Thinking out of the box challenge - complete!

As per my previous post, I finally selected the project I will make for Kate's (http://curiositys.wordpress.com/) Thinking Outside the Box Challenge!

I survived working with RED. I survived mixing bright colours that don't match (according to me). I managed to follow Nikki's Belle bag pattern without any major problems. Whew! So, here she is! The brightest bag in town!

I think the little Belle bag is quite cute! I would love to make another one with some of my favorite pink fabrics. I would however use firmer interfacing next time.

I wish I had a different colour bag handles to use, but this is all I had. Since we are thinking outside the box, I suppose it does go!

Very roomy inside despite it looking so small from the outside.

At least I managed to line them up pretty well. This is the bottom outside of the Belle bag. I adore Nikki's (http://nicolemdesigns.com.au/) patterns! I think I will buy a few more soon!

Of course, my "STOP" button is out of order, so whilst I was on a roll, I made another bright bag! This cute little mini-bag is not any specific pattern or design. Not sure if I will ever use it. I'm sure it will become a present!

I still need to sew a button on to the little flower. I used very stiff interfacing and added a large pocket inside.No more RED for a while now, thank you....

Thinking Outside the Box Challenge Update

Red. Not my colour at all! But Kate's Challenge is all about crafting outside your comfort zone. I HAD to go all the way though. Not only am I using RED, I am also combining bright colours that aren't a perfect fit AND I am taking on a challenging handbag pattern I have not used before! Is that enough challenge for you?

So, here is a picture of the beautifull Belle bag pattern from the talented Nikki at http://www.nicolemdesign.com.au/, the bright fabric that includes RED and the pattern I have already traced off. Will I pull it off? Will I be able to finish this bag before I go crazy?

Crocheted coin purses

As you know I am participating in Kate's challenge to sew something you normally avoid. This weekend I was trying my best to avoid starting my project. I did however select the pattern and the fabric I would use. I got a headache just looking at the fabric! More about that later.

So instead, I played around with making some crocheted coin purses. I have quite a few metal purse frames I ordered from Etsy and I always feel bad because I don't use them often enough. Now that I am hooked on crochet, I decided to crochet one. I searched the internet but could not find exactly what I am looking for. Remember that although I have been knitting and crocheting since I was a child, I am still a complete novice! I can do both, but can only do basic stitches, no fancy stuff. I am hopeless at following even the simplest pattern! I always end up with more stitches, or even less, than the pattern. So, I decided to make my own pattern!

I have a few of these very small metal purse frames that have holes to handsew the fabric to the frame. This is the first time I am using one of them. What a pleasure to use and so cute! I used some of my lovely Sublime angora yarn for this one.

I also made this one to fit a bigger frame. This frame is about 3.75". I have compiled a PDF tutorial for both of these crocheted purse frames and will post it as soon as I figure out how to upload a PDF to my blog! Any advice would be welcome!

Completed felted bags

Finally! I have finished the two felted bags. This is my little basket bag from a pattern in Crocheted Pursenalities, although I did omit the basket "weave" effect. Really love how the handles came out with the plastic tubing inside. I added a magnetic snap under the flower on the flap. It is a small bag, but can still hold quite a bit.

I am proud to announce that I attempted the circular needles (torture sticks) again and this time - success! What a pleasure they are to use. I found a shorter pair (60cm long) and it worked much better. And just look at this felted bag - no seams to sew! This is a variegated wool from Elle and felts like a dream. I finished knitting the entire bag in two evenings, threw it in the washing machine two nights ago, and tonight it was dry. A very simple bag. All I did was to sew a button on the flap.

Now I am just waiting for my brown wool to arrive from Thimbles Quilt & Knit in Cape Town and i can finish the striped bag I am busy with. I used dark brown, green and yellow in a random pattern. Love the effect.

Oh, and I spent this evening trying to crochet a coin purse to fit into a small metal frame. Not as easy as it looks! I am battling to find some simple patterns on the internet. More on that soon.

I cannot wait to start on Kate's challenge tomorrow night! Nothing like sewing a new bag.

Thinking outside the box challenge!

Kate from http://curiositys.wordpress.com/ is hosting a challenge - Thinking outside the Box! The challenge is to make a sewing project in the next two weeks using fabric or colours (or a technique?) you would normally avoid.

Hmmm...for me it would be using pastel colours, or mixing different fabrics in one project that don't EXACTLY match. I cannot resist a challenge, so here I am, thinking what project to make that I would still use afterwards. I think I will go with mixing bright colours that don't exactly match. Pastels just don't DO it for me and a completed project will find itself at the back of the cupboard to be forgotten very fast. I do not want to waste precious stash or sewing time on something I will not use.

What to make? It has to be a bag of course! This might be a good time to use one of the gorgeous bag patterns I bought from the famous NicoleMdesigns from Australia. One of the patterns is just perfect for this project as the bag has panels. I will post progress on this scary project!

Felted Bag & Weekend projects

Despite many other things I had to do and being out the house quite a bit this past weekend, I managed to finish a lot of projects. My kind of crafty weekend! First up, my second successful felted bag!This is close up view of the bag body and the flower I also crochet and felted. I am so pleased with how the flower came out! There is still some stitch definition on the bag but not much. I used the pretty little basket pattern in my new book Crocheted Pursenalities. I wanted to do a test run of this pattern before I use my horrendously expensive wool to make a grey and pink basket bag as is displayed in the book.

I was concerned that the pattern might be too advanced for my skills, but I am pleased that I could follow it without any help! I went to the hardware store on Sunday morning to get plastic tubing for the handles and I am tickled pink because it came out stunning!

The handles show an almost weave-like pattern once felted. I assume it is because you felt it with the plastic tubing inside.

I also felted samples of some of my new wool. I am a bit disappointed with some of the samples, like the dark grey, top right. I had high hopes for this wool but it did not felt at all. The cheap dark green wool, bottom right, did felt. The light grey, middle right, is the horrendously expensive wool for my next basket bag. It did not felt too great, but I think I can improve on it. The bright green, top left, is local handspun and dyed angora wool. It felted great but shrunk almost 50%! It is also extremely difficult to crochet with all the fluff. I think I will have to knit with this wool as it will be easier to see the stitches.

I also made a few fleece blankets yesterday. I love making these! These are all gifts for some friends and colleagues. The stitching is quick but cutting and pinning takes forever!

Apart from this I have three bags in the making - one knitted and two crocheted. I hope to finish them by this coming weekend so I can felt them. I hope you also had a great crafting weekend!

Torture sticks!

Have you seen these things before? They are called circular knitting needles but I am convinced they are torture sticks! I thought it was the coolest thing to use to knit a bag and most of the patterns I downloaded calls for it. It is not.

Every pattern mentions "be careful so the stitches don't twist...". How on earth can you see if the stitches are twisted if the thing won't stop twisting?! I had knitted for about an hour when I decided to check if the stitches are OK, and guess what? The stitches were twisted! This is after an hour of wrestling with these needles, stretching the knitting and lots of swearing. A whole 10 rows knitted. So, I am back to conventional knitting needles. So what if the bag has a few seams?

I prefer crochet anyway. It is so much quicker and easier. Yesterday was Youth Day in South Africa and I went shopping for books. Again. This is what I found.

This book has 20 fabulous crocheted, felted bag patterns inside! I will post some pics of some of my favorites as soon as I have taken them. I am already busy making one as you can see in the picture in a lovely mustard yellow and rusty brown colour. This is local felting wool from Elle that I found on sale at my local Bernina store on Monday.

Lots of sewing on my to-do list as well, but sewing is mostly restricted to weekends nowadays. Knitting and crochet is quicker and easier to do on weeknights, so I hope to have my two bags finished in time to felt them on the weekend.