Beaded Ladies

Well, I finished knitting the beaded ladies and attached them to a drawstring bag. Since this is not for a competition, I didn't have to cover the bag with beads, the back is plain fabric. The bag is lined with lilac satin, but I didn't put in pockets:

I'm happy with it as an experiment, I think the idea has possibilities. For more about the pattern, look at this previous post. 

More Market Bags

I've given away all the market bags I made, all 11 of them. I need some more gifts, so I bought some more fabric on Wednesday and whipped up two more. I gave them away before I remembered to take a photo of them, but here's a picture of the fabric.

Before I put the pattern away in early December, I scribbled myself instructions on how to make them. It was good to have a check list to follow and not have to remember the tweaks I made in the course of sewing so many.

Not For Competition

While my beading supplies were handy, I thought I'd try out an idea I've been contemplating for some time. I came across this cross stitch pattern on Pinterest and wondered if I could use it for bead knitting:

I can. It's not easy, my check process doesn't work so well with a non-repetitive pattern. At one stage I 'fudged it', but one blue bead spoils the line and glares out at me, so now I make sure I correct every mistake!

I struggled to trace the pattern back to its origin. The picture links back to Instagram which doesn't help much. I came across the name Isabelle Vautier in a comment on a similar pattern, so I looked that up and found a needlework website, but couldn't find this pattern or anything like it. There's a signature on it that looks like Fran:

Thanks Fran, I love the design.

Recycling?

I have a thread catcher next to my chair and try earnestly to put all the thread I snip off into there, be it wool, tatting thread or sewing thread. But inevitably some threads escape and get swept outside. It seems that birds pick them up and incorporate them in their nests! I think it may be Melba Finches, but I wouldn't swear to that. Not all these threads are mine - some of them are from feed sacks that Jack uses and I think I see some dog hair too.

Drawstring Bag

I've finished the beaded drawstring bag. It caused me a lot less angst than the tulip bag! It has the recommended pocket:

And some tatting. I tatted a split ring braid, 3/3 and used it to hide the rather ugly backstitches that form the casing for the ribbon.

Half Way

I didn't get any knitting done on Tuesday, but yesterday I finished the first half of the bag. This is one side of a drawstring bag, 15 cm by 20 cm. I'm using the method I worked out on the previous project - thread one row of beads and check it before threading the next, then knit each row without reference to the chart. So far, so good! The second half will be knitted continuously from this one, since it's a reversible pattern, I can just fold the piece to make the bag.

Another

I don't usually enter more than one article in a section of the competitions run by the women's organisation I belong to, but I'd really like to make a beaded drawstring bag. I think there's still time to get it done before the final deadline. The construction of the bag itself will be much simpler than the clutch bag. I'm using the same chart I used for my practice purse, but I've turned the chart sideways because end on it's too narrow for me to achieve the dimensions needed for the competition.