Thursday, July 17, 2008

Summer Get Away

Our family got a few days away from the city at my sister's (and her husband's) cottage. Three days of relaxing and now I am looking up information on slowing down.







We saw some wild life such as this Blue Heron on the raft in the middle of our bay.







And this wee Dragon Fly





I did some knitting. Less than I had planned to but My mind was in planning mode. I am almost finished Nutkin!





And started Rainbow Socks with Regia Galaxy.



Then I was distracted by the Fairy Faces in the Sumach...




By Sunsets.


And the Trees.

Can I go back now?

Monday, July 07, 2008

If I am Making Bags, It Must be Summer

As I was working on my latest bag it occurred to me that for the past several summers I have gone on a bag binge.

First there was the knit linen bags, then I spent a summer sewing big ass carry alls. Then one summer I made bags out of laminated magazine ads. Three years ago I was knitting Lopi bags for felting. Last year I was knitting small cable purses and sewing project bags out of remnants.

This summer I am back onto the felted bags again. This time I am combining colours and yarns. My Morrisseau bag and now my blue lagoon bag.
(I am doubling the yarn and to see how the felting will turn out.) Oh and I designed a market bag that is now being test knit out of Mission Falls Cotton.
Oh and the Sari Silk bag!
.
What is it about summer and bags for me?

First off bags and purses? I am not a frou frou woman who has a purse for every outfit. Admittedly I do have an assortment of purses and bags and I buy the occasional vintage one. Is it because I like sorting my "stuff'? Usually bags turn into big huge pits of disorganization even when I get ones with pockets and sections.

Maybe I am searching for the bag that will finally organize my "stuff" on its own! Now wouldn't that be a purse!!!? Yes that would be my dream bag! A bag that I could just toss everything into and the bag would take responsibility for organizing and making sure that the item desired would be immediately at hand at the perfect time!! A bag that would negate the necessity for dumping it out at cash registers or when looking for the car key! Kind of like Mary Poppins or a bag from Hogwarts. A purse that always carries what is needed even if the item was only thought about and not actually put into the purse.

Ok that one is solved. I am trying to create the perfect bag/purse with all the magical accessories it needs.

Why Summer? Well of course because school is out! It doesn't matter that I have been out of school for too many years that I care to remember. The fact is that summer was always the time for creativity to flow. A time when I didn't have to make something to fit a pre existing parameter.

So bags in summer it has seemed to be for longer than I can remember. Bags that only have the parameter that they are meant to hold something. Otherwise they are blank canvases that can be as wild as my mind allows. A bag or purse can be an accessory that has its own pursenality (I'm so funny).

When I knit a bag I usually just allow the colour and the yarn to dictate the end product. So I guess in that I am creating magical bags.

Tomorrow I felt the Morrisau and the Blue Lagoon Bag (should I felt the Blue Lagoon?).


I am already building the next one in my head and can't wait for it to happen!