Handbags: Pink Funhouse and Thorny Rose

My first knitted/crocheted/felted bags.

I am so pleased for them as I'd never felted in the washing machine before, but I am very happy with how they both turned out.

Pink Funhouse Bag

Sorry guys, I just really like Pink - the band - especially the new album, which of course is called Funhouse. :-)

The bag has been knitted with 100% wool in a pale pink and trimmed with a variegated 100% wool yarn at the top. The rose is a mix of the two yarns. It closes with a little button on the inside and is unlined.


It's a fairly small bag, but perfect for a night out. :-) If you need exact measurements, just drop me a line. It will go into my Etsy shop by the end of the week and will cost around £25.


Thorny Rose Bag

Don't worry, there aren't any real thorns, just knitted ones. :-)


The bag was knitted from 100% wool in a French navy blue and a lovely bright right.


Above you can see one of the roses in detail. On the top right is the closure that slips over the centre rose to securely hold the bag closed. On the bottom left you can see that the strap of the bag is lined with a organza ribbon. The bottom right picture shows the little pocket inside.

The bag can be held by the strap or you can put the strap over your shoulder. It's not a huge bag, but you can fit quite a lot inside.

Like the other bag it will go into my Etsy shop by the end of the week. The cost will be around £40 + P&P.

Cold and Cold

When will this infernal weather stop? I am soooo tired of the cold, the rain, the snow, the sleet and the grey skies.

Been draped over the sofa or snuggled up to the radiator by the PC for the past few days with a cold. So no pictures of all the finished projects yet, especially as it's raining today, so not enough natural light to take some pictures.

However, I have finished:

• my Green Blossom scarf
• my Black and Teal Flapper hat.

My beautiful Thorny Rose bag is still a little damp and needs a little TLC after the rough felting in the machine, however, it's looking good and I can't wait to show everyone.

I've also started a pair of dark red lace fingerless gloves. Maybe not a brilliant idea with a stuffy head and a cold as the pattern is quite fiddly, especially the increases for the thumb. However, the first one just needs the side seam sewing up and hiding all the lose threads. And, if I feel a bit better later I might start the second one.

Hopefully, I'll have some pictures in the next couple of days.....

Hair Slides

Sorry guys, these are all presents, however, I will make more to go in my shop or you can pre-order yours now.


Dramatic Midnight Hair Barrette

This one is for Alison. She asked me for a hair barrette in midnight colours.

I've used silk rods in black and purples, a vintage blackberry bead, and some Magatamas in purple. Underneath the 'silk rose' is a flower crocheted from cotton and black lurex thread for added sparkle.

Underneath that is a needle felted black and purple leaf and 2 wonderfully soft pewter coloured marabou feathers.

It's quite a large barrette which will allow you to put long hair into a pony tail or chignon. Perfect for a ball. No slippers required. :-)


Purple Flower Slides

These are needle felted in purple and black 100% merino wool and adorned with a very pretty vintage lucite black flower and some purple shimmery Magatama beads. The hair clips are perfect even for very fine hair and they look pretty AND keep your hair looking tidy or out of the way.





Red Flower Slides

These are needle felted in two shade of red 100% merino wool and adorned with a very pretty vintage lucite black flower and some purple shimmery Magatama beads. The hair clips are perfect even for very fine hair and they look pretty AND keep your hair looking tidy or out of the way.


The dramatic Midnight barrette will be available in various colours and two sizes, and cost around £16. The needle felted slides also will be available in various colours and cost £9 per pair (prices do not include P&P).

I have also just bought some different slides - smaller and suitable for little girls and others in a figure of eight shape and black and dark brown. Watch this space.

Hats - Red Cloche and Brown Beanie

Finally, here are the latest hats. :-)


Red Cloche

This is a deep dark red merino wool cloche hat - all my own design. The wool is a very soft 100% merino Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran yarn. It's warm and cosy and will keep your head warm all through the winter (even if we should have snow!). It can be hand washed, however, remove the ribbon first.


The top is crocheted in a spiral.


The brim is split and longer on one side than the other. It can be worn with the split at the front, either side or at the back. All versions look different and make this a very versatile hat.


I made loops to thread the organza ribbon through. It allows the hat (a medium size) to be adjusted.


Here's another view of the hat from a different angle.



Here's the felted flower in detail. It was needle felted in 2 different reds and black and it's a brooch so can be taken off. The hat looks just as good with just the ribbon.


Beanie Hat

This is my new style beanie hat. I saw lots of beanies with wider ribs and really liked the pattern BUT I didn't like the edge as they seem to get very raggedy with the wider ribs so I added a rolled up brim to the hat, which I think finishes it off nicely.


The beanie has been knit from the same Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran yarn as the red cloche. Below you can see the lovely quality of the wool. The colour is not as light as the picture below, but rather like the picture above. To get the detail I had to use a flash which 'distorts' the colour.




The red cloche will go into my Etsy shop, the other was a private commission. However, I am happy to make more of the beanie (or cloche) hats. I have several other colours available and can always get more. If you have a particular colour in mind, just contact me and I'll see if I can get it.

The cloche hat will be for sale at £25, the beanie for £14 (plus P&P).

Beanie, Wrist Warmers & a Snow White Sneak Preview

I did promise to post some pictures after the last teaser post.

Purple and Black London Beanie

Here's the beanie hat I made for Ben. I found the pattern for it on the net. It's been designed by Mark Thrailkill and if you fancy making one yourself, here's the pattern.



I slightly changed the original pattern to what Ben wanted and also to suit the wool I was using, which was slightly thinner than the one in the pattern. The wool I used was DK Super Stylecraft in black and Emperor. It's widely available and has the advantage that you can just chuck it in the washing machine. Very useful with a beanie hat. :-)


Teal Cable Wrist Warmers

I found this lovely pattern on Etsy in Nunt's Shop.


It was a lot more challenging than I had envisaged for my very first pair of wrist warmers, but I liked the pattern so much... and the pattern instructions were very good, even though I had to teach myself the Magic Loop Method of knitting in the round. I found a great tutorial video on YouTube. I also had to do other things I'd never done before - like make a thumb gusset! I'd done cabling before, but that was a long, long time ago and never anything as complex as the knotted pattern in the middle. However, I am so proud of myself that I managed this and they do look halfway decent and are lovely to wear.


The wool I used is teal bamboo which I adore. It's lovely and soft and great to knit with. Apparently it's also hypoallergenic and has some healing qualities (for most of us, some people find it itchy). The only quibble I have with it is that the threads the yarn is made up of separate quite easily which can make for messy knitting if you're not careful, otherwise I loved the yarn and I think it works really well with the pattern.

Here's the pattern in more detail. :-)



Snow White Necklace Preview

Here's a flower I felted ready for my Snow White necklace. It'll be quite a long necklace with the felted rose as a centre piece.


I've used merino wool, crystal organza and beads. The rose isn't quite finished yet, the edges still need tidying up and I am considering using some fabric stiffener to make the rose more sturdy as it's going to be used on a necklace.



More to come soon....

... I've almost finished my green chenille shawl. It's currently being blocked. I still need to make the Sakura felt flowers to decorate it (which I am about to do). The edging (my own design based on an Edwardian design - more about that later) turned out really pretty and so far it's turned out much better even than I thought it would. :-)

Yarn Addicts Anonymous

Caroline and I have been joking about the amounts of yarn we've bought recently and the number of projects we're working on at the same time. I have no idea how she manages to do all hers!

I am working on a shawl in green chenille at the moment, which will (when it's finished) include some Edwardian fringing (I found a lovely vintage pattern for this) and also some needle felted flowers. This will go in my shop.

I am also still trying to teach myself the magic loop method so I can make myself some wrist warmers in a beautiful teal bamboo with a pattern I bought on Etsy. Once I've got the hang of it I will make them in other colours and yarns too.

My latest finished project is a lovely knitted beanie. No photos yet, but soon, promise. It's really cute in brown with thin stripes in a mid grey, dark grey and dark chocolate brown. There will be others when I get round to it and they'll go in my shop. I just bought some more of the yarn I made the first one with. Ben decided he needs one too. :-)

I am also still working on my needle felted Zombie Fairy Cat, however, I have a design problem which I still need to solve. :(

The other project I am still working on is the Snowhite necklace. Part of it is finished but, again, I hit a design problem, although I think I've solved this. :)

I found several more yarns on the net I just had to have, so there'll be more knitting and crochet projects coming, e.g. more shawls, hats (beanie and cloche), wrist warmers and capelets and possibly necklets. Watch this space.

Now I am off to look at Caroline's blog to take a closer look at her new projects. ;)

Felted Magic Flowers

I am so proud of this set as it is my first attempt at felting. :-)

The rope was wet felted - by sprinkling strands of roving in green and pink and pink silk strands with soapy water and rolling it in a sheet of bubble wrap.






The flowers are similar to those in my silk flower garlands as they've also been made from silk rods. However, I didn't use any cocoons this time but needle felted a green flower shape for the silk petals to sit on. The beads in the centre are carved mother of pearl three-petal flowers and creamy white glass pearls.

The necklace is a lariat design with a loop half hidden by the flower and two of the leaves feeding through the loop. The other leaf hangs separately.


The leaves were made with the needle felting method by laying out strands of roving in green and pink and stabbing it with felting needles to get the fibers to felt together. I added detail with two different greens and the rows of pale green seed beads.



The length of the bracelet is fixed and it slips over the hand and onto the wrist in the same way as a bangle. I have used fabric stiffener to ensure that it stays in shape nicely.


Below you can see the bracelet on my arm. It looks so pretty and delicate and it's lovely to wear because it so soft and light.


The flower on the bracelet and two of the leaves in detail:


A detail shot of the flower itself.
This set will be part of my new wedding collection. I think it would work really well with a traditional white, or pink wedding gown or even a deep dark red, a brown or a green one. Apparently, white is not necessarily the colour of choice for a wedding anymore. The set is organic and very, very delicate and pretty, although it's not fragile as I've made sure that everything is sewn on properly and that it is sturdy enough to withstand the trials of a wedding day.

It would also look great with a prom or ball gown or at that special dinner.