The Making of a Purse

A guild challenge has been issued for the May Conference of Northern California Handweavers.  We are challenged to make purses with a unifying theme.  When this came up last September, I thought - I'm in!  I've wanted to make a purses from my board stiff scarves that I wove before I understand how to get a good sett.  Today is the 5th month anniversary of my surgery and all of that healing and recovery kinda took precedence.  Now the deadline to submit photos of the finished purses is here.

Friday I set to work.  I can do this, even I don't know how.  Seriously - how hard can this be?!!

Isn't this fun?  My bag is going to be great.  I finished sewing it up and couldn't wait to turn right sides out,  Only there was no way I could and I didn't know how to fix it.  It's like sewing origami, only I don't have the instructions.  Plus the straps were attached weird and the bag wouldn't hang.

And then it was only big enough for a pair of sunglasses.  I want a bag for cash and my phone to wear when I'm working a craft fair.  I cut the straps off, cut another section of the scarf to make a sideways rectangular bag.  I couldn't decide how to close it so installed a zipper.  It looked like a cloth money bag at a bank.  I ditched both in the trash and started cutting on another scarf.

After three hours of thrashing around, I cobbled this together and stopped for the day.  It's the photo I'm required to submit but the straps and pin are just laying there.  I couldn't think how to attach them and was just too tired to think about it.  It's all from rayon including the Kumihimo braid strap.  Our guild theme is winter and all our bags have the deciduous tree pin attached. 

I ended up dreaming about it and I decided, in self defense, I had to finish it yesterday.  The lining is muslin but I had no idea how to machine sew them together so ended up hand stitching it to the bag in teeny tiny little stitches.  I dreamed how to do the straps and it actually worked.  It's a good size and it hangs well.  I'm actually pleased but I won't be making another purse until I get some instruction.

Maddie surprised me by jumping on top of my loom.  She tried it once before but jumped right back down because it's not quite solid.  It's just the top of the harnesses covered by a quilt, there to protect the loom from the sun when I'm not working on it.  At first I thought she was after the warp chains I have heaped up out of her way.

Her interest was actually the tree that I'm trying to keep up and out of her destructive path until I can plant it this spring.  It's a hospital gift and it should do well here in our yard, if I can keep it alive for a couple more months.