Lesalicious

 

I got my Swap Swap Gals package from Lesa!  She made these amazing sewn bags with dragonfly and butterfly fabric.  The dragonfly bag is really roomy with an oval shape bottom. 

Book bag-size is actually my favorite size bag for everyday use.  I like the circle handles, too.  They’re big enough I can fit my arm through and carry the bag on my shoulder (a definite plus!)  On a side note, I wonder how she managed to cover the handles with matching fabric without it being loose.

The smaller butterfly bag has this great diamond shape sewn on with gold glitter added as an accent.  The style is great!  This is a really nice evening bag that can double for daytime.  The handles are black on the outside and butterfly-print on the inside. 

Both the butterfly and dragonfly print bags are lined with matching fabric and magnetic closures.  I’m so impressed with all the professional sewing!  Plus, I have not tried magnetic closures yet, so I really appreciate them!

Lesa also included this ruffle top crochet clutch with a gusset bottom.  The jewel-tone yarn feels like suede or chenille to me.  Whatever it is, the yarn is really soft and sturdy.

The clutch has a magnetic closure also.  With Lesa’s magnetic closure tutorial for crochet purses and a real life example, I think I might be brave enough to try it out on my next purse. 

 

Along with the purses, Lesa also sent me this light pink candle.  The scent is really mellow, but sweet.  The candle says strawberries, but I think it smells like strawberries and cream. 

Anyway, it smells wonderful and candles are always useful in this area since we get lots of blackouts with the summer storms.    

Along with the purses and candle, I got a nice card, a set of pens, and matching memo pads.  I love the colored patterns on each of the pens and the flower-shaped memo pads are so cute! 

Finally, Lesa sent me a skein of baby blue, light weight yarn.  I’ve never seen this brand before, but the yarn is really soft and the color is really pretty. 

Thanks again, Lesa for the fantastic purse swap package!  I’m so happy to be your recipient this time around; I hope to get you as my recipient in the future.  Swap Swap Gals is so much fun and I’m so glad that you started the group!

 

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A sheep, a duck and a rooster

My Canon PowerShot A530 took a turn for the worst. While attempting to replace the batteries, I dropped my camera (again) and it broke. I was actually surprised, since this point-and-shoot model is really sturdy and has survived some pretty traumatic falls. This time the height of the plunge wasn’t astronomical, but the retractable lens took the brunt of the impact. Apparently, lenses are really integral to camera functions, so I’m dumb out of luck. A new camera is in the mail but, for now, I’m stuck sifting through my Flickr account for old project photos like this baby hat.

There’s no pattern for the newborn beanie since I just made it up as I went along. I used a partly filled party balloon and Bev’s sizing list to determine the number of increases. The hat is half double crocheted with a size G hook and a row cluster stitches. I used some scraps from my Grandma’s old wool stash so I don’t know the yarn brand. Most likely it’s virgin wool from the Mill End store, though.

This Boy Beanie v2.0 was made for my brother. Shh, I haven’t tucked in all the ends! The hat is a revised edition of the Boy Beanie published in Stitch ‘n Bitch: The Happy Hooker. I wasn’t impressed with how the pattern was written. For one, I was never sure which rows were meant to be made in the back loops only. Plus, there’s an odd ch 2 maneuver that I didn’t like since it made the seam stiff and shorter than the rest of the hat.

I do like the color changes and overall style of the hat, though. There’s not a lot of yarn required and with all the double crochet it takes very little time. And free is a very good price for a pattern.

My brother has requested a ‘less holey’ version that fits his head. He does have a big noggin so I can’t blame the pattern for the size issue. One of these days I’ll get around to making him a custom, single crochet version.

Another pattern pattern designed with guys in mind is The Husband Hat, available for free at Crafty Christina with a folded brim and minimal single color trim.

*That’s cool* a random fact

The first passengers to ride a hot air balloon were a sheep, a duck and a rooster in 1783 as a royal demonstration for the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

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