in the works

I've been working on a few things lately.  Letting my quilt sit for a bit and letting other ideas percolate, too.

I recently finished and finally got around to photographing a new purse for my Etsy shop (during a brief afternoon of sunshine).  I mentioned working with the pink corduroy a couple weeks ago. 

 

 I'm really happy with how it turned out and I love the buttons.

Yesterday I finally started work on a purse that has been in the imagining stage for quite some time.  It's red corduroy lined with fabric I reclaimed from vintage cloth napkins.  I sketched out an idea in October, but had been thinking about it for at least a year.

(Although my plan is to use my sketchbook for lots of different drawing, it seems that I mostly use it to record my project ideas and work through how to make things I want to make.  One of my goals for this year is to change that, but so far it hasn't happened).  Working from my sketch, my next step was to draw out a paper pattern, just to test out things like size and shape.  Then comes the cutting and sewing.  Here's where I am now with it:

 

The flap still needs to be attached and the lining sewn in (it's in there, just not attached) and I haven't cut or sewn the strap yet, but I think it's working out pretty well so far.  I'm not sure what sort of closure I want to use for this purse.  So, I'll let it sit for a bit until I figure it out.  That's how I like to work, having lots of projects going, lots of things in the works.  

I've been getting more and more excited about a crochet project that I've only hinted at so far.  I think I'll share just a sneak peek:

Daffodils!  It took me a while to crochet all of these.  They're made from a pattern I designed.  I had crocheted some daffodils with patterns I'd found in books, but I wasn't entirely happy with them.  I wanted something that looked a little more realistic.  I love how these look!  I had fun making variations in the sizes and colors.  The finished project will be fairly involved, but now you have a small idea of what this super secret project entails.  

In much of this country it's STORMY or soon to be STORMY.  I was kind of sad about the fact that the huge accumulations of snow were going to pass us by, but after spending some of the morning shoveling and some of the afternoon fighting with the snow blower (it won't stay on and I kept getting madder and madder and more and more frustrated), I maybe think that it's a good thing we aren't expecting a couple feet of snow tonight.  I do still love our snowy landscape, even if I am a bit frustrated right now.

If you're someplace that is getting lots of snow (or ice or rain), I hope you're staying safe (and warm) and enjoying simple beauties.