Fabric Crochet Purse

fabric crochet purse / bag by Carla Barrett

I created this fabric crochet purse the other day, it was so easy to make.

Obviously, I still need to add a strap, but I like this purse and the fabric strip fringe detail.

My quilting readers will recognize the batik fabric used for this project.

Here is another view of my purse, minus the purse straps.  I created this bag as a class sample for my Fabric Crochet Class I am teaching in a few weeks at the AU Machine Quilting Festival.  You, too, can learn this fun project if you are planning to be at this show.   🙂

I am now making a larger bag, perhaps a backpack crochet bag.  This time, I am using citrus colors of yellow, orange, dark orange and shade of lime green.  Think lemons, oranges, and limes.  Anyway, I love fabric crochet and can’t wait to teach it.

What are YOU creating?   Take care, Carla

WIP report

Time to share some of my work in progress.

Yesterday, Faith came over to work on our homework.  Of course, we got sidetracked, so we went shopping instead!  One of our stops was to my favorite bead store- the one with the infamous bead box that you can dig through for hours.  I bought silver wire in various gauges, I hope to make a new project after I finish my final class homework, that it.

Faith had a birthday the other day and so I am making a freeform crochet scarf in these colors for her:

Then I have another friend’s birthday coming up, so I’m making her this one, too.  I would say these are my favorite colors at the moment:

Since this is a WIP post, I will show you my last 2 metal art projects to turn in next week- both are from silver:

And here is an asian motif from the kimono quilt I’m currently working on:

The next two pictures are not WIP, but thought I would show them nonetheless.  Check out this delightful mini quilt, it was in the bag from Barb.  I’m hoping that was intentional and I get to keep it- LOL!:

Last up, I bought these outside the store from a charity to support Project Linus, which is a worthy cause:

What are you working on???   Hugs, Carla

Handmade Holiday Gifts

This month, I’ve decided to write some more tutorials to celebrate the season.   These will be gifts you can make yourself to give to friends, family, teachers, etc.  My first one is almost finished, all I have left is to photograph the individual steps for the visuals.  All of them will be geared for beginners.

How’s that for a teaser?  LOL  I’ve decided to make some of my gifts this year.  Not only is it economy friendly,  you are giving of yourself to others: your time, effort, etc.

Speaking of gifts, I did finish my first one yesterday.  It is a freeform crochet scarf for someone, and I love the colors in this one:

For new visitors to my blog, I already have a tutorial on how to make this present.  You can also click on the birdy link on the right side for a list of all my free tutorials.

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Quilting Update:  I just ordered some black batting for a number of quilts I need to do.  Since I can’t start the Egyptian quilt until the batting arrives, I’m starting another kimono quilt that looks like this:

That’s all for now!  Hugs, Carla

Yarn Therapy

Nothing like a trip to my favorite yarn shop to make a girl feel better:

and more:

Yummy!!!

Speaking of yummy yarn, a message to Nancy that her blog prize went in the mail today- sent priority via the US Postal System.

Dreaming of Beach Glass… A LONG standing obsession for me is beach glass, and hunting for beach glass. Let me know if any reader just happens to live on the shore and had oodles of frosty sea glass to share or trade. Will WORK for Sea Glass!!!

My DD came by this morning and casually mentioned she was heading for Santa Cruz with friends to swim, search the tide pools, etc with friends. I asked her to bring her dear Mom back some beach glass, and told her that hunting for sea glass is a good thing. I’m crossing my fingers…. Carla

More freeform crochet and Jack

Joe and I babysat Jack last night, and here he is crawling around on my quilt playing with toys:

and Yum!:

He is so blasted cute!! Of course, I’m biased…

Onto artistic endeavors… Watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics last night. The Chinese govt. really did a wonderful job on the show. Spectacular even. Shame they wouldn’t put the same energy and emphasis on human rights and individual freedom….. just my political thought for the day.

Since I’ve been in a freeform mood lately, here is another crochet scarf- this one has a focal point flower on the front

:

here is a closeup of the crochet:

That’s all from here…. life is quiet, which is a good thing.

take care, Carla

Latest Freeform Crochet Scarf!

Hello! I thought I would show you what I started last night and just finished. This week, my mornings are spent machine quilting, however, my afternoons I like to switch gears and move to something else. I love the colors in this one:

I am considering making up a dozen or so, then offering them for purchase later on. Think they would sell?

Here’s a close-up picture:

I also like to display them in my studio on a cool armature I found. This image is a bit dark, but you can still see what I mean:

So… what’s your opinion…. think these one-of-a-kind scarves are marketable?

Enjoy your day, I think I’ll start another one. Hugs, Carla

New Freeform project

This weekend, I was picking up the guild opportunity quilt (the one the volunteer damaged) from in front of the local yarn store, and I couldn’t help myself to a little retail therapy while I was there. I picked a 2 tone yarn as my inspiration and so here’s all the yarn I have that could work for my next project:

So what will I do with these lovely yarns? Make a freeform crochet project, of course. I think I will make a scarf and a matching purse.

Today, I meet with Jill, the opportunity quilt designer, to decide how to approach the quilt restoration. After much thought, I have come up with 4 choices or approaches to fix the quilt. My favorite way turns the damage into a design opportunity, however, I’m not the designer, so I can only sketch out solutions.

Enjoy your day!! Carla

Fair Goal Completed!

OK, just arrived back home from dropping everything off at the fair for the judging. I dropped off 3 quilts in the Quilting area. I also dropped off 2 crochet items. I am simply happy to have met the goal I set for myself!

While I was intaking the 3 quilts, the women working mentioned that I had received a 1st place blue ribbon for the collage purse I dropped off on Wednesday. I went over and sure enough, Vicki Welsh, the purse you won on my blog contest earned a blue ribbon. LOL!! So now you are receiving an award winning blog prize!!

One of the crochet items I dropped off was a freeform crochet scarf wrapped artistically around a dress form wire armature. They were good sports about my unusual entry. The colors of this scarf is similar to a scarf I once made for Lynn:

It has been way too hot to think about freeform crochet Carla style. I usually go crazy with this in the late summer, fall and winter seasons. Perhaps my yarn needs some love and attention.

Enjoy your day!

Bead Crochet- WIP

I’ve been talking to a few people about the beading crochet class I took last week. I plan to use it on a future project, but here is a small sneak peek on what bead crocheting looks like:

Once I have some free time, I will show you some more finished pieces. Notice you can’t see the thread used in the crochet work? It is all in the technique and also using a very small metal crochet hook.

Hugs, Carla

Freeform Scarf

While I had out the yarn colors for the freeform crochet basket I completed recently, I decided to make another new scarf. Check this out:

In case you are curious, here are some previous posts for my freeform crochet, Carla style:

Gallery of freeform crochet work, and

Fiber and freeform gallery.

Enjoy your weekend!! Hugs from Carla