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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Double trouble

I’ve been in a crochet funk for the past couple of days.  Instead of actually crocheting, I found myself going around in circles about what pattern to start and which yarn to use.  So I -gasp- took a break from yarn.  It’s been an interesting change of pace, but now I’m back with a fresh mind and a new dishcloth! 

This is the Double Trouble Dishcloth, made with Sugar ‘n Cream in Hot Purple.  With four different rows, the pattern stitch was entertaining enough without being difficult.  I added a couple single crochet rounds to the border to square off the dishcloth.  In hindsight, a simple shell border or even a picot stitch would have been a better option. 

The whole FO is on the large side.  If I crocheted this pattern again I would use a smaller hook size to get a firmer fabric.  The shells feel a little loose, but since no gauge is given I can’t say for sure if the designer intended for the dishcloth to be more compact. 

The Origami Hot Pad is a fast crochet pattern that makes a sturdy and practical hot pad.  This is the type of pattern that makes a great mindless project, since it is made completely of single crochet.  I used Sugar ‘n Cream in Hot Green and Key Lime Pie.

The hot pad is started with a chain of thirty-five and made by crocheting continuously in rounds.  By folding the resulting pouch, the ends meet and you get a double thickness hot pad.  I’ve seen other versions that have a little loop added to hang.  I’d love to make more of these with lots of coordinating stripes. 

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