Decisions, decisions ~

Thanks so much 

to all who have commented or emailed me 

about the sunflower purse!

...it will be a full-size pattern, with leaf template too ~

I think I will go with a long shoulder strap

to wear across the chest so the purse rests on my hip…

I'll make it from the same linen as the backing/lining too ~ just simple and coordinating.

as I was thinking about the strap,

I kept looking at the sunflower and thought it needed 'something' ~

so I whipped-up this honeybee pin.

he is needle felted hand dyed wool roving….

bzzzzzzzzzzz

 he's a big guy, 

reminds me of our huge Bell's Hornets that we have here in our woods!

I think he adds to the purse, don't you?

so after I decided that I would indeed make that long shoulder strap from the linen,

I was then pondering what to use to attach the strap to the purse….

I collect many things and so one item came to mind…

but I thought I only had one of them ~

to my pleasant surprise, I indeed had a pair:

Antique Cut Steel Shoe Buckles!!

ohhhhhh!

 aren't they beautiful?

and they already have small holes drilled in them 

...for my sewing needle & thread to pass through…

Yay!

I'll use one on each side, 

and connect the strap to them….

perfect.

almost finished!

 I will be sure to share snaps when I'm finished completely :)

Today will be spent processing orders and shipping them, 

then onto banking and a run to the market…

at least the sun is shining and our 8" of white-stuff has melted away!

(that's one good thing about Virginia snow storms: they don't last that long)

the rest of this week and next

I will be busy preparing for the

Virginia Rug Fest

so the shop will be CLOSED on 

April 4th & 5th…

...we will be open here this Saturday :)

Have a *Sparkling* day my Friends!

* Blessed be * 

Lori

Snow & Sunflowers ~

we are tired of seeing snow photos…

so here are a few more LOL!

yes,

 our wonderful, brilliant weather folk 

with their wonderful brilliant weather-predicting gadgets and gizmos

certainly missed the mark on this one ~

they told us to expect accumulation on the grass….

well, they were right with that one!

we have accumulation on the grass ~ 8" of it!

and this morning the temps were in the 20's ~ 

...right now it has warmed up to freezing.

ha!

out my sewing room window

icicles

 there were feathered frenzied at the feeders yesterday…

couldn't keep them filled.

mourning dove & sparrow

so while it snowed & snowed ~

I hooked

...and hooked.

happy sunflower purse

 I needed to hook something bright & colorful ~

something that would saturate my thoughts with warmth & sunshine.

...a sunflower came to mind!

can't wait for summertime

my strips are all hand cut and measure anywhere from 1/4" to 1" in width ~

I even staggered the heights of my loops as I hooked towards the 'rim' of the petals…

 I wanted to edge this purse with big wool leaves

that look like those on our sunflowers…

almost heart shaped & happy ~

wool leaves stitched to the sides of the purse

…but I didn't want to overwhelm the purse with the leaves, 

so I added knotted wool fringe in between each leaf 

and along the bottom of the purse to fill it in ~

knotted wool fringe

 kind of like proddy, but not.

the fringe is just a short piece of wool, approx. 4 inches long x 3/4" wide…

I use my hook to pull the end of the wool strip through the linen, 

...then hand-pull the strip the rest of the way through ~

then I just tie on small slip knot and

~ viola! 

I used some wonderful early white linen for the lining and backing of the purse, 

...and also slipped a piece of cardboard in between the lining for a little stability ~

beautiful early white linen

 here is a better shot of the leaves:

just simply attached using linen thread

here's how I whip-stitched the lining in place…

I love this casual, handmade look!

simple whip stitches

... right now I'm trying to figure out what kind of handles to use ~

or should I put a long strap on using that same great old linen?

...what are your thoughts??

Have a wonderful day my Friends ~

create something that makes you 

 ~ H A P P Y ~

* Blessed be * 

Lori

{ ...diversions... }

 

sometimes I just like to make things...

no plans, just make something.

 

while I was in Joann's the other day, I saw one of my favorite magazines,

'Mollie Makes'

so i had to buy it.

 

it just so happened to include a free kit

(as most every issue includes a free kit of some sort)

this one was for a little oil coth purse.

how cute...

 

 

 

sweet, but I didn't want to use the oil cloth included....

(i'm crazy like that)

 



pretty, but I wanted something 'different'....

so....

 

I opened the little kit package and took out the supplies:

purse clasp

oil cloth

paper twine

 

 



 

I was thinking of something more like this...

using some of my beautiful, nubby, washed silk matka in a beautiful shade of mushroom....

 

so I sewed it up...

 

then I turned to my trusty threads...

...these are my Gutermann threads in my favorite colors ~

 

 



turned the little purse rights sides out ~

(a little wonky-looking, but hey....)

 

 



grabbed my scissors,

cut out some organic shapes from tiny scraps of wool

...and began freestylin' :)

 

 



I like to change out the colors of my threads to clash/compliment my wools

and I use a variety of simple stitches...

colonial knot

stem stitch

whip stitch

straight stitch

 

 



 

after a bit of staining, then attaching the purse clasp to the top,

...it is finished.

 

 



 

I'm happy with it...

plop in a few coins and save for a rainy day.

 

~ have a beautiful weekend my Friends!

 

Lori from

Notforgotten Farm