Gauge Swatch Purses

In Designing Knitwear, Deborah Newton says that you should always find a way to incorporate your gauge swatch into your design. Her suggestion, was to use it as a pocket or a shoulder pad. (I think we can pretty much date the writing of her book!) At any rate, her suggestion has always stuck in the back of my mind, because what a waste to just toss those old swatches. And ripping and reusing a blocked gauge swatch just won't do!

I started rummaging through my big old bag of swatches filled with years of design ideas, and it was like trip back in time. Since most of the swatches are between 4-6 inches, I thought what about mini pouches? I also found old bits and pieces of felted swatches, perfect for adding accents as well. Luckily, whenever I'm out at vintage shops, I'm always on the lookout for interesting buttons and beads. I was lucky enough to find these 3 buttons at an LYS in my area.

The top orange and variegated pouch is made with Colinette Iona and Mission Falls 1824 superwash wool. The second pouch with the brown button is made in Malabrigo worsted wool, with one pictured here to the right Schaefer Esperanza for the variegated front, and Malabrigo worsted wool for the front flap. The button loop is actually made with a felted piece of Plymouth Homestead. What a treasure I've found in my old swatches. I'm planning getting a little wild with more bits of felting pieces with embroider and beaded accents.

I just made these 3 mini pouches available in my Etsy shop. I'm excited about pumping out a few more today, and hopefully I'll find some time to be "crafty" this weekend!

A Little Diversion

I'll have to double up on some of my posts for my 21 Day Challenge. I'm now up to Day 6, and I've fallen behind. No to worry, I've been taking lots of notes!

Today's been filled with lots of editing work on my next DRG book. This project has definitely taken me out of my comfort zone. The topic of the book is finishing, and I've been blessed to find a top-notch group of designers and teachers to work with on this one. So far so good. Things have been moving along smoothly without a hitch.

But on the flip side, I've been getting really crafty lately, which really created a nice diversion from all of my day to day technical work. Ever since I discovered my passion for felted jewelry, I can't seem to stop myself. The object of my obsession is bobbles, which I've shared in a post or two. Ever since I opened my Etsy store, I've been experimenting with different ways to photograph my new bracelets. I first started photographing them on plain white paper, but let's face it, that's so BORING. Then, I took a little trip to Joann's and found the most exciting array of Scrap booking paper. I just can't get enough cool shots. I think this new passion is turning into "knitting-goes-decoupage."

With the combination of textures and patterns, I'm able to see all of these exciting little "worlds" inside the camera frame!

Girl Gone Wild

I've gone gaga over bobbles. That's right- bobbles. These aren't just any bobbles, they are magically- felted-Dharma-meets fashion creations! I originally thought of making felted beads about two years ago in order to put my spin on the Mala bracelet. It was one of those many ideas that I've kept buried away in a notebook somewhere. The moment that reignited this idea was while driving home from my meditation group, and I thought about how cool it would be to make my own Mala. So.... 5 bracelets later and some very raw hands, here's one of my creations.

I started making little balls out of roving and then felting them, but then soon discovered that knitting them made a much nicer shaped ball, and they felt so much faster than the roving....literally less than a minute! Oh joy, I can knit them instead! Yes, a girl gone wild indeed.