Monday, November 7, 2011

Green Felt Bag With Seams- Part 2 of 2

The felted bag with matching leather straps (a gift from my friend, Nicola).

A good view of the exterior pockets. Don't they look like smiles? :)

After sewing machine seaming (back side)...

...and the front of the bag.

The back side again...in close-up.


The bag turned inside-out during the 'amputation of the protruberences'. :)

(notice how the exterior pockets look from the inside of the bag!)

The bag's new post-surgical appearance (back side)...

...and the finished bag front.


After working so hard to finish this ginormous felt bag...

...at the end of the day, I was left feeling rather unhappy and at sea. :(

Luckily, Elis had access to a scary old sewing machine at the Creative Felt Gathering...

...and she worked her magic on it by sewing shaping seams into the finished felt!

Reducing the size and adding some curves didn't solve all of my problems, however...

...since there was still the matter of the weird boingy bits at the bag's bottom!

As these things are wont to do, my small dreads had grown to gargantuan proportions during felting...

...and I had no idea what to do with them!!

After tying them 'up' or 'together', or coiling them didn't solve my problem...

....but merely made what is already a rather ungainly purse even more so...

...I made the harsh decision to amputate!!

At just over 20 inches across at the bottom, now...

...it's a bag which can finally actually be carried (woohoo!!). :)

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27 comments:

vilterietje said...

oh heather i love the bag, the color, the size, the model, the sewing, but i hate the amputation! such a shame that you cut them of.
hope you can use the parts for some other work, because they are worth it:)

Heather Woollove said...

Riet--I know how you feel! It was a 'no-choice' kind of choice and I'm still not exactly happy with it...but at least it can now be actually used!

Kathryn Ray said...

Wow, those protuberances were quite interesting... kind of like Dr. Seuss had something to do with the bag.

... maybe they didn't work this time, but I hope you use that idea again.

Michelle said...

Colours are great, I still need to work out the whole pockets business. They don't come out like that. I am going to take some photo's next time I make one.
Amputations..can be recyled- lol xxx

Heather Woollove said...

Kathryn--That's a good idea. I'll have to think smaller next time and leave them 'as is'!! :)

Heather Woollove said...

Michelle--The exterior pockets are a little tricky to do, since you have to keep flipping them back and forth and covering them with roving each time. (Use bubble wrap to keep them from felting to the rest of the bag!) Once they're all felted and dried, they get pushed into the interior of the bag to work as pockets.

Anonymous said...

I rather liked the spirals! I hope you are going to do something with them!

Marushka C. said...

I hope you won't be bored if I just keep commenting, "BEAUTIFUL! You're a genius!" (all true...)

Unknown said...

What a marvelous bag, Heather! I love it...Love the tonal gradations in colour! And those stitches...mmmmmm.....love tsitching on felt..but often forget to do it!
Great handles too. Did you keep your amputations (grin!)...can they bacome something else?
Congratulation- such a great bag...well worth the efforts!

WonderWhyGal said...

It's simply amazing to see the transformation.

Elizabeth said...

Aha! Now the pockets make sense. The Dr. Seuss reference is wonderful. Love the colors, but shouldn't there be something orange, even if it's hidden inside?
: )

Michelle said...

Ahhh! Thank you x

Heather Woollove said...

Rachel--I do still have the spirals! Any ideas?!?! :)
Mary--You're so cute...thanks! XXO-
Fiona--The 'Elis stitching' IS genius, isn't it? Nicola bought me those handles at Rhinebeck from a company called Homestead Heirlooms, LLC.
I'm soliciting ideas for what should become of the amputated bits...so let me know what you think! :)
Andrea--I know...Elis is a rock star!
Elizabeth--I'm glad it's clearer, now. Hahaha...I
can OCCASIONALLY do without my dear orange! :)
Michelle--You're welcome!

Terriea Kwong said...

It looks absolutely master piece. This bag needs skills I wish to try but have no confidence. A good reference for me.

Heather Woollove said...

Terrie--Thank-you, but I'm certain that you would find a project like this do-able!! Remember that you can always e-mail me if you hit a snag!! :) heather(dot)woollove(at)gmail.com

FeltersJourney said...

You are the Queen of Bags Heather! Another FANTASTIC bag.. I love it. With the (gorgeous)colours and the curvy stitching it has a very natural organic(plant-like) feeling to me.
Shame you had to cut the tendrils off.. I loved the original design with them & they looked so interesting when felted, I can imagine you will tinker round and play with them again :)

So how big does this measure now?
Deborah xx

Heather Woollove said...

Deborah---Hahaha...you silly goose! :)
'Tendrils'...that's SO much nicer than 'boingy bits'!!
The bag is 20 inches wide at the bottom and 12 inches wide at the top and measures 24 inches from the top of the handle to the bottom of the bag. It's a big honkin' bag, alright!! Grin. XXO-

Patty Biermans said...

Can imagen how you feel when amputating those bits! But I like the finished bag A LOT!!! hugzz...peebee

Heather Woollove said...

Thanks, Peebee!

Mariana said...

I absolutely love this bag! I like the seams, the colours the original pockets! Excellent work!!!

Dawn Edwards/Felt So Right said...

Dear Heather,

Do you have a license to practice surgery???? Good golly...I will be sleeping with one eye open the next time we room together, for fear that you might find something on me unappealing and whack it off, too;-))))Love you, love the bag...You make me laugh 'til I have tears running down my face!!!

Big hugs,
Dawn

Heather Woollove said...

Mariana--Thanks so much!

Heather Woollove said...

Dawn--Oh honey, you're perfect! Nothing on you needs to be lopped off!! :) XXO-

Voie de Vie said...

Heather, I'm with Kathryn Ray - I was absolutely thinking Dr. Seuss when I saw the design for this bag. I love how it turned out, even if you're still on the fence about it.

And don't you love your design notebook? :)

Heather Woollove said...

Denise--I'm glad the bag is not too weird for you!!
:) Yes...drawing things out somehow really helps me! XXO-

Grazyna said...

Gracious bag. Very original in the form.

Heather Woollove said...

Grazyna--Thanks so much!