When I made the knot bag the other day, I had gone out to buy fabric. I bought enough material for two bags – one blue, one purple. The latter was chosen knowing full well someone I know named Judy might like one for her sock knitting. Well, Judy, here you are, as promised in my reply to your comment . . . see you soon!
I really enjoy sewing, but it has gone by the wayside as I have pursued painting and drawing. Determined to get other areas of interest back into my life, I have taken a few days off from the above, decided to limit it to a max of 2 hours / day, and then decided I needed a simple project to get my interest in sewing back.
It worked!
I looked up bags to sew – free patterns, too – and found a lot of them. The Japanese Knot Bag caught my eye, and this video from http://www.hellosewing.com got my immediate attention. First, the instructions for the bag are written here, and then there is a free pdf for the pattern, and finally there is this video! What a treasure trove of information.
My two cents is watch the video, slow it down a bit, and read the web page. I enjoyed the project enough to research more about the knot bag. On YouTube a lone you will find a variety of tutorials and bag styles. The one I made is from the pdf at hellosewing.com; it is small and will make a good bag for small knitting projects, such as socks.
I was too lazy to dig through my stash of fabrics; instead, I went to the local JoAnn and found sale material and bought enough for 2 purses. I made one yesterday, and total time was about 2 hours, beginning to end. I watched the video, slowed down by 50% to catch a few things, such as seam sewing early on and then how to turn the bag right side out. (Hint – through the opening of the longer strap!)
This is the bag, completed. This is a batik fabric and it is lined with a navy bluish solid color. The handles of the bag are really 2 different lengths. See below!
To close the bag, you pull the longer strap through the opening of the shorter strap. This closes up the bag, cinching it a bit, and the long strap then acts as a handle.
Then my machine presser foot handle decided to die – but it is, I think, a simple fix, and we should be back in business. I have another one to make!
I needed a change of pace – a way to relax – after yesterday’s very intense painting of buildings and people. It’s nice to visit familiar territory. But, I was not without goals. Here I worked on subtle gradations and color change in the sky; misty / soft trees in the horizon using moist paper to blur and indicate distance; a couple of buildings with subtle rooftops; snow. On Arches CP 140#, 9×12.
I was wandering through archived photos that I took years ago when a friend loaned me his old digital camera for over a year. Sometimes I think what I have done in the past is better than the present – or is it old age nostalgia?
Well . . . I prefer the land, the tree, the ocean, the field. I prefer not people or buildings.
But, I must put aside my prejudices to progress in painting. Andy Evansen’s watercolor course has challenged me to such. I did people, reviewing proportions and where the elbow ends and the knee. People are 7.5 to 8 heads tall, depending.
Buildings and people – crowds – hmm. I usually avoid them, being the reclusive and exclusive and somewhat misanthropic. Nonetheless, they exist. So do buildings. And value studies! This is like trying to fit my tiny foot into a tinier shoe – painful, painful.
I tried this painting in watercolor by starting out on used paper – the reverse of other studies or failed paintings. Cheapness does not do me any good. I was not getting anywhere except PO’d.
I do not like being PO’d.
A new sheet and voila! Life, while not sweet, definitely improved. And I did a crowd of people, and buildings in a plaza, and only one solitary, lonely tree suffocating in the midst of civilization.
This was probably the most challenging painting I have done so far in any class . . . but I lived! Any good? Who knows.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 