The Only Bag YER Lookin' At......

........For the next coupla days is this one. That I packed for my hotter-than-Mexico-or-Dominican getaway.

Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Doesn't get much hotter than that.

Be back in a few days, hope you are enjoying "spring".

Button Blossoms

Last bag for this not-so-springlike week.

So, to create some of our own enjoyable outdoors, allow me to present: Button Blossoms.

The bag measures 10 x 11 inches.

No school again today. Underneath the mounds of snow is a sheet of sheer ice.

Yesterday, I saved the remnants of my scattering sanity by walking to the gas station for brownie ice cream and a movie for the kids. (ice cream=me. movie=children.) We get numbed by our own vices. Yummy. (and yes, I did share the ice cream. picky, picky.)

$35.00 starts us off today. Next week is "spring break" so I'll likely be outside planting daffodils in the snow dunes, and may need to take a few extra days off to commit myself to a psychiatric institution. One of those fancy ones where the grass is always green and the sun comes out for more than just a tease...

Lettuce In Season

Words from Lettuce: "hand-knitted and felted - knitted with 5 or 6 strands of wool mixing my own colours & using yarn leftovers, charity shop finds etc.
Vintage fabric and button.

My first go at one of these, lots of fun."

Well, I have to say... "GO, Lettuce, GO!"

Can you believe the labour going into this beauty? First you knit the entire bag. Then you throw it into the washer and dryer to felt the wool. Then you send it all the way to Winterville and share it with all of us, plus help to feed people in Darfur!

I do love this bag. And was it ever nice to have somebody come alongside on the project and donate such marvelous pieces. This is the final bag that came to us from Lettuce in London, England.

Well, here in friendly, sunny Manitoba we're having one of those infamous spring blizzards. The kind where your husband/teacher hops back into bed at 6:00 am all bouncy and happy that he gets to stay at home and not go to work. Forgetting that he is now at MY WORK and so will ALL OF HIS CHILDREN BE.

I'm not crazy about changes in routine.

So while he rolls over grinning in his slumber, I shoot out of bed and begin the panic.

Anyhoooooo......
Bids on today's bag begin at $45. Cdn and move up from there. I'll leave the auction open until 7:00 am tomorrow morning. (March 26, 2009)

Tuesday Tote: Monks' Belt Weave

The weaving pattern on this bag is called "Monks Belt". The bag is woven mostly in cottons, and in the weft I've used scraps, left over bits - mainly cottons, silk, chenille - there might be some bits of ribbon in there...........

Another lovely piece of weaving by Lettuce.

A wee tote bag, and a lovely chance for you to enjoy a bit of London workwomanship without spending the wad.
This lovely tote measures 8" x 10".

Isn't it marvelous the way people express their creativity?

Who will start us off today with $15 canadian dollars? We'll keep the bag up for auction until tomorrow morning, Wednesday, March 25 at 7:00 am, cst.

Boler Babe teaches us Shrinky Dink

Shrinky dink.

It was a stumbleupon discovery.

It re-uses number 6 plastic which you'll identify by the triangle symbol on the bottom of strawberry/ croissant type containers.

H. and I have experimented with other numbers, and they do not work. Of course, you can buy the plastic at Michael's and of course they have lots of choices... colors... printer friendly etc....

H. refuses to use it since the eco appeal is lost.

Start by sanding it. Then draw/write on it. Hole punch before baking.

"shrinky dink" goes on parchment paper on cookie sheet and then into oven for baking...at.. I think it said 250 but we went with 325 F. (faster was better) watch until that poor little piece of plastic is done contorting and 'shrinking'

The process of the plastic shrinking in your oven is alarming... but the recovery is fun to watch... ie. curls outside first. As you know; the hole punch is useful as a charm... or button etc.

and oh I could go on..equally free and fun. is.. fusing plastic. ......

(that's my "bags4darfur" wallet; made by BB. That's where I stash all those cheques, and receipts from which bag made it to the post office, etc. Marvelous use of landfill waste.

*

Hey L. see that orange one in the background? The wallet with the pumpkin face on it? I think I inadvertently lifted it from your house, scooping it up with those great fabrics you gave.

I guess that gives me a really good reason to make it to your estate again some time soon.....)

Spring

Last weekend I had the joy of losing myself in a project. And here it is. Seeing as tomorrow is the official start of spring, this seems like a lovely way to celebrate.

And because of people's generosity with their button collections, I no longer feel the need to hoard the ones that make my heart go pitter patter. I simply sew them on with wild abandon and send them out to live a second or third life of wonder.

I love this inside piece- a gift from Kim Z, and one that I've waited for the perfect oppurtunity to use. It's perfect with a piece from mrs Rickert- the sort of crush velveteen green.

The side panel pockets are ones that I find I don't use much myself, so I've taken to making these two pockets just beneath the flap. They work well for cell phones, keys, and the like.

Looks like spring, doesn't it? Especially with some of the last bits of that wonderful green chennille.

The inside was just as much fun to put together. That really nifty square bit of seeming incompatable green pieces came from a curtain that I discovered at the local charity shop. ;)

And I never seem to get enough of those fabulous 1970's flowers. In fact, I just picked up a queen size at the thrify gift on Tuesday. Lots of fun spring pieces still to come...

I really enjoyed planting this tree on a delicate hanky with tatting along the edge. Such a juxtaposition of art forms. The delicate, highly detailed work of the tat embroiding alongside the goofy tree and loud fun-loving buttons.

Just look at those delicious fabrics.

The orange side of the handle is a beach wrap, I believe. A lovely, bright, airy piece of fabric.

That lilac button? A Christmas gift from my wonderfully artistic daughter Jane. She is so very thoughtful.

And that? A gift from my inspired, inspiring friend Lory. She made it using plastic from a strawberry container which apparently works the same as that shrinky dink stuff that you pay a fortune for at Michaels. Isn't that the sweetest thing? I must have been in a very joyful, generous mood on Saturday, putting all that fantastic stuff on one bag!

Yup. I may be crazy. And tortured. But I find incredible pockets of joy.

So do we/are we all, is what I like to imagine.

This bag was sheer joy to create. And I like to look at it and believe in hope and a future. It reminds me of a creative God. Good people. Hope for spring in all the seasons of our lives.

I'm willing to start bids on today's bag at $35, just to make us all even happier. I'll keep it up until tomorrow morning at 7:00 am, cst. remember that if you like the bag, and you're up at midnight or so, don't hesitate to leave a bid. So far, no one actually gets up in the wee hours to bid these babies up....

Happy Spring.

Running a little late this morning.....
(aren't alarm clocks handy? Who knew you had to actually GET OUT OF BED after you turn them off though......)

Be back soon-ish...

Orange Felt

Another beautiful piece by Lettuce. hand-knitted and felted - knitted with 5 or 6 strands of wool mixing my own colours & using yarn leftovers, charity shop finds etc.
Vintage fabric and button.

Personally, I think we should adapt the words "charity shops" here in Canada. Isn't it adorable?

And isn't that child adorable? She's the cuddliest thing that ever showed up on my back porch.

So, I'll reiterate. This is a felted wool bag. Not in the sense that I might attempt- using a wool sweater from a charity shop; felting it in the washer and dryer; then fashioning it into a bag-like shape. What lettuce did was to KNIT a bag; then felt it. Imagine the work in that!

There are two knitted pockets on the interior, and one on the exterior.

Even the straps are knitted in a continuous pattern from the bag body.

The bag fastens with a knitted closure and a vintage, English button.

Very distinguished.

I'm going to leave this bag up for grabs until 7:00 am cst tomorrow morning.

In other news.... I received a marvelous e-mail in my inbox this morning from a fellow soccer mom and blog reader. She has "connections" and was able to get an interpretation for yesterday's bag.

"Tumbili/Tumbiri "is a type of a monkey. "Akikosa" means to err or make a mistake. The word hence maybe a saying or a proverb .i.e When a monkey errs.....or When a monkey makes a mistake....."

I don't know about you... but that conjures up a whole lot of scenarios for me. Especially with the whole daycare career choice and all...