New Year, New Beginnings

Hello to all the peoples in the world(s). Wow. What an insane few months this has been. Heck, what an insane week it has been! I live outside of the DC metro area so I've been basically snowed in since the weekend. Sure, there's a butt load of snow out there now (we got 30 inches on Saturday) and even more coming tonight/tomorrow (another foot in the forecast), but I can't complain. It sure makes for great crafting time!

I know that I've been MIA lately. I'd love to say that I had a fabulous Christmas and New Years and that everything has just been feasting and fun. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me. Unfortunately, we had a loss in our family, so 2009 ended with a lot of dread for the inevitable and 2010 began with the fulfillment of that dread. It's been a really tough few months.

I think one of the ways I coped in these last few months was by letting my creative juices flow. And, man! I have been busy! I have 4 new bags (all new designs) to line. One is my Traveling Turtle Bag.


For the picture, I just pinned on the straps, stuffed it full of yarn to give it some heft, and pinned it close. That's my sis modeling it- she got stuck by the pins- hee! I have a fabulous fabric with which to line it and I'm adding a zipper. I had a few motifs left over from this bag (it was going to be ginormous!) so I made a Turtle Handbag, as well (one of the 4 awaiting to be lined). As soon as I type up this pattern, I'll be offering it on Etsy.





Another bag I've designed is the Not Quite Mitered bag. I have the fabric for this one, but can't locate the perfect handles.....soon, my pretty.....soon. This one was actually done with tunisian crochet. People have asked how I come up with designs- I'll be blogging about that soon with this project as the example. I LOVE this bag.



Another bag is called Purple Haze- it's a great travel bag and is rather large. I actually just felted it today, so I'll have pics of that beauty very soon.

In addition to the bags, I've been working on some hats. I made another cat-eared hat.

This one is called Holy Eartha Kitt Batman! I'll be writing this one up, too.










Next, I have a Pixie hat that I had mentioned a few months ago. I got this beautiful purple yarn as a mill end at AC Moore. I have no idea what it is, but I have 4 pounds of it. It’s absolutely gorgeous! I made it into a scarf from my Pinky LaRue pattern- it was awesome! …..Until I tried it on. It must have wool from a porcupine in it. The most uncomfortable scarf IN THE WORLD! However, when I made it into this hat, it was bearable. I wanted a pixie hat with a scarf/tie on it, but that will be the next one I make with a more comfortable yarn. I really did love how this pattern came out, though.

Now to make a Purple Porcupine purse…….hmmm…..

This one is the Not Quite Mitered Hat. I wore it to AC Moore and a lady would not stop staring at my head. She asked if it was handmade and if so, if someone made it for me.....harumph! She knits and crochets but couldn't figure out how I did it. It was quite creepy, really. Yet, strangely a nice ego boost at the same time....ha!








I made a peppermint hat, too, and will have the pattern's minty goodness up soon.










Also, I'm working on a SMB themed hat, as well. Very fun!! In addition to these projects, I've made my Pinky LaRue scarf 4 more times- one for my sis (she felted the nice pink one I made earlier), one for my friend, one for my mom, and one for me. YAYAYAY!

SO, as you can see, I've been a busy little bee. One of my New Years resolutions has been to actually write down my patterns. I love creating all these loverlies, but it's a pain in the butt to write and test the patterns!! But, Ima gonna do it!!

Ok, that's enough updating for now. Even though 2009 ended quite suckily and 2010 didn't get off to the greatest start for me, I'm a natural optimist, so, here's to an amazing new year and new decade!!

Peace out homies.

Hilda Bag Redux

I.LOVE.THIS.BAG



If you recall, this is the purse I made for my mother for her birthday present. I have gotten so much positive feedback on this bag, I decided to recreate it. The one I made for my mom was one of the first ones I created and I hadn't decided to line them yet. My mother's actually has felted pockets that are part of the fabric of the bag.

This one...is lined.



I wish you could see this lining in person- there is actually shiny, metalic, sliver stripes in it. It's actually VERY beautiful. I told my mom that she could send her bag back to me and I'd line it for her, but she loves it so much, and uses it all the time, that she doesn't want me to. I wonder if she'd change her mind if she saw this one?



No Netski....this one still isn't for you....though you do look mighty fierce with it!

New Beginnings......

Whew! What a day! I have finally taken pictures of the finished PGP purse, the new Chocolate Strawberry purse, and the Hilda Bag Redux.

First up, it's the newly finished (or shall I say FINALLY finished) Purple, Green, Pink (PGP) purse.

To jog your memory, this is it before in it's unlined, unadorned glory:



This is it now!


Here's a shot of the interior:


I found the flower pin at Walmart- it was like one of those romantic moments in movies where the two lovers eyes meet and time slows down and you hear Romeo and Juliet's Overture playing it's sweet love tune (or Bugs Bunny, dressed as a girl, any time he meets a mustachioed man...). I knew EXACTLY what it was destined to be. The pink and purple flower match the bag perfectly. I've always liked this bag, but it always seemed like something was missing....and not just the lining. The lining- how awesome is that fabric??? I actually bought it at the same time I bought the lining for the Erin Bag. It's from the same company and I bought it at Joanns. So, you can see that I've had the fabric for a while and yet, through no character flaw of my own, proceeded to procrastinate lining this bag for way over a month. (You may see that statement many times throughout this blog....)

Now, it will proudly adorn my arm as a self-advertisment of the Gege Crochet line of bags.


The second bag to present to you is the Chocolate Strawberry bag.



My dear hubby actually named this one since it reminded him of, what else, chocolate covered strawberries. My sister loves this bag, as well. The heart button is almost the same as the one on the Queen of Hearts bag, but this one is actually tinted pink (you can't really tell in the picture.)

Here's the interior- I carried the chocolate/strawberries into the lining, as well.


The pink fabric was left over from a dress I started making (cough*5monthsago*cough) but, through no character flaw of my own, have procrastinated in finishing it. BUT, I did finish this bag and the fabric fits perfectly.

Now, time for the rant....it's too long, so it'll be it's own posting.....see you on the other side....

To be totally awesome, or not to be totally awesome...

....that is the question.



The answer...I AM TOTALLY AWESOME! (Said with the utmost humility.) This is the unveiling of my "Newest Project" from below. I have been so giddy with this purse.

Let me give you a tour of it's awesomeness....

this is the front:


This is the back:


I know you can see the strap, but let me just point it out to you...


ACK! How cool is that??? For those of you out there who may be a little slow, (what? moi? condescending??) THE COINS ARE COMING OUT OF THE QUESTION BLOCK AND THEN LEAVING IT EMPTY!!! *Insert kitty Yzma cackle, yet again*

It took for freakin' EVAH to complete...though it was due to my over thinking of the construction rather than the actual difficulty of the project. I knew how I wanted to do the front, back, and strap, but I couldn't decide how to actually make it into a purse. The answer was absurdly simple, so when I make this again (oh yes, it will be mine), it will go ever so much more smoothly. It is, of course, crocheted and then felted. I was very pleasantly surprised at how large it ended up. You never know with felting. I was so afraid that I put in so much effort into this Koopa Coin purse, just to end up with, well, a coin purse.

I did line this bag...as well as the strap.


It is actually the bag I used for the upcoming video tutorial on how-to-line-felted-bags. Hopefully I'll have that up over the weekend...since my hubby is the editor, we have to wait for his timetable.

Here is my parting shot...I love how the bag fits in with the artistic composition...BIG QUESTION MARK: who is this girl? where is she going? where did she get that TOTALLY AWESOME BAG????

Queen of Hearts

Here is the newest addition to the Gege line. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my supreme honor to present to you Her Royal Highness, The Queen of Hearts.



When I first saw this purse fully felted out of the washer, the first thing that popped into my head was, "Ugh! Wet wool stinks!" The second thing that popped into my head was, "The Queen of Hearts!"

I call this photo, "Off with her head!"

The Queen of Hearts,
She made some tarts
All on a summer's day.

The Knave of Hearts,
He stole the tarts
And took them clean away.

The King of Hearts,
Called for the tarts
And beat the Knave full sore.

The Knave of Hearts,
Brought back the tarts
And vowed he'd steal no more.

Here are the detail shots of the interior:

And the handles:

I must admit, I LOVE this bag. This is another one where I vow I'll make myself the same one just to have for myself. However, until that time, this is now available in my Etsy store here.

Now, be off with ye or just off with your head!!

Adventures in Bag Designing part deux

Onward to the wooden handled bags! The first one is the Hilda bag. I am currently recreating this one since there has been such a positive response to it.


I finished this one and shipped it out before I decided to line the bags. It has 2 integrated interior pockets and I sewed the handles on. As I stated earlier, my mom loved it!

This next one is the first one that I lined.


I learned a lot and am actually really pleased with the outcome.

I named it Erin in honor of my good friend who is my crocheting buddy. I worked on this purse at her house while she worked on a blanket for her soon-to-be born little girl. I've told her before, but it bears repeating- I am soooooooooo happy that Erin crochets with me!!!


Here's a picture of the lining.



How perfect is it?!? I had been searching for what seems like FOR.EVER for the right lining and totally lucked out at Joanns with this one. The colors are fantastic.

This one is the Netski bag.


It's named after my sister since she loves pink and black. Actually, she really wants this purse, but momma's gotta pay rent....and I do too. So, off it goes to Etsy!


Here is the lining and a detail of the handles.

I'm so proud of it!!! Lots of blood, sweat, and tears (and, maybe just a little cursing and yelling...) went into this little baby. Yep- I did that with my sewing machine.

Quick! Action Shot! Kazow!



And another one! Too fast for you!


Well, that is my collection thus far.



I hope y'all have enjoyed them as much as I have enjoyed making them! I'll update this site as I finish more and more of these little babies. Until next time, Zoobaroos!

Adventures in Bag Designing

Sooo...I've been designing and creating purses for a while now and am finally putting an update. I really love mixing and matching various colors to make beautiful combinations. So far, I've been using only Patons Classic Merino Wool. I have used Joann's Sensations Kashmira yarn and actually really liked that one, as well.

What I've learned is that crocheting is the easy part. Lining the bag, however.... argh. However, since I want these babies to look as beautiful as possible, and since I coerced my dear hubby to buy me a sewing machine last Christmas, I decided to put it to good use. (I'll post/rant about that p.o.shaving cream later....the machine...not my hubby...)

So, without further ado, here are the bags from the Gege collection thus far.

This bag is the very first one I created. I call it Johnny Five- and it's ALIVE! Ha! I slay me.

It's the key to unlocking my heretofore unknown bag-making, dare I say...oh I will... g.e.n.i.o.u.s. (Yes folks- the best quality of mine, and I have many good ones, is my humility. I'm very proud at how humble I am. And my spelling. I spell real good.) I added an interior pocket which was added pre-felting, so it is part of the entire purse fabric. This will be for sale on my etsy site....once I set that up. Hee.


This next one, I made for my sister. I really love the colors and the size of this one. There is an interior pocket, as well, and also a magnetic clasp to keep all the contents safe and secure. (This one won't be for sale....but her purse might be. Ha! Just kidding...the purse definitely won't be.)


This next one is the PGP bag- Purple, Green, Pink.



This one is actually not completed yet...I still need to line it and add a magnetic clasp. But, since I'm posting all my preciouses (yes, that's a word...just ask Gollum), I'm adding this one and will post an updated pic with the lining later this week.

Quick! Action shot! Whoosh!


These are the three soft handled bags that I've made. I'll make more since I like them, but I also really like the wooden handled ones, as well. My next post will showcase those ones. Peace out and word to your mother! (Oh yes, I'm sooo down with the homies. We go rolling often.)