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Sunday 24 January 2010

20 minute update

I am afraid I haven't managed 20 minutes each day this weekend as we had my sister-in-law visiting and we went out and about but I have done an average of at least 20 minutes a day since my last update! I finished the crochet bag - having unpicked the top and redone it so that the cords fitted better.





Today I made the lining for the crochet bag. Shaping the base was not easy - I probably should have cut a circle and made a fitted base but I thought I'd try just gathering it together and then as I was left with a centre of raw edges I covered those with a small patch - this will not be visible once the lining is in the bag as the base is crocheted in double crochet.




Then I needed to line the lining - if you know what I mean. I realised that the gathered method would leave too many wrinkles in the base of the bag in which small items might get lost so this time I tried folding the edges into points towards the centre and stitching them down (not very neatly I fear).



I stitched the blue lining to the bag and then stitched the inner lining to both bag and blue lining. It worked well I think.


Now the bag is finished although I did wonder whether to trim it with a flower made by crocheting a pink flower and adding a fabric layer to it - what do you think?

As always happens when making anything without a pattern or without thinking it through properly I realise now that I could have done things differently and achieved a better finish - but this is the prototype - I don't think I'll make any more though!

Many thanks to all those bloggers who have been kind enough to leave comments on my previous posts - I read them all and take heed of what you say and endeavour to respond to them but time is of the essence and it doesn't always happen I'm afraid. But I really do appreciate them all..

Tell me why it is that gold medalist who has a perfectly good bowl of fresh water always available in the kitchen insists on having a bath run for him? He usually likes to take his drink from the dish put out for the birds or since the snowy weather he has decided that the bath is a better option!


22 comments:

  1. Saw you over at the Garden Bell....hadn't seen you in a while.....I LOVE to 20 minutes a Day..I have been trying all day to work on some necklaces....oh, how I wish you were sitting here by me on the couch...i have been trying to teach myself crochet from a book for months....i'm not having much luck :-{

    LOVE the kitty in the tub...mine like it in there too....so cute..

    more later, my friend

    Kary
    xxx

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  2. The bag is really pretty with its double lining -looks like plenty of 20 minutes worth there. And who can fathom cats - Marv just loves pond water! Do you get muddy prints in the bath?

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  3. Your bag turned out so lovely.
    Double lining! ! ! ! Never thought that small items will get 'lost' in the folds.
    Perhaps I'd better check the bottom of my bag.

    Yes, embellish ! ! ! ! !
    I think a Flower would be just great. Crocheted/Fabric - YES ! ! !

    Love 20 Minutes A Day idea ! ! ! !

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  4. 20 minutes a day sounds like a grand plan - am almost at the top of my 2nd sock! Maybe today is the day for its completion...bag looks lovely

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  5. Really love your bag. A flower would look really lovely. I have a knitted/crocheted flower book and one of those would look really good.
    A x

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  6. Love the colours of the bag, especially the fabric. Yes, I too think a crochet flower would be great!

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  7. Here's another one egging you on to do a crocheted flower, it would just be the finishing touch. It looks great. I am about to attempt lining a bag myself today and don't find it easy! Yours looks great. Know what you mean about cats and their source of drinking water. I used to have one that loved to drink water out of the drain lid in our garden!

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  8. Hi Jane. I didn't realise we had a 20 minuters badge. Must sort this. I did a big catch up on Sunday with my knitting, so am averaging it like you! Keep going x

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  9. Jane,
    The bag is just great - even more so now I realise that the pattern just came out of your head! A crocheted flower sounds lovely but you decide. No matter where you grab them from you are using those 20 minutes very effectively. Lesley.

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  10. I'm loving your bag, its lovely - maybe something I may do at a later date - very inspired :)

    Don't panic about the 20 minutes, sometimes life gets in the way, and you always can catch up :)

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  11. The bag looks really nice but i think Thatcher a flower would make it look happier!

    Oh pets are so intelligent! Cat in a bath. New dr Seuss hit!

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  12. Love the bag - I remember when you were choosing the lining. I think it's turned out beautifully and a flower would finish it off a treat.

    Animal are such strange creatures but then so are we humans!!

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  13. Your bag looks gorgeous! I love flowers so I'm a bit biased: yes, a flower would make it greater than great!

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  14. The bag has come together really well, its looking great. I am a bit partial to crochet flowers as well, so I'd say, go for it!

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  15. Your finished bag is super! Your lining shows through really well and I like it! My lining doesn't show through as well as yours because the gaps in the crocheting are not large. I think that next time I will do more chains because my cotton is very thick. I did not do a double lining in my bag, just turned the edge over and hem-stitched the material to the double crochet stitches at the top and bottom.
    I will probably do a double lining next time!
    Thank you for crochet idea - it is super.
    Love Lucy xx

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  16. The bag looks lovely with the lining you have chosen and I think a flower would finish it off with a flourish!

    I did laugh when I saw your kitty in the bath. My two like to drink from the puddles formed in the uneven surfaces of the path, even though they have perfectly clean and fresh water twice a day indoors! Funny creatures aren't they?

    Jeanne x

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  17. The bag is sooo pretty. It's really interesting to read how you have solved problems and found ways to do things. Even more interestingly the mental notes you've made on how to make the next one! Surely there has to be another one?
    Yep! This is what the 20 minutes is all about. Love it.

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  18. Oh, I loved the bag. Cats can be so silly sometimes. :)

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  19. O thankyou for sharing the pics of your cat in the bath! It made my morning. Aren't they funny little creatures!

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  20. Strange cat, some animals have peculiar habits don't they, my dog carries her dry dog food in her mouth from the kitchen onto the living room floor and eats it there. All we can here is this pitter patter as she goes back and forth.

    Love the colours on the bag and the felted heart, I did a felted heart - just played around with some roving.

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  21. Our cats love the fresh water in the bathroom sink, especially when husband is trying to shave in the morning! One of our cats likes to drink out of mugs and glasses and is especially fond of tea!

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  22. Love the kitty in the tub.

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