Handmade goodness

Creating lasting order for lasting peace of mind

16 April 2009

Time for a little knitting update. Because my mind and fingers were having problems with a lace project I decided to fall back on some simple knitting. A felted bag. (My husband wonders what I do with all the felted bags I make…I use them to house knitting works in progress.)

I made my first Lucy Bag a very popular pattern I’ve seen friends make. Simple and attractive. I used turquoise Cascade 220 yarn from my stash and bought some economical Wool Pak 10 ply in a yellowy green to go with it. When I finished, the bag was a little smaller than I expected and I felt it needed some jazzing up. A lot of people put a pin on this bag, but I wanted to knit an embellishment.

“So I made a little panel with the green yarn and knitted some turquoise flowers (with green centers) to go on it. (I got the extremely simple flower pattern from the great book Knitting Never Felt Better: The Definitive Guide to Fabulous Felting.) Here’s the result:

And a close-up of the flowers:

I have to give credit where it’s due: When I finished felting the flowers on their little base I had to figure out how to sew them to the bag. Sewing is not my strength. Luckily for me, I was going to be seeing my friend, seamstress extraordinaire Bobbi Nesladek, that very afternoon. I presented it to her and she sewed it on for me on the spot. She did a lovely job!

Speaking of Bobbi, she’s made me a couple of things I’m absolutely crazy about. And the good news is, she’s selling similar items in her DownZipper etsy shop.

I have an iPod Touch and I keep it naked without a case because I like its slimness when I’m using it. But I wanted it to be protected when it’s in my purse (where it tends to live when I’m not using it). So Bobbi made me a to-die-for iPod cozy. Here’s a photo:

And a peek at the interior:

I don’t see iPod cozies in her etsy shop at the moment, but I think she’s planning to add them. (Email her from her etsy site if you want her to make you one.)

In addition, Bobbi made me a fabulous wristlet. I adore my Butler Bag purse, but there are times when I just want to take my credit card, driver’s license, phone, iPod (in its cozy) and lipstick. This wristlet is perfect for that. And it’s so darned attractive. I’m giddy about it.

Check it out:

And the beautiful interior:

Don’t you love it? She’s selling wristlets now at DownZipper.

Bobbi belongs to a group of local etsy folks called ShowMeEtsy that’s putting on an event called Artropy at SqWires in Lafayette Square on Saturday, April 25. If you’re in St. Louis, check it out. I’m definitely going.

One fabulous component (from an organizer’s point of view) is the Upcycle exchange. If you have craft items that you’re looking to let go of, bring them to the event and you’ll get a 10 percent discount from participating ShowMeEtsy vendors. The etsy crafters will use your stuff to create more art. How cool is that?

Tagged with: bobbi nesladek, felting, knitting, knitting blogs