Fini!

Hi Knitters,
Oh my goodness, do I love this bag. I finished it early this morning and it was a joy to make. I started with an old white wool sweater, threw it in a hot wash cycle and a week or so later I have this to show for it. There is nothing more satisfying than completing a project and being pleased with the results of your work. Look here for my starting details of this project.

The bag shape comes from Linda Lee's Sew Easy Bags from Sixth and Spring. This is a gem of a collection and I am planning on making many more.

I needle felted the dots and gave a tutorial on this fun and quick technique here if you are interested. I see so many possibilities with this technique, the sky is the limit.

I added a felty flower from pre-cut petals and a felted ball sewn together. The original pattern was made from cotton fabric and had a silk ribbon flower. My bag has an entirely different feel due to the materials I used.

The pattern also called for a zipper but I decided on this felted closure instead. The larger felted ball and the felted ring along with the other needle felting supplies I purchased here. My sweet friend Betz White clued me into this fabulous site awhile ago. She is a fantastic designer and has a new book coming out called Warm Fuzzies which is all about her felting and recycling genius. I met up with her not too long ago and got a sneak preview of her book. Look out! Betz is going to shoot to the top and quick. This book has some of the cutest, most original ideas I have seen. She is starting her second book right now and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. She is one to watch.

What a perfect closure for this petite bag. I hand sewed the entire bag due to my not having my sewing machine in my house yet. Again, it is a long story. Actually I like hand-sewing and I think it gives the bag an even sweeter feel. I am a true hand-crafter, really. I have no problem with little imperfections.

The lining is a Kaffe Fassett print that I bought a long time ago. I have used it for background on some of my photography before if you recognize it. It makes the perfect lining for the dotty outside. This is a pretty small bag just right for those small knitting projects.

It even sits up and open nicely which you wouldn't get with a cotton fabric bag. Even better for knitting.

My daughter can't keep her hands off of this new bag. She keeps informing everyone that it is a wristlet. She is my arm and wrist model here and she is a good one, too. I see some serious arm modeling potential here. You've seen my arm and hand modeling and there isn't any hope for me in that area. A mom can dream, right?

Another successful project in the bag!

I have to give a brief thank you to a sweet friend of mine who won't forget the enormous loss my family suffered this past spring. Believe me we are all still recovering and slowly. She continues to drop off little trinkets of love on my doorstep. It makes me feel so loved it is hard to express. Imagine how my kids react to these beautifully crafted sugar cookies. They are in heaven. She is an example to follow on how to be a friend, quietly and lovingly. I want to be just like her.

best,

susie

p.s. Did you notice my new pictures for the blog? My sons have been having fun adding to the layout and I welcome their help. We'll keep working on it!