Winner & Reticule

Know what the hardest part about giveaways is for me? Not increasing the number of winners based on who amused me so much that I really want to give them something. Seriously, read through some of the entry comments and you'll see what I mean. There was 'creepy' Fox and Victats trying to undermine all the other entries and a few others that had me in that quandary. In the end I must, must, must rely on the random number generator to save me from myself. The winner it unemotionally picked was Dreaming Tree Soapworks. If you haven't heard from me yet, you will be later. I really do appreciate all the entries and the kind words contained within them. Some of the best were the ones that admitted that I had some part in them wanting to tat or my loyal customer who actually confess to loving the pieces they already own. That is so incredible to hear, really...thank you!

Now onto what I got up to yesterday. First, I thought I'd show you the box I got yesterday from my friendly UPS man. I'm not going to tell you how many balls of thread are in there, but I bet you guessed it's a lot. When I opened it my oldest looked over with that, 'what did you do?' expression on her face. I needed to replace some colors and thought I'd use the opportunity to get a few new ones as well. I get more custom color requests than you think and the more colors I actually have on hand, the better.

What I really got up to yesterday was finishing the bag prototype. I learned quite a few more things from it too. I knew about halfway through the second element that there were more issues with the design that needed to be addresses, but I was determined to finish it regardless. First off, it's too squat, the side element needs to be longer. Then there's the joining of the bottom and the side where there is too much space that needs to be filled in. I didn't line it yet, but did stuff some muslin in it to see how it might look filled in. Lining is going to be particularly annoying. In fact before I start the next version, I think I'm going to get the liner sorted by estimating the size from the prototype so I don't have to figure it all out in the end.

I added a ribbon to the end there, but I think it might do better with a crochet chain as the tie. Of course that just adds even more creation time to the piece. I think I mentioned embellishments before and I was thinking about some sort of dangle from the bottom of the bag. Probably not a traditional tassel, but definitely something in that family. I don't have any other projects to work on, no orders recently either, so it's likely that I'll start on a final bag. That is unless I get frustrated, then there are still a couple of pieces I have yet to remake. It should be a busy family weekend too with yard work and movie adventures and Free Comic Book Day. Thinking of the weekend really shouldn't tire me out, should it?