"But, really, why does anyone create? You feel a... a restlessness inside, a need to make something new, something no one has ever seen before. You want to add to the beauty and the richness of the world with a gift, an offering that is uniquely yours. It's an act of selfishness and generosity, all rolled into one."

-- Bruce Coville,
The Last Hunt

Thursday, January 26, 2012

The Bird Bag

Here's the latest organza bag, complete with hummingbird, flower, and edging.


The flower didn't quite go on straight (this is why I don't sew), but that's OK; this is New Mexico, after all, I can always say it's blowing in the wind. Also, the purple Lizbeth thread I used for the flower is not as good a match as I thought for the purple in the hummingbird-- I should have looked at it in the morning when I have sunlight-- but again, that's OK. Colors wouldn't match like that in nature anyway, and it still goes pretty well. The green is a near-perfect match.

The edging I used is #34 from Anne Orr's Classic Tatting Patterns. It's such a simple pattern that it doesn't even matter about it being written "old style" because you don't have to read it again after the first repeat. Yet it is one of the first patterns ever to use split rings. Orr first published the book as Tatting, Book No. 35, Revised in 1940. In it, she gave instructions for "reverse stitch", which is exactly the technique that we now call split rings, and also for joining while making reverse stitch. Compared to most tatting instructions of that time, Orr's directions for both the reverse stitch and the join are remarkably clear and concise (although she does neglect to tell you that you have to switch the order of the half stitches). While this is one pattern where Orr did use what we now call split rings, there are several patterns where she has you cut and tie in places where today's tatters would use split rings to climb out of a round, so she obviously didn't realize the full potential of her invention. Still, to have thought of it at all was quite an achievement, and we owe her a great debt.


If you've been paying attention, you'll know that I always fill these bags with nice-smelling things to help freshen up my apartment. In this case, I went with dried jasmine flowers, lemon peel, and vanilla bean.


10 comments:

  1. Your bag is so very sweet!! :)
    I think that the colors not matching as you had thought turned out well so that the flower and the bird stand on their own. :)

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  2. Very pretty! I bet it smells wonderful too!

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  3. The bag turned out very well. As you say, in nature the colors wouldn't necessarily match, either, and the flower and hummingbird look great together. I keep thinking I should make bags something like this, but I have never gotten around to it.

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  4. Tattrldy, go for it! You can get the bags pre-made at Jo-Ann's in the bridal section (if your local store doesn't have them, they should be able to special order), all you have to do is embellish them.

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  5. I love your little bag! I think the flower looks perfect, and the hummingbird is adorable!

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  6. Lovely bag. This makes a lovely gift.

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  7. The flower is only finding the sun!! lol Beautiful work.

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  8. Really lovely...what a fun idea! My daughter's both like those organza bags for their treasures, it would be fun to embellish them!

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  9. Love the hummer and flower also the edging around the top. These make nice gifts.
    Your top header greeting is gorgeous with all your tatting!!!
    Linda in NM

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  10. I love your idea for a lovely tatted sachet. The tatting too is beautiful.

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