Bags

I said that I would post some photographs of some of my bags, and lo, I am a woman of my word. And that after going to the hairdresser's, too.

I can't now remember just why I started doing these, or where I got the notion from. They are a double construction, with a thicker wool inner bag, covered by a co-ordinating much finer silk outer bag, with beads. The two layers are joined at the top and finished off together. I think that maybe the idea sprang from collecting beautiful co-ordinating fibres at SOAR markets, from sources like Chasing Rainbows or Royale Hare. Plus my first tentative steps handling beads.

This was the first ever.



I still really like this one, I like the way the silk turned out fine and crisp (my silk spinning is not always as much under my control as I would like). The main fault with it is that the beads are a bit too heavy for the silk and have pulled the yarn out into loops. I suppose I could think of them as raindrops - but the inspiration was actually sea again, sea and seaweed.

This is a detail showing how I start the outer bag with knitted i-cord. Shows the droopy beads somewhat, as well.



The next one shown - although I can't remember if it was the next completed - is rather better, as I used smaller beads.



This next is my first attempt doing my own - plain - dyeing, a madder exhaust, which came out looking a little like the directoire knickers I remember elderly ladies wearing when I was a kid. Having said that, one of them wasn't I suppose all that elderly - she was the head of the grammar school I went to, and as she didn't retire - which would have been at age sixty - until some few years after I left school, at the time she was displaying her pink art silk knickers to us she must have been quite a bit younger than I am now. I should clarify - she would sit at the special raised teachers desk and was not careful about keeping her knees together. Sitting below her in the classroom, we had an unrestricted view. Although she was an odd one indeed, I don;t think it was that sort of odd. Bloody hell, I hadn't thought about that for years, and here it is just pouring out. Must have scarred me for life. Although the age thing is a bit scary, in both directions!



This one again uses small beads - I must remember to always do that, if I make more. I like this one, despite all the blather.

I did an all-wool one fairly recently, which I think I did blog, but can't remember when. If I can find it, I'll add the link.

I am planning moving on to a different style of double layer bag - watch this space. In fact, I have a number of ideas rattling around in there at the moment - a few gears shifted recently. I need to push on and complete a couple of things, and then get busy experimenting.

Less than a week to Woolfest - stuff to sort out for that still. We'll get there, though!