Gotland Locks - Messenger Bag or Backpack?

Zara from Sweeden is selling some absolutely gorgeous Gotland locks on the forum, if you are quick there may still be some left! Of course I couldn't resist and now they have arrived I'm so glad I didn't, they are soooo shiny and soft!

Now I have Gotland locks from 4 different sheep (2 from Zara and 2 from UK sources) so its high time I did something with them. I decided to make a messenger bag using the same Gotland resist technique I used on a cat cave a couple of weeks ago.

I used a couple of layers of Corriedale and laid out some pockets over a resist before adding 2 layers of Gotland tops, my plastic resists and some vibrantly blue merino on the outside.

I only used the locks on the front flap and used a mix from all 4 fleeces as they varied from black/white to grey and almost jet black and are different lengths.

It's interesting to see the Gotland invade the coarse Corriedale wool too:

Only the pockets remained white where the resists prevented the Gotland from going walkabout.

Where the resists were placed between the Gotland and merino the blue of the merino can still be seen.

The blue colour was brightened by a little bit of shaving.

It was interesting how the Gotland shrank (fulled) more than the merino, causing the merino to pucker slightly:

The locks were a little bit matted after I had finished fulling the bag so I combed them out which made some of them go rather fluffy, I used some leave in hair conditioner to try to tame them. Have you ever tried to hair products on your wool?

Front

Back

Inside

This is quite a large bag, about 40 cm wide by 40 cm high, now I have to decide what handles / strap to put on it. I was toying with the idea of an adjustable shoulder strap made from felt ropes but now I am leaning towards back-pack style straps, simply because it is so large it will weigh a tonne when I have filled it with everything bar the kitchen sink. What do you think?

It's Official!

My City and Guilds certificate arrived yesterday, I heard that I would pass in October but did not want to tempt fate by telling people until the certificate had safely arrived. Silly I know, but I am strangely superstitious like that. It has finally arrived, and to my surprise is actually 2 certificates...

To celebrate I started making myself a nunofelt dress, it's not quite going to plan but I think it is still salvageable with a bit of dressmaking. My biggest learning so far is that the "holes" (i.e. around the neck line and arm holes) in the template should not be increased by 50% along with the rest of the garment.... more on that next time.

Here are couple of other pieces I have been working on this week:

It may not be that easy to see from this photo but I have used resists to create flower patterns peeking through the green, I plan to add some embroidery to the centres of each flower.

This piece has been sat on my table for a few weeks now and I still can't decide where to go with it, should I just leave it as it is? The yellow and pink patterns are rather nice but not as striking all the way round as they are in the photo below. I could add some embroidery but am concerned it might just detract from the dye pattern. Another idea I had was to cut holes about a 1/4 of the way down and add a drawstring to make into a bag rather than a pot. It stands about 30 cm (12") tall. What do think? What would you do?

I also made a couple of coin / key purses to match the 2 bags I made recently, both will have a zipper on the back and the loop at the top allows for a key hoop to be attached.

This is another coin purse, but using the flower resist technique again, the zip will sit across the top where you see the line of orange. I plan to add some embroidery to the centre of the flower on this one too.

Hope you are have a creative week too... :)

Taking the Plunge

After months of procrastinating and several friends encouraging me to take the plunge, I have finally done it and set up a Facebook page. I am still on a steep learning curve trying to figure out how to navigate the different areas, respond to messages and upload photos but bear with me, I WILL get the hang of it!

If you are a FB fan you can find me here (I hope), please let me know if the link does not work.

On a less stressful note (anything IT-related always seems to push by blood pressure up) here is the bag I mentioned in my last post, I love the shape and design but might make another in a more tonal colour combination, perhaps red, with orange yellow, white and black accents...

The base wool is some hand dyed Corriedale with merino for the colour accents. You can't really see it in these photos but there is a zip across the top and lots of pockets inside. The body of the bag is approx 40 cm high and 30 cm wide.

The "North Devon Sunset" ring binder cover is also finished in time for the exhibition on Sunday and I'm really chuffed with how it turned out, I will definitely be making more of these, it was so much fun to make!

Linking up to nina-marie, off the wall Friday

End of an Era

I'm feeling a little bit lost today, this morning I packed up the last of my City and Guilds pieces and mailed them to my tutor for assessment. I have plenty of ideas to try out and new things I want to make but just can't seem to muster the energy to get started this afternoon. Perhaps I should let myself take a an evening off, relax and find renewed enthusiasm tomorrow. Enough with the wallowing already.... here are couple of new pieces and a WIP.

These clutch bags were part of the C&G course, the pink one has a zip across the front flap to reveal an extra pocket:

 The green one was inspired by the sampler in my last post.

This little bowl was crocheted from the Jacob's fleece I dyed and spun a couple of weeks ago.

And this is my WIP, again it was inspired by the sample in my last post and when it is long enough, I will felt it into and infinity scarf. This is the prefelt that I cut up to make the scarf.

Pink Pea Pod Bag

Here is another of the bags I have been working on recently. I'm really pleased with how this one turned out, so much so that I think I will make some more in different colour combinations and sizes.

It was made from a mixture of commercially dyed merino and hand-dying the finished bag.

There are 4 pockets inside.

 And another inside the flap

A close up of the "pea pods"

Linking up to nina-marie, off the wall Friday

Finished Pieces

I finally managed to finish a few more pieces this week, here are the results.

 Added some beads to this brooch

 This starfish brooch is rather large but very striking, I added some orange felt balls for contrast and stitched ridges along the top of each arm.

I think this piece looks a lot like seeds nestling in their husk

This is the first of 3 bags I have been working on over the last few weeks, this has been almost finished for at least 3 weeks but I finally found time this week to put a zip across the main compartment and add a little hand embroidery. I call it the "peekaboo" bag because you can see through it :)

Inside the bag, showing the 2 large internal pockets, there's also a couple of pen pockets but you can't see those as easily in this photo.

Busy Week

It's been another busy week but unfortunately not in a creative way, my day job has been going more than a bit crazy. It's been as much as I can do to make myself eat something before crashing into bed each evening. This weekend I have really thrown myself into textiles to make up for an otherwise rubbish week. It has been a very productive weekend though...

Mr TB was out on a stag night on Saturday so I put the evening to good use, watching trashy TV while applying wax to an apron I rainbow dyed with blues and greens that morning:

This is the batik pattern I have been doodling, it's taking a surprisingly long time, 4 hours so far and I'm only half way finished...

I plan to over-dye this with a deep purple and then spray with plasti-dip spray to waterproof it so I have a felting / dyeing apron (no more soggy felter's middle for me!).

I have finished a couple of C&G "samples" that I started last weekend, the assignment is to explore natural wools with a view to creating a wall hanging but to my mind these pieces are too large (approx 40 x 60 cm / 16 x 24") to be samples and I like them as wall hangings in their own right:

Do you remember this piece of ice-dyed felt from a few weeks ago?

I turned it into a bag, this is the front flap: 

Inside the front flap:

I plan to do a lot of hand embroidery on this piece, mostly blanket stitch around the edges and bit of embellishment on the front flap. If I can get it finished in time I will submit it to the Yarns in the Cathedral exhibition in May.

And finally, some blue tits have been showing a lot of interest in the bird pod I hung a couple of weeks ago. I can't decide if they are nesting in it or just stealing the cat fluff I put in it as welcome present...

Linking up to nina-marie, off the wall Friday

Something for myself 2 of 2

Today I sewed up the handbag I felted yesterday. First pinning and sewing the internal pockets into place. The gap between the two pockets will be the base of the bag.

Pinning the side seams for stitching (right sides together).

Attaching the handle, this was stitched to the side panels and the top of the front panel stitched down over the top of the handle ends, you can see where I have pinned the handle into place on the right.

I added a magnetic clasp and decorative ceramic button.

To give an idea of scale...

I have already "moved in", here is the inside full of my junk... the 3 compartments are going to be really useful.