Christmas Greetings

Just 3 days to Christmas! I've finally mananged to finish this customised order from a good friend - 2 notebooks and 5 photoframes. So thankful for her generosity and the opportunity to do some serious crafting amidst spending time with family and friends.

Have a blessed Christmas my dear friends. Catch you in 2013!

Sheon

Another Granny Square!

Hi there,

My buddy Sheon & I are with our families on vacation, but we haven't forgotten to write!

I made another granny square bag -- do you like the colours on this one?



Don't you just love the OVERsized wooden buttons?

This time, the strap is in ONE continuoue piece with the sides and base of the bag.

The strap is made adjustable with these buttons on ONE side of the bag -- so it's quirky and NOT 'symmetrical'.

Double-lined as usual, with slip pocket, magnetic clasp and hand-embroidered logo.

Here's how the lining is attached -- BY HAND; WITH LOVE!

 Have a good weekend and hope you are having a great time with your loved ones.

Serena

Granny Square Bags and Linings

Hi there,

Remember I made a granny square bag some time earlier this year? (Read about it here.)

I'm glad many of you liked it. Granny squares are beautiful and have so much potential in terms of their use...except that they tend to be 'holey'... So if you used it to make a bag, lining is of utmost importance to keep those precious things from falling out.
Added challenge : with fabric/leather bags, a single layer of lining is sufficient and you can hide all those unsightly seams between the lining and the fabric/leather. However, for a granny square, the unsightly seams will peep out of the gaps in the design!

The solution is to make DOUBLE-Layered lining, which of course, is more time-consuming. However, the result is GREAT-- NO unsightly seams can be seen anywhere, and...the lining colour shows through the gaps...giving an even more interesting dimension to the bag!

I made another bag recently and managed to remember to take pictures of the lining process. (crafters will understand what I mean when by 'getting so carried away that you realised you forgot to take pictures!)

First, let's look at the finished product:



Do you notice the cream-coloured lining peeping through the gaps of the granny square? Here's a brief run-through of how it was done:

Make TWO sets of the linings in the 'usual way' and 'sit' one in the other (rights sides facing in). [There are many wonderful ladies out there who have written excellent tutorials on how to make the 'box-shape' lining -- just do a search!]

Sew along the top edge to join them, leaving a gap for turning out.
Turn both linings through the gap. You will get something like this:

After which you stuff one back into the other (wrong sides facing):

Attach any magnetic fastening if needed and the double-layered is now ready to be attached to the bag.

More shots of the bag:

The adjustable bag that is attached by buttons which fit snugly into any of the 'holes' in the crochet strap!

This is my favourite granny square design!
Do you recognise it? YES , it's the same one used for the 1st bag in this post.

Double-layered lining which gives structure; completed with magnetic Clasp and Signature hand-embroidered logo

That's all for today. Grab this bag from the etsy shop!

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Serena 

Christmas Gifting II

Trying to finish up some Christmas orders today, in between spending time with boys in the park, doing some shopping at the mall..., whew another whirlwind of a day!
Here's more customised journals, a set of 'his' and 'hers', for a mummy who wants to record special moments for her son and daughter - nametags will be stuck on later :)
As you can tell, I ran out of crafting time in the day, so had to take the last photo at my desk right after I completed the journal at 10pm... not the best lighting I'm sorry!

Heading off for a family vacation soon, hoping to check out some local markets (and stock up on crafty supplies maybe?) when I'm there...

Enjoy December... catch you soon!

Sheon