Bag Handles...Hag Bangles?

The other day I saw a photo on Pinterest using craft chain and crochet to make bag handles.

So on Monday I bought me two pieces of 40cm chain and tried it out for a bag I am working on at present. It started out as a tote but is turning into a 'kitchen sink' yoke of a smart bag:

 

Its just that it was sitting there looking awfully boring so I thought I'd jazz it up a bit...and I guess I got carried away. Appropriate for a bag though, getting carried away...get it???????

 

 

Anyhow, back to the chain. Of course I didn't follow the original picture completely and there was a lot of fiddling and ripping, but I quite like the outcome. Then of course, I started playing with crochet cotton to see how else I could make interesting handles (the thing with handles is that one needs to make two matching and I am not exactly gifted at making things match...)



For the middle one I thought I would thread ribbon or something contrasting through the loops. Perhaps some beads on the tabs after attaching them to the bags...thinking, thinking...

Anyhow that's this week's experiment!

Inspiration, Totem-poles, and a walk in the woods.

Today was a creative mish-mash. Lying in bed this morning (the Hub is on early shift so gone to work by 5.30 am, good opportunity for thinking) I had an idea from an article I was reading in 'Quilting Arts Magazine' yesterday, so jumped out of bed to try it. You can't see very well but I was adding thread embellishments to patches on postcard-sized fabric. To be continued...

I then went over to the folks to persuade Dad to come out to Hazlewood and play with the (his!) camera. I want to do a piece of work based on totem-poles so printed out this photo from his computer, taken in Vancover a few years back. I love totem-poles, the scale, carving, colours, myths connected to the animals and birds portrayed...When I was very little we visited this same place and Dad bought me a tiny totem pole which, believe it or not has travelled with me and now sits on our mantlepiece here! (pack-rat? me?)

Oops!

Dad and I then spent about an hour and a half out at Hazlewood, on the shores of Lough Gill, 'playing' with his camera. I brought the book of the words along and we had great fun. I think I took most of these, but it was easier to see errors once they were loaded onto the computer, so many were subsequently deleted. I only fell in the lake once, but luckily brought a spare pair of shoes. We used to say of B that she would either fall into any available liquid, or spill it on herself. I wonder where she got that tendancy from?

Aren't these ducks funny? They look like miniature speed boats with the wake they are leaving!

This afternoon Sos and B had things to do in Sligo so I went into my favourite bookshop, Book Mart on the Mall to see whether they had anything on Gaudi or Klimt, both of whom I want to study. (The Library was closed) They had no books but Donal found several old postcards of Barcelona which he let me have! Sorted! I've been doodling and studying them as these photos were loading and it looks promising.

Sos very kindly made supper this evening, and then I discovered that B has chewed my drawing pencil all the way along. Honestly she's worse than a puppy! Had some texts from Dilly last night to say she was in the middle of a load of errands around Dublin center for work yesterday when one sandal disintegrated. She 'limphopped' (her word) to the nearest Penney's to buy another pair so she could continue! Later she bought a packet of red hair dye, and a cheap beanie hat in case it turns out badly! Honestly!