embellished green velvet

This will be the outside of an evening / party purse that I've got in progress - almost sewed it together without taking this photo. I thought it might be nice to have a picture of what it looks like when it's flat and you can see all the emellishment at the same time, because once I sew it into a bag only one side will be visible at a time. I did roughly pre-fold the velvet to help plan my layout, but it was still one of those gut instinct projects, although I did take notes as I went along so that I will be able to create a pattern to make another.

Wet felted purse in progress

Here's my first wet felted purse in progress. It was created with just wool, soap, water, and a form that I cut from a scrap box in the garage. Unlike working with fabric, when felted in one piece, the lining color felts through to the outside (duh), so my spots dissappeared from the pale blue/ grey lining, and the lining made the outer bag much greyer than it started out - originally, it was mostly black wool, with multi colored wool sprinkled through it. The blue and green were added before felting, so right now it's looking very dull to me, and I'm busy dreaming up a way to brighten it.

CQ purse

This purse has been in progress for over a year. It all started with the flap, which was pieced by Maureen Greeson. She made the CQ backgrounds for a group that I was a member of, but has sadly disolved. (Previously, I had been working in a rainbow of colors on some very large 20" blocks, which still need to be assembled into a quilt.) As I embellished the rectangle, I thought I'd like it to be more than just a small framed piece, and the idea of a purse began. I cut a couple rectangles of cotton fabric for the foundation, and then used a sew and flip method to piece the rest, adding lace and ribbon as I went. The embroidery was fun, but I decided that a purse would have to be more durable, so tended to go with embroidery that would be more durable, especially for the back (although I didn't want it to be plain). Maybe someday I'll a trim around the flap, but couldn't find anything I liked, so for now this is how it will be.

Teriffic Tote - Pastel Tulips

Here is a totally diferent look from the same tote design. The tulips are from pastel dot and check fabrics that coordiinate with the main fabric. The floral trim was couched onto the handle webbing before it was attached to the tote.

Fringed pocket purse (or tote)

It took me a long time to add all the fringe to this purse! There is an identical pocket on the other side to match this one, and all of it was done by hand, with beads that I mixed. It started out as just a test for a pattern I am thinking about, but evolved into it's own design.

Hussif and Needlecase Complete

Well, my hussif and needlecase are finished! The hussif is made up of four sections, and the right and leftmost ends fold in towards the center, then it folds in half, like closing a book. It's been an interesting project, with the hardest part deciding what to include and how I will attach all my tools and how to hold my threads, as well as how to keep it closed. The easiest part was the pockets, although the embellishing was the most fun! The top row is the inside of the hussif (left half, then right half), second row shows the cover back and front, and then the second picture is the inside part of the cover. Last is the needlecase, which fits in a pocket that is under the picture of the little girl sewing. I ended up doing some wirework, using jewelry wire, to make rings and straight thread holders, as well as a hook and eye closure to hold the hussif closed.

Hope you enjoy the pictures,

Lynn M

Pursif Finished

Finally, my pursif is complete! I'm still trying to finish the last little details on my hussif, and then I'll post pictures of that too.

Come visit again,

Lynn M

Hussif and Pursif Progress

Well, I promised pictures, so here they are. The upper picture is of my thimblecase, which is really just a tiny doily that I made from one of my crochet books, that has a twisted thread cord that can be tightened to close it. The lower picture shows both the outside (gold), and inside (cream), with all the machine stitching finished, ready to finish sewing the laces on and then the pockets to the base fabric.

Well back to work,

Lynn M