Yup, that’s right. Another craft. Someone please stop me.
Or, maybe not…
- Sew cute
See, it’s kind of knitting-related!
Here’s what happened: Last weekend, I decided that I absolutly hate that each and every one of my knitting and spinning projects is in a plastic bag. There’s nothing wrong with plastic bags, mind you. But they’re ugly. And I like my pretty fibers and pretty stitches and pretty spindles to be, well, pretty. So, I decided to pull out my dusty sewing machine, clean it up, remember how to thread it and try my hand at something new: project bags!
And I think I had some success.
- I like the pretty!
I used this pattern for these two and dug the fabric out of my old stash because, yes, there is a fabric stash, too, albeit small. This is a pretty simple and straightforward pattern, nothing really intricate or difficult about it. But, my sewing skills are nothing to write home about, so it worked perfectly for me. And, there’s a total instant-gratification element to these; each one took about 45 minutes, from cutting to finished.
And they’re perfect for small projects, like a pair of socks….
- A perfect fit!
…or a small spindle and a couple ounces of fiber.
- Is that silk I see??
This actually deserves a moment of pause. This is 2 ounces handpainted tussah silk from Shadeyside Farm in the “Soleil” colorway and it’s so amazingly pretty.
- Ooooo, shiny….
I’m spinning it on a 1.1 ounce stabilized turquoise-whorl spindle from KnotMyDayJob, which is pretty weighty for its very small size and spins a nice, even single. Plus, it’s just an amazing looking spindle.
- I’ll give you a moment to compose yourself…
I also tried out this little pattern and made this little cotton bag out of a couple of fat quarters.
- Love the dotty stripes
This one required making my first very buttonhole, which was…challenging. I couldn’t figure out how to use the automatic buttonhole foot on my machine (and have no idea what happened to my owner’s manual), so I did a manual buttonhole. It’s not perfect, but it worked out ok for this project, I think.
And look what’s inside!
- It’s Greensleeves! And some fiber!
Have I mentioned I love merino/tencel? Yeah…
I think in the future I’d make this bag a little shorter and the other bags a little taller, but these were great learning experiences. So, there are definitly more hand-sewn bags to come.
There have to be; I have a lot of projects going and must get rid of the plastic!
