Picspam from my productive day

[girlyswot]

I got lots of real work done yesterday so I took today off, in honour of the new sewing machine.

First up: I finally got round to lining and finishing my felted bag. I LOVE this bag SO MUCH!!!





These I actually made a couple of nights ago as a test run. My old flatmate brought me this silk back from a recent trip to Thailand. I'd been needing some coasters so, voila!

Now, behind the cut are some minor spoilers for Pay It Forward. I'm not telling what these are nor who they're for but if you still don't want to look, that's okay too.

Comments

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

Lots of lovely things. The bag has come out really beautifully. I remember when you got the kit, or was it just the necessary materials? I'm going to make myself a felted bag from the latest Inspirations magazine. I'm still abit uncertain about how to do the felting so you might get an email when I'm ready. It will be a bit before I get it done as I've still got the Hufflepuff knitting and my gifts to do. (I'm doing well on CHK's - it'll be ready for her visit to Sydney!)

The spoilers look interesting too. I don't think either of them are for me, unless you've really been working hard as you said you'd just decided what you were going to make me this week.

I love crafty things!

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm really pleased with the bag. My landlady keeps threatening to steal it from me. Felting is easy if you have the right kind of washing machine - ideally a toploader that you can keep returning to the agitate cycle. But it will work in other machines too.

And no comment on the spoilers!

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

I've got a front loader so that won't be so easy. I think the top temperature is 60C, which seems pretty hot to me. Bother! My friend with a top loader has just replaced it with a front one (they're more water efficient, which is a really big deal with Australia's current, record-breaking drought.) I could maybe go to a laundrette and use one of theirs! As I said, it's a long time away as I've got to knit it first.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

You could, or there are ways to felt it by hand too, which if it's not a huge bag, might be less hassle.

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

It's not too big (just hand bag sized) and it has small bits on the front to make flowers. I've seen hand felting tools and I think that would work. When the magazine update their website to show the latest issue, I'll send you the link so you can see what it looks like. I know the magazine is available in the US, so if you see it, it's on the front cover.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

Hand felting tools? Not needle-felting tools? Because they only work on felting from fleece, not spun yarn, as far as I know. The method I was thinking of is rather more prosaic, involving a bucket and a (clean) plunger!

[tdu000.livejournal.com]

Oh, even easier. That would be great! I told you i knew nothing about felting. It's good to know people who know what they're doing.

[amamama.livejournal.com]

Wow - that bag is just fab. Gorgeous! And right now I want to just hire some builders to come finish the house for me, so that I can be crafty instead. *sigh* It's all to serious these days, no play in the creating. :( Sorry to let my bad mood seep over like this, but my battery's been so flat lately - it's quite frustrating. I think I'll drink in the pic of your bag a bit, and keep a firm grip on being inspired (and forgetting the rest). It really is beautiful. And I so look forward to see what those sneak previews end up looking like. The coaster fabric is fantastic, too, they look really nice.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And you have the crafting to look forward to when the house is done.

[girlspell.livejournal.com]

Oh what a wonderful bag! I didn't know about all the craft you do.

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I am a complete dabbler - so I do a lot of different crafts, none of them really well.

[ladywhizbee.livejournal.com]

All right, you have *no* idea how tempting this whole thread has been. I first saw the photo of the bag and let out a huge *SQUEE* and wanted to instantly comment on how cute it was and then...well, then I saw the warning...!!!

GAH! It was horrible, horrible, horrible. It was like knowing where mommy puts all the Christmas gifts but wanting to be a good girl and not look--but still *knowing* where they are--and really maybe a *small* little peak wouldn't hurt. Not really. Certainly it wouldn't *ruin* Christmas to take a small peak. Right?

Thankfully, this was true--because while apparently I have *no* self-control, I also have no idea who's gifts those are, more importantly I have no idea *what* they are. And that's excellent. *GRIN*

You would make a perfect mommy.

And BTW--your new felt bag is divine. Enjoy it. And continue enjoying your new sewing machine, too...

[girlyswot.livejournal.com]

LOL!! Excellent. I'm glad the minor spoilers were as minor as I planned they would be.