Knitting machines, owlie bags and Nokia themes.

First, I'd like to apologise to anyone whose comment has been deleted - I've had some fun with spam recently but the new field in the comment section seems to have sorted that out now, so comment away! :)

A few years ago I picked up a bag at a jumble sale. It was a garish green and pink monstrosity that clashed with every item of clothing in the known universe, but I'm pretty sure I've used that bag more than any other I own. Colours notwithstanding, it is the perfect size and shape for me - a messenger bag small enough not to get in the way, but large enough to fit books and my little netbook inside, with cute elasticated pockets at the side which are the perfect size for a phone or a pot of bubble mixture. Folks, I love that bag more than I will ever love a woman, but the damn thing's falling apart. The fabric is disintegrating like so many broken dreams. What's a crafter to do in that situation? Why, make a new one, of course!

So here's my prototype version of The Comfy Bag. I made a rough pattern by tracing around the original (which I can't bear to disassemble) and put it together with pillowcase fabric, then lugged it around Sheffield for a week by way of product testing. It needs some tweaking, and I need to learn how to use a sewing machine properly, but I think I'm well on the way to resurrecting and (dare I say it?) improving my old favourite.

More stuff, my new knitting machine and some web design on the inside... Continue reading Knitting machines, owlie bags and Nokia themes.

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Embroidery, pictures and one unhappy kitty.

Ah, the sweetness of gainful employment. I have returned to my local hospital to work as a ward clerk, envelope stuffer, PA and/or general skivvy. And I love it. There's something lovely about being good at a somewhat mindless job. I think that's one of my themes for this year: allowing myself to be good at things. Challenging myself doesn't necessarily mean doing something more difficult - sometimes it just means doing an easy thing better.

Modeled charmingly by my cat.
Modeled charmingly by my cat.

Other recent news: for a Craftster swap (I'm angel-ing, I wanted to give myself a craft challenge) I've made a little "How to Embroider" kit for my partner. It has demonstrations of stitches on squares of fabric and then an illustration of how to do the stitches. I really enjoyed drawing the pictures - and I consulted a stitch dictionary for a lot of them and so have incidentally learned some new stitches!

I like embroidery, since I feel like it fits with my style of artwork, and it's an easy way to make incredibly geeky t-shirts (sucrose molecule, anyone?). Now I've done this I think I'll be exploring it some more. And I think I'll embroider something to put inside the parcel as well!

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