Any Reason to Make a Purse

So I needed something to carry my latest WIP around in. My older purse was fine for the smaller projects. It had a side pocket that could hold my latest project while carrying the rest of the junk I tend to lug around. Unfortunately the skirt takes a lot more space. Fortunately I like making purses and any excuse to make a new one is fine by me! I also stumbled across this new fabric I like on sale at Joann's for $1 a yard so it was really easy to justify making myself a new purse that could hold my latest project.

While the overall shape and interior is exactly what I wanted, it came out much bigger than planned. Because of this its a little more floppier than I wanted. I really needed to have put something more than interfacing in at the bottom and in some other areas to stiffen it up.
Also in hindsight I really should have put some sort of closure on the outside side pocket. Thankfully that won't be too hard to fix and I just need to find the time to sit down and add a button or two.
Overall though I am pretty happy with this bag and I have plans to try and make a smaller version with a some more stiffness added to it.
One of the things I really wanted to try for the first time was a center zipper pocket. I was actually surprised at how easy it came together though I was lulled by the easyness and manage to make a few mistakes in the order of sewing that I know not to do next time. What I love about this center pocket is it is large enough to hold my current project even as it grows.

On the side of the zipper pocket I attached a little itty bitty pocket with a ribbon in which I can tie needed accessories like stitch markers that I can then slip into to the pocket. Though to be honest so far it has mainly held my car keys.


On the inside on the back I have a
simple pocket thats closed with a button that I figure is just large enough to hold the instructions for the current project. This back area between the center zipper pocket and this one is also where the excess yarn has been kept.

In the front half I placed various pockets (5 in total) The large center one has a flap held in place by a button and usually holds the beads and other accessories for this current project. The other larger pockets have held various purse like objects such as my sunglasses, cell phone and pens. The bottom pockets also have ribbons on the side to help hold the objects like small scissors or whatever small items I'd like to keep handy.

WIP Wednesday

I saw this on someone's blog a long time ago and thought it was a great idea.

I have many WIPs but most of them have been set aside until I get my skirt finished

Here's my current progress on the Flickering Flames skirt

I'm almost done with the second tier and then I just have 3 repeats for the last tier but I know that tier is going to take the longest. Its 640 stitches! Unfortunately I'm a slow knitter so who knows when I will get this done. I was hoping for the end of this month but....



Here's a close up of the beads. I wish I had a better lens or at least a light box so I would be able to get better detail. I tried making my own light box but was not very successful.

My other WIPs include a monkey sock

I have one done and the second one started but then I got distracted by the skirt.

A cat bed - Kitty Pi

Almost done actually. I just need to make it a little bit bigger since my kitty is larger than average

A blanket, some dishcloths, Thuja sock (I really just need to seam the toe on the last one), and a swiffer pad.

You know listing them out like this doesn't make them look so bad. Makes me almost feel like I can get the done.

Where has the time gone?

Wow I just realized that its been over a month since my last post. I kept meaning to post but stuff keeps coming up. I've made myself a promise of no more new projects. I have so many WIPs that I really need to start knocking them off! I have at least 8-9 knitting WIPs, 4-5 sewing WIPs, a couple bath and beauty recipes that I've been gathering the materials for but still haven't made yet, some home improvement projects that I keep getting distracted from so they're sitting there halfway done and I'm still trying to teach myself how to spin on a drop spindle. I have a long list building up of projects I want to start but I really need to finish off what I've started first.
I've also put myself on a no buy until they're done as well. Hopefully if nothing else that will motivate me that will as its so hard to pass by lovely yarns and fabrics.

The good news is its helped me stay motivated to finish my Flickering Flames skirt. I'm about halfway through and about to start the last tier. As soon as I can get the time I'll take pics and share them. I'm really excited about this skirt and I'm loving the way its turning out. I don't know why I was so afraid of lace before. I've already been eying some other lace patterns and plotting my next one once this one is done.