Making stuff

Despite the weather, it was a glorious weekend! Most of my time was spent crafting bits of stuff. I came across a lined zipper pouch tutorial (via Whipup) and just had to try it out. Despite me being zipper-challenged, the pouches were quite easy and quick to make. Just a note...finer nylon zippers are easier to use than the heavier metal ones.

From there, I moved on to bags. I revamped the Knitting Bag, made it taller, added an inside pocket and extra outside pockets, loops to attach things to (like keys & umbrellas), added buttonholes so I can use these sheep buttons, and made the handle longer. In hindsight, I think I should have made the loops with the lining fabric and used a fabric stiffener for the sides as well as the bottom. The material is a cotton floorcloth canvas - really heavy duty stuff - but because the bag is taller than the other bag, the sides are a bit more floppy.

I should note that the original bag came from the Crafter's Companion book. Seventeen internet Craft Bloggers talk about how and why they craft, plus projects to inspire you.

A bit of knitting got done on the weekend...the BPT is still not done yet. Still working on that hood and trying to decide if I want to put in a zipper or buttons. I just realized that I've never put in a zipper in a knitted cardigan before. It will be a first for me! I'm not good at sewing and find zippers, if not done right, will buckle and pucker funny. I'm a haphazard kind of seamstress.

More books...

It takes almost the same amount of time to make four books as it does one. Instead of staring at your book, waiting for the glue to dry, you just move on and glue up the next block. The photo album at the end was the most difficult as each page had to be cut separately and interlined with the glassine. The binding is done in the Japanese stab binding tradition. After all that work, my final holes were croooked. I didn't noticed it until the binding was finished. Lesson learned...it's worth the hassle of setting up the drill press.