STILL MORE LITTLE BAGS

In a recent posting I showed some bags I had been working on. They were originally intended for holding things like specs and mobile phones, but ended up rather too large. So I set to work on a Mark II model, and decided to use some rather lovely old Sanderson upholstery linen samples. They teamed beautifully with the lace and pearl buttons.

 An yes - they are perfect for spectacles, but I am not sure about phones. I do not have a mobile phone to test it out just now. Bernie has one, but is away from the house this morning.

 They are also just right for pens! I hadn't thought of that.

 But they not quite tall enough for remote controls. I wonder why these are not made in smaller sizes nowadays. Probably because we are always losing them, and having them smaller would make them even more elusive and hard to find under cushions etc.!!

 Funnily enough, I had no sooner finished congratulating myself on having "used up" some of this Sanderson fabric than my friend Annette, who is cleaning out prior to moving, brought round heaps more for me!

 Now these little numbers were quick and easy to make. I have made 13, but I will have to "test the market" before I make any more. 

 Meanwhile I have finished 2 more of the other bags. I am really enjoying doing these!

Peggy in New Zealand is going to send me some CD's with heaps more copyright free images for printing on fabric. Boy, am I going to have fun!



THE BAGLADY IS AT IT AGAIN

I never get tired of making little bags. I seem to be well-known for them!!

I have been having such fun lately playing with bright silks, hand-dyed laces,  little Victorian prints, beads, buttons and braids! For the backs I have used some hand-dyed velvet. I have had these boxes of crushed velvet scraps, in pale green and pink, for about 20 years. It had taken this long for them to inspire me ! Just a little bit of blue dye, and pink becomes mauve, and green becomes teal! A little yellow dye transforms pale green into a wonderful lime, and pink into a lovely terra cotta! And I cannot believe I have actually been enjoying a flirt with orange, not usually my favourite hue!! 

 My intention was to produce some little bags that could be hung decoratively, and serve as holders for things like specs, mobile phones etc. They have turned out too big for that, and modern mobiles are so small, they would get lost at the bottom of the bags!

 Nevertheless, they could perhaps hold other treasures like special hankies, passports, combs, jewellery.

 Or maybe they could even be taken out in the evening!

 Why do I keep making bags? Is it because I like things to be functional as well as decorative? Perhaps it is because a bag seems more substantial and hangs better than a little wall hanging.

I feel I have continued breaking new ground with these bags. I have definitely explored colour combinations that I would once have lacked the courage to to use. And I have been able to use other items like braids, ribbons and motifs that have been waiting for ages to make an appearance on my creations!

And currently I am working on another batch of bags that are small enough to hold specs or mobiles!

BAGS AND MORE BAGS

One of the more satisfying projects I have undertaken recently are these little bags. I call this pair my "angel bags". I made them during a time when I needed a burst of colour, and was feeling a little bolder about it all than usual - may that feeling last!!!

 I had also been re-discovering some of my lace supplies - and adding to them - so they were brought into the picture too. I have been dyeing a lot of my laces and ribbons lately, and the results can be quite inspiring. I cannot locate picures for the laces just now - will show you at a later posting.

Meanwhile, I finally tackled a half-complete project that has been lying around for some months.

I think it was early October that I started these little zippered purses. I was initially inspired by some sample pieces of linen upholstery fabric that I was given by Natalie - mainly stripes and checks in classic muted colours. They just cried out to be combined with some lace and ribbons and buttons etc. So I overcame my fear of zippers to produce a set of little purses. I used some silk prints that were in my stash, many of them had come from dear Peggy of Kaliko Kottage. 

Now part of the way through producing these purses, I got sick - nothing serious but I felt awful. And even when I was better, I somehow could not face these purses without remembering that sick feeling! It was only in recent days that I finally felt I could work with them again and put the finishing touches to them.

 I am really pleased with the results - but I will have to tell you that most of them are actually rejects!
For instance, the top one was sewn with the zipper at the bottom! I have decided to keep that for myself and keep my passport in it.

 Others still have a little hole in the back where the sample pieces of fabric had been attached to the binder. I really thought I had cut around those holes. They are not really noticeable, but I do like my creations to be properly finished - so those will probably be given to friends with an apology and explanation.

 They were not the ony mistakes. One of them was sewn with the zipper upside down, so the toggle was inside the purse. But that was corrected with some unpicking.

 I have loads of little bits of rose prints which seem to go really well with the stripes and checks.

I have a big bag of broderie anglaise lace pieces. They went right out of vogue for a while, and I was tempted to ditch them or give them away. But I am glad I didn't. I am learning that if you hang onto something long enough, it will eventually come into its own again. Too often I have needed something about two weeks after I have got rid of it!

Not sure if I want to tackle zippers again for a while - altho' I do have quite a stash of them. Perhaps I should get some hints about using them from some good seamstresses (which I am not!)

Now I am itching to get back to my bright silks and dyed laces.

CLARA'S TREASURES

A couple of postings ago I wrote about great-uncle Gilly and his wife Clara. I never met Clara. She died just a short time after I arrived on Norfolk Island. But funnily enough, I have great affection for my husband's forbears, because, after all, they have all played a part in shaping his own life and the person he is today. I feel I have a particularly strong link and bond with some of the women in his family, particularly those who did needlework.

Now, I am not sure if Clara was a person of any particular skills in that area. However, when I married Bernie, he gave me this length of crochet work that had been worked by Clara. It was among hers and Gilly's things when the old couple died. Clara died 45 years ago, and the piece was probably made many years before that. I have never known what to do with it. I think you will agree that in some ways it resembles a length of bandage - and the roll measured at least 4 metres. I have often wondered what Clara intended it to be. I suspect that she was taught the crochet pattern by her sisters-in-law (who were fine needlewomen), and she just kept on repeating it to give her hands something to do!

Over the years I have brought it out from time to time, and considered possibilities for it. At one time I thought of setting it between panels of fabric to make a tablecloth or a quilt, but there really wasn't enough of it to make a feature of it that way. Another time I thought I could use it as a decorative shelf edging, but it really is a bit plain for that.

Then a couple of weeks ago, I was browsing through some textile blogs, and something really set my train of creative thought zooming. I would cut it into shorter lengths to make some pretty little bags. And I would call them "Clara's treasures" because "Treasure" was Gilly's affectionate nicknmae for her.

This is the first one I made. It still needs a handle. The crocheted medallion was made by Clara's sister-in-law Charlotte. The faux pearls are fairly old, as are the buttons.

Then I started to get bolder, and decided to bring out the dye. The old cotton crochet thread takes up the dye just brilliantly. You can see I have threaded ribbons through some of the open lattice. This one still needs lining as well as a hamdle!

This will be the next one. A little amulet purse. Not necesarily by choice. You see, when I was setting the "seamist" colour dye in the microwave, I left the piece to zap just a few seconds too long, and a couple of patches on the side scorched a little, and needed to be cut off!

I think both Clara and Gilly would be pleased. Maybe "Treasure" herself wondered what on earth she could make out of this length of crochet work!!

Below is another reminder we have of Clara and Gilly. It is a beautiful old chaise longue that Bernie actually bought from Gilly a year or two before he died. It badly needs recovering in a more attractive colour, but "old gold" was really "in" when we had it reupholstered a few years back.

I hope to do about half a dozen little bags, using a variety of embellishments.