TA-DA, Jami's Bag is done!

Okay, these are the final photos of the bag for my niece. The leather straps were custom made for the bag. I think they are the "saving grace" on the bag. Tomorrow, it gets sent to Jami. I hope she likes it.
There, one less thing that "has to be done". Yeah, I love it when that list gets smaller.

I'd like to have you go take a peek at another blog I've come to enjoy more and more. Her work is feminine, delicate and lovely. Let me know what you think, okay?
http://bolichoniespi.blogspot.com/
What are your favorite blogs and why?
Shalom,
Suzanne

Flops +

Success and failure and frustration and re-inventing .... the way things are, right now.

I had put a nice, long, hard felt handle on the bag for Jami. I had sanded the bag with an electric sander, then rolled it for about 4 hours and was getting pretty tired. I threw it in the dryer on "air only" to let it flop about a bit while I took a break. When I opened the dryer door, one side of the handle had pulled away for the bag. I had this awful sinking feeling, wanted to cry and hoped secretly that the felt fairies would show up and make it all better. They didn't. I was stuck trying to re-think the bag and salvage it from nearly being thrown away. I finally decided to cut handles, and have now taken the bag to a friend/seamstress who is going to add leather straps to it. This is being done so that Jami has the option to carry by hand or throw over her shoulder. (Can a woman ever have too many options?) These are not my final photos of the bag, just showing my progress, if you want to call it that. This bag is 6 layers thick. I think I'll not do that again. I do love how the silk and wool play together on the surface.

The other item shown here is a wrap cloak that I've been working on. This is my second one and I wanted to add a collar to it. The collar is a stolen piece from a different " failed piece", cut and sewn into place on the cape. It turned out so nicely. I am well pleased with the results on the cape...and so thankful I didn't have to model it.

Looks like a very busy week ahead of me. Dear Jone ( pronounced Yona, long o) will be leaving for Finland on Tuesday,(so going to miss her!) taking care of some family needs, doctor appointments, dental appointments, yada-yada-yada...that kind of week awaits me. I'll pop in here when I have something to share.

If I forget to tell you how much I appreciate you all stopping by, let me do it now. Just knowing that you stop by helps me feel less isolated. Thanks you so much. You are THE BEST!

Shalom,
Suzanne

Trying to Keep it Simple

Ah yes, another bag....and that may be it for a bit on the bag making. Have huge orders to fill for nuno/laminate felts, vessels, felted soaps, bags, and hats. I've been working on the nuno felts for the past few days and will try to get a photo up at the end of the week to show the weeks work. Since there is much to be done, I'll not be posting much this week.

Have joy in your days, peace in your sleep.
Shalom, Suzanne

PS:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/avivaschwarz
This gal has some really lovely things, no blog, but I did want to share her shop.

March! YEAH!

I love winter, get to wear wool, hats, sweaters, things I love to wear. I enjoy the white of snow, the quiet, the coolness of weather, the starkness of the trees, but not so much the shoveling of the quiet, white stuff. March is here, the sun is coming up earlier, the moon is setting full. March is so unpredictable here, and I love that.

My friend Christee grows wool, lincoln-teeswater cross long wool. I have about 3 pounds of it and have been busying dyeing some of it. This was dyed in deep, blood, red. After it was dry, I began to blend it with some merino. I did it at about a 70/30 ratio, with the merino the 30%. I blended two ounces of the blood red with red merino, then another two with brown merino, then another two ounces with pinks. All of these are used in this bag, and the color play has been great fun. The camera doesn't capture the colors. I've enjoyed making this bag.

This is just a sack bag, no pockets, just simple resist. It measures about 12x12 inches. I am hoping to get more wool from Christee, it felts heavenly fast, dyes beautifully. It is a long wool, so it is course, idea for outer wear, wonderful for heavy use, perfect for making more bags. I think I will focus on bags this week.

Happy March!

Felt Bag Flap

I made a bag today and am not ready to share all of it with you, but will share this much, the flap on the bag. I am hoping that it will turn out the way I hope, but I've still got some tweaking to do on it before I share all of it. The camera is not able to capture the "pretty" of this bag. No, take that back, the camera probably can, I just don't know how to make the camera do it. Gotta take a photography class!

I'm not being mysterious about the bag. It's not totally dry yet, nor have I put the handles and the finishing touches on it. Once that is done, I'll show the rest of the bag. Really.
Shalom,
Suzanne

Felts from the Midwest Felting Symposium Gallery

Beautiful bag by Judy McDowell and jazzed hatz by Ewa Kuniczak, of www.feltheadtotoe.co.uk.