Agate

A few summers ago, Matt's advisor, Megan wanted to search for Lake Superior Agates on some of the beaches around the area. I had never heard of an agate, but became intruigued. She told me what to look for and as I sat down to begin my hunt...my eyes laid upon a beautiful stone which fit the description! Ever since, I've only been able to find one more agate (or maybe some others that may or may not be agates).

For some pictures & information on agates, check out Lake Superior Agate.

Now that this may be my last summer in Houghton, I decided to take my agate to Keweenaw Gem & Gift. The owner, Ken, polished my agate, cut it into an oval and set it in a ring for me. Now, my plain little agate rock is a beautiful shiny ring!! 

I should have taken "before" pictures, but it looked pretty much like an ordinary rock that you'd find on a rock beach.

And now.....it looks like this!

Mom's Bag

I made another one!! This one is for Mother's Day. (I know, better late than never) And I'm getting faster, too. This one took about 6 hours and I had to redo a few things on it. I'm hoping to get down to 5 regularly for these bags. We'll see. Here are some pictures of Mom's:

Knitting Bag

I made a prototype of the knitting bags that I will be selling at my yarn shop!! It's made from leftovers from my Amy Butler Purse. It's overwhelmingly girly & pink..and I LOVE it!!!

It is Butterick pattern B5006. I made Tote D, but will eventually make all of the accessories for it as well. Here is the finished tote:

I inserted magnets instead of Velcro. Velcro would probably get stuck to yarn and other valuable knitting supplies, so hopefully the magnets will work better. I used a small circular magnet and made a little pouch to sew to the main bag & flap.

 The pattern also called for cardboard in the bottom of the bag. I used this mesh stuff instead. I don't like the thought of using cardboard, just in case the bag gets wet.

Ta da!! I have a matching set!!!

Now the questions is.....how much to sell the knitting bag for??? Actually, first I need to make my mom's knitting bag for a belated Mother's Day present...and then I can start making several bags to sell in the store. 

Amy Butler's Blossom Bag

I continue to impress myself... I finished Amy Butler's Blossom Bag and it turned out beautifully. There were so many pieces to cut, but aside from that, it went together well. The pattern was very clear and precise with pictures to help along the way. Also, the bag is big enough to fit my book in it. I love the separate sections & pockets to keep things organized.

And a close-up of the handles, which are very professional:

I followed another blogger's advice (thanks, ascrapoflife) and added a small tuck on the front because my bag gaped a little bit.

And a close up of the bar tack (I had to sew this by hand..way too thick for my sewing machine) This was the hardest part and I broke 3 needles:

Voila....

My awesome bag!

New Blog!

Well, I succumbed to the pressure...I made a Blog. We'll see how it goes and where it takes us. Yay!