A fancy bag

I made this bag from some old rather matted merino dyed in shades of pink/lavender/blue. The decoration was bits of an old indian silk scarf, some dyed scrim, and a few curly locks. I laid the decoration on the resist first, and built up the bag inside out, in the manner of the wonderful Heather Woollove. Here is a detail:

 I will definitely use this method again! Partly because you forget about the design once it's hidden, and it is so exciting to rediscover it when you finally cut out the resist. 

Here is the  back, which I possibly prefer - (note to self - less is more!)

Inside the bag I incorporated two pockets using more silk and wool, These were added on the outside as I was making it. 

In some ways this is not really my style - too fussy, but I enjoyed making it and learned something. One for my present drawer! 

The Egg-Bag (part 1)

I haven't done any felting for ages! And it was hard to decide what to make to break the felting fast. How about an egg?
I have been wanting to try a one piece handbag with an integrated handle, so here goes.

I used 3 layers of merino wool around an egg shaped resist with a slightly flattened bottom.
To make the felt very strong, I incorporated a layer of cotton scrim between the top 2 layers of wool. I'm not sure if this has made very much difference, but I had some purple dyed scrim.
I carefully felted and fulled the piece using a bamboo blind and cool water with savon de marseille.  In this picture it is lying on the resist, so you can see how much it has shrunk.
I also added small pieces of silk in a random way as surface decoration, but they have all but disappeared into the felt.

It is still damp, and I have cut a curved line to remove the resist and form the handle and flap.

And the same on the other side.

Here it is stuffed with plastic bags and drying. I am feeling very pleased with the shape. 

I am planning to put some thick cord into the handle, and stitch the edges together, so that it holds its shape even with some weight in the bag. 

How should I decorate it to finish it off? - any ideas welcome! 

A Holiday Bag

I am off on holiday  - to Sri Lanka. I love holidays but hate packing, and will use all sorts of avoidance tactics, like suddenly deciding that I need a little evening bag. So I rapidly put this together, using a resist, out of merino wool decorated with wisps of silk.
I experimented with the tumble dryer method of felting, using no rolling at all. It's brilliantly explained here. It worked really well! Much exhaustion and mess avoided. I will definitely do that again.
I added  a chain strap from an old bag, and a flower I had made earlier.
A great thing about felt is that it doesn't add many grams to the baggage allowance.
Now,back to the packing.....

Quilted bag

 

A friend of mine is moving back to the UK. She has been a faithful supporter and event-organiser for Retrak for many years so we want to give her a "kit" to start her supporters group back in the UK. A kit needs a bag, so I made this from some vibrant batik fabric I bought in Mbale, Uganda.

After machine quilting the fabric, I made it into a tote bag using this tutorial. The quilting means it has 3 layers of fabric plus the batting, so it's solid but soft. 

I added a heart shaped pocket inside.