes the elasticity away, so I handsew. Not my favorite, but it looks better.

Now I have finished sewing the fabric lining, complete with 4 pockets that I require to keep my necessities neat and handy in my purse. You will see above that I have already folded the long top piece of fabric back, but have not sewn the lining on yet. If you are putting a magnetic snap in the lining, this is the time to do it.

This picture gives you a better view of the lovely look of this crochet pattern. It is the best, and easiest, houndstooth pattern I have ever seen. Next comes the handles and magnetic snap. As you know, I make my own leather handles and I found these dark grey handles in my stash, all made up already. I have opted to attach the handles to the lining instead of sewing it onto the outside of the bag as per the pattern.

The lining and handles are all nicely sewn in now. I decided to make a firm bottom for the bag and quickly cut a piece of my plastic I use for this. I sewed a fabric cover for it and inserted it lose in the bag. I decided to put the magnetic snap in the flap as the pattern did, but had to search for an extra piece of felted yarn I could handsew the snap to. This is just extra re-inforcement because the felted yarn will eventually get damaged with frequent use.

I will upload this project to Ravelry today as well and will list the yarn details there if you are interested.

All done! I am already using my bag today! Love, love, love it! Can you believe that I often, like today with a new bag, chose what I will wear that day according to the bag I want to use? Is that crazy? Maybe you girls won't think so, but my non-crafty friends think I am!

Tonight I hope to finish the lining of the black and orange crocheted bag I showed you recently as well as make the leather handles and lining for the other project I made from this book, the Sweater Bag. Have a great day!

Crochet That Fits - projects and review

Not a very productive weekend, but I do have an excuse! (Apart from the FIFA soccer finals) I spent last Saturday in Pretoria with my sister, her kids, my cousin and my kids, a belated celebration of her birthday, on 4th of July. It was a fab day with lots of laughs and great food.

Then a cold front moved in this week and it is freezing! (I know, I know, not freezing like the snow in the Northern Hemisphere at all! But we are used to sunny, mild conditions here!) I have been looking for earmuffs for several years now and last week found a pair locally! Since my second annual visit to Chicago, I have developed problems with my ears in windy weather, so these are fantastic. I have been wearing them inside and outside for three days now!

I found the most fantastic book - Crochet That Fits by Mary Jane Hall. At first glance, I would never buy this book as it appears to be garment patterns. But inside are the most gorgeous patterns for scarves, gloves, bags, and yes, garments too. They all have one thing in common - extremely easy! I have already made TWO bags from this book! The first is the above pattern, the Houndstooth-check felted purse. Such a very simple pattern, yet stunning.

This was my first attempt at felting in my new washing machine. The first try was unsuccessful because I could not figure the machine settings out, but the second was right on the dot! And how lovely does this machine felt! The machine has a gentle spinning cycle and no more badly creased felted bags for me!

I will share more about the actual pattern and yarn I used when I post the finished, lined bag soon. I just love the lilac and grey together.

The second bag I made is the Sweater bag. I made the bag in magenta. Looks so classy. Another super easy pattern with a stunning result. I just need to add lining and handles to both bags and they are done!

I admit I am so bad at taking on bigger projects (like sweaters and coats), so I might just look at the gorgeous clothing patterns in this book, like the cap-sleeve top above. Another extremely easy pattern.

And isn't this sweater gorgeous? There are many more stunning, extremely easy patterns in this book. Worth buying!

I am also still busy with my T-shirt yarn bag. I ran out of yarn for a second time and need to cut more fabric before I can finish it. Last night I started on a yellow drawstring felted bag, this one knitted with circular needles using some of my precious stash from the USA. I am also very keen to make some fabric bags. Gina's reversible bag is on top of my list! See hers here http://gingini.web-log.nl/gingini/2010/07/11-juli.html. Then of course, I have a pile of stretch knit tops I want to make. Let's see what time permits. Hope you all have a great week!

Knit jersey tops

My apologies for being absent for so long again! I have no excuse except that things have been so hectic at work and home the last few weeks. Not that it has slowed down a lot, but I missed my blog friends, so here I am! Creativity has also suffered greatly the last month. I seem to have plenty of WIP's, even more than before! And I keep starting new projects and not finishing them. Urgh. I think this is a sure sign that I am not feeling very creative at all.

I did finish this gorgeous orange and black bag above. Love, love, love it! Just wish I can now sew the lining so I can use it! I just adore this bag. It was a pain to change colours the whole time and I tried several methods, but ended up with the old fashioned method of cutting the yarn and starting with a new color. This left me with hours of finishing work, but well worth it. The little belt and buckle is so cute. I plan to make leather handles but I am debating a new way of using them. I will share the finished bag once I get to it!

I did make a few knit jersey tops in the last few weeks and am already wearing them. This top I made with lovely black and white knit fabric I bought at Hobby Lobby this year in Chicago. This is from a new pattern I bought online.

This top I made from a very easy pattern and it only has two pattern parts. Quick to make!

This is my first attempt at sewing ruffles to my tops. Real easy and such fun to make. I really like the end result. Apologies for the shiny photo!

I have had this fabric for quite a while and cannot understand why I have not used it before. It is a lovely quality knit fabric. I just love the colors! This is another top from my favorite Bernina Inspiration magazine pattern.

I am experimenting with combining colors in my tops and this is the first one I made. Love the bright orange and black together. Not sure if this is what I really wanted, but I have worn it a few times already.

Apart from these, I have a zillion new projects such as bags, scarfes, hats, tops, etc. that are halfway. Too embarrasing to share all of them! I hope to have some completed projects to share as soon as I can get myself inspired to finish something. Hope you all have a great week!

Crochet Bags

The crochet bag "factory" is certainly still open here with production going full steam ahead! I finished my Multi-colored spike bag and started a new crochet bag last night! (We will forget about the 10 or 20 WIP's all over the room for now!)

Just need to cut out the lining, iron on the interfacing and sew it. Love how this bag came out. I changed my mind about the handles at the last moment and I am really pleased how this looks. A nice, sturdy bag with lots of room allowing for lots of pockets in the lining.

On Monday I popped into Arthur Bales, my favorite fabric and yarn store, to replace my crochet hook. I snapped it in half whilst crocheting the Multi-colored Spike bag above! They sell these sets of 3 plastic crochet hooks in 4mm, 5mm and 6mm sizes in one pack. Just love these hooks. I left with enough cotton yarn to make a pink top and the fleece fabric above. They were busy unpacking a new shipment as I walked past...Bad...All these gorgeous colors and soft, warm fabric for Winter, which has officially arrived in South Africa this past weekend.

My Burda Style magazine just arrived in the shops a few days ago and this flared coat caught my eye immediately. When I saw the cerise pink houndstooth fleece fabric, I knew I must make this coat! The matching plain pink fleece was in my stash from last Winter and a perfect match too! I see BIG buttons and a large collar. Now I just need to put my crochet bags down a bit so I can trace and cut the pattern from the magazine and start sewing!

Here is a sneek peek at the bag I am working on now. Started last night...

Completed WIP's!

I had a lazy weekend, starting a (another) new crochet bag, reading, preparing lining for all the finished bags...Sunday late afternoon I realized the weekend is almost over and I have not even made a dent in all the WIP's. A frenzy of sewing activities and by 1am (yes, I know, that's crazy!) I had accomplished a lot.

I started this crochet bag last week and finished the handles and lining on Sunday night. I had different plans for finishing this bag, but changed my mind at the last moment.

I used one of my favorite Amy Butler fabrics to line this bag. I attached the lining at the top with hadsewing, not my favorite way of doing things. I suck at handsewing, but I find that PATIENCE makes it better. Not a virtue of mine...The black heart brooch is from a top I bought years ago.

This little felted bag I must have made about 6 months ago. The lining was cut and ready about 2 months ago. Terrible, isn't it? Anyway, this bag was my first attempt at using Cascade 220 yarn and I was horrified at how much this yarn shrunk in the machine! It was so small I could not even fit my purse inside. The idea to make it bigger using fabric was born and Sunday night I finally sewed the bag. I am quite pleased that I managed to save this little bag!

This is a enlarged version of the Gelato Bag from Fibertrends. It is a mixture of wool and mohair. My what a lot of fluff this own gives off! Found this gorgeous large pink flower button at Arthur Bales last Saturday.

Now I have lined felted bags before, but never an odd shape like this. What a struggle the rounded edges at the top were! Can you see the creases in the corners from all my efforts? Well worth it though. Love the bag and wearing it today!

This bag I crocheted about two weeks ago, just a random bag with no pattern. Love the final effect. It just needed lining and handles sewn.

Handsewing the lining in this bag posed a problem. The lining is a light lime green and the bag black. I cannot use black thread because it will look so ugly on the inside. Green thread showed on the outside. So I decided to machine-sew the lining using green thread on the top and black at the bottom. Work well except I stretched the bag a bit and the lining ended up scew. Urgh! The bag is back in the queue and one day I will undo the lining and re-do it.

My hexagon bag all sewn together. LOTS of handsewing here! Took a whole evening with the black wool! Must admit, most of that time was spent trying to figure out the shape. I am not so pleased with the final result. I don't like tall bags, but I do like the overall look of it. The handles are not sewn on, neither is the black lining done yet. I am still deciding...

The bag I am busy with right now. I saw a picture of a bag with this pattern on a designer's website and worked out the pattern from the picture. Hopefully it will be finished this week. Love the grey and pink and the effect of the spike stitch. From far away it looks like little blocks.

Autumn arrived over the past weekend. There is a decided chill in the air and I had to look for my light jerseys this weekend. I am not a fan of winter, but at least ours is very short and the sun still shines every day. Hope you all have a great week!

Crafty Update

I know I have been very quiet lately, and that's not because nothing is happening in my craft room, it's because I have so many WIP's and nothing finished to share! I currently have a zillion bags in my craft room with handbags I started crocheting or knitting, tops I have cut out that needs sewing and a pile of finished crocheted bags that just needs the lining sewn.

Does that stop me from starting more new projects? No way! Soon my room will be dominated by WIP's. I have to do something fast. This is one of those new projects I started in the last week. I just love this bag! My first try at hexagons. Great fun and my bag is finished, just needs lining and handles now. Of course, I did not make it like the pattern. I changed the shape completely and I'm not sure if I am happy with the result. I'll share next week.

This is my progress on the orange designer crochet coat I showed in the previous post. I started on it last Sunday and am halfway with the back panel. I am just smitten with this pattern and can already picture wearing my gorgeous coat! It will however take me weeks to finish this project. I normally only take on small, quick projects and this is the biggest yet. To avoid boredom, I only work on it a few hours a week.

I hope to finish some of the WIP's this weekend. Wish me luck!

New tops and WIP's

There has been tremedous activity in my Craft room the last week! I wanted to share a few things I have completed and some WIP's. First, I have decided to enter the Spring Top competition hosted by Rae (madebyrae) this year. This top will be my first entry. Just love the colors. I will share more detail on this top soon as part of my entry.

Another top in lilac and black, based on the same pattern. Lilac and purple are my favorite colors at the moment. Does it show?

Yes it does! Another lilac top I made this past weekend.

I also cut out another 5 tops this past weekend, ready to be sewn if I feel the urge one night during the week. Last night I whipped up two tops from this pile. No pics at this stage as they are in the wash.

Another project waiting! I found this fabulous crochet coat pattern on Ravelry. It is by designer Vickie Howell and is not as complicated as it looks - I hope! I bought my yarn and hope to start soon. I can just see myself in this fabulous coat! I think the orange looks great, so decided on orange as well.

This Rowan 100% cotton was on sale at Arthur Bales recently. Only two balls left in this awesome pink. I took it thinking I will use it for crochet flowers, but then I bought a lovely bead book and found a simple granny square bag pattern inside. I will have more than enough yarn for this bag. Bummer working with such a thin crochet hook and even thinner yarn! Each granny square takes forever to finish! I need to crochet 29 of these granny squares and I have only managed to complete 8 so far.

My completed lilac bag with crochet flowers sewn on. I plan to make a few more in different colours and slight variations. Another crafty weekend ahead! Hope you all enjoy your weekend!