Sunday, July 29, 2012

Here is the bag finished, before felting. It measures 21 inches wide and 17.5 inches long. My stitches are a little loose so I am wondering if it will shrink more than 30%.

I've made the straps so that they will connect with two of my buttons. I am wondering how it's going to turn out.

I made note of my stitches and rows in my Idea Journal so that if I am happy with the results the bag can be made again without depending too much on my memory =/

Yay, I am happy with the results. The bag now measures 13.5 inches wide (14 inches would be 1/3 shrinkage) and 11 inches long (high)(11.66 would be 1/3 shrinkage). It has turned into a nice sturdy fabric. Next I am going to shape it a little with my hands and stuff it with a bath towel and let it dry. I can't wait to get the buttons on it.

After it dries I am thinking of taking some roving and needle felting some embellishment to it, what do you think?

It will also be lined, the lining will be fun to shop for ; ) (I love fabric).

 Thanks for reading! Come back again and enjoy the Summer Olympics in London!


Friday, July 20, 2012

Decorator pillow, Blue Bird, Paris, Stamp Motif, Linen weave Cotton A beautiful treasury by Mary-Ellen O'Neal of the etsy shop - meoneal.etsy.com
Thank you Mary-Ellen for including my little pillow in your treasury!

Happy Friday!

It is my week to have Friday off, so while out running errands I paid a visit to our local yarn shop.

They have moved to an new location. They are now at 202B N Thompson Lane, Murfreesboro. The new shop was a delight to browse! Stop by and pay them a visit.

While shopping the KnaughtyKnitter I found some wonderful Tagua Nut buttons to add to the bag I am making. I will add them after the bag is felted and they will not look so small. That is something to think about when you are going to felt a project; any embellishment you add will be bigger on the finished project.  The bag I am crocheting is getting pretty big. I will make the last teal band a couple rows wider and then shape the handles right to it, after felting they will become quite sturdy. I am getting excited being so close to finishing!!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Oooo, my tired achy feet...

My latest treasury on etsy.
All I want is world peace and a pedicure 8x10 canvas personalization at no extra cost

I have been working on my crocheted bag to felt, however I am not finished with it : /
Now that is not really due to my tired feet, it has more to do with the fact that Saturday I picked up my friend Clare and we went on a little excursion down to Fayetteville TN, to Sir's fabric. Clare has blogged about our trip, you can read it here:
Middle Tennessee Crafter's Blog.

We had a great day (even in the rainy weather). It was nice to take a break from the routine of things and share some laughs.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

An 'Ahhhh' Moment After Work

Nice after work to fix a cup of tea and settle in with some needle work.

Hear I am crocheting with a single ply yarn for felting. This will be a bag, the colors are Teal, Turquoise, Plum and Magenta.

Crochet is quick, the repetitive single stitch is a good way for me to unwind my thinking and sort out my thoughts, I find it relaxing; I become aware that my shoulders are tense, so I drop my shoulders, feel the muscles in my neck stretch and relax....drink my tea....all is good.

I like felting projects. The knitted/crocheted item will draw up (shrink) about 1/3 of it's size; meaning that the finished project will be about one third smaller than it was before felting. Also I find that using a needle about 1 or 2 sizes bigger than the recommended size for the yarn gives a nice evenly felted 'fabric'. For instance the yarn I am using calls for a K 6.5mm crochet hook, I am using an L 8mm hook. Knitting recommended needle size is US9, I like to use a US11.

I will show more pictures of my progress over the weekend. I hope you will feel adventurous and try some felting too...if you haven't already!

Meanwhile here are a couple other felted baskets that I made.

Have a Great Weekend. Thanks for stopping by.
Nancy K

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Ok. I've added a page where you can find links to other places you can visit me on the internet. I plan to add links to my favorite sites and when I post a tutorial or instructional for a project you will find links on that page for the products I use and places I've made my purchases (to help you find what you need). Also-if you have a link that you like and would pertain to the content of my blog send it to me, I will post it with your name and reason for recommending it to us.

Thanks again for visiting, Good Night!

In the biginning

I admire people with creative blogs and I'm amazed at the endless ideas from person to person; we are so individual, so unique in ourselves. Even the same project can be accomplished in so many ways, each result having it's own personality~your personality.

 I love the magazine Artful Blogging, I just wonder at the lovely photography, at the creative descriptions and stories that draw me into the picture or so inspire me to try something I've never done before.

I've always told myself I was going to start blogging and share with others my own experiences, passions and discoveries. So here it is. After meeting and 'visiting' many artistic wonderful artists through Etsy and Facebook I just have to invite you into my little space.

Thank you for visiting here today. I am off now to collect some of my photos and projects to share.....