Green tea with puffed rice kernels.
My favourite tea set.
Steam rising quietly from the surface of my tea.

How is it that tea both refreshes and warms?

I should have been working on my Sassy Apron Swap apron last night ... or folding the laundry ... or emptying the dishwasher ... but instead I was making a handbag. The Charming Handbag from Bend-The-Rules Sewing to be specific. I thought it was cute the first time I saw it and it only got cuter when I saw all the wonderful versions people have made up.

This is my new dressy winter purse - all my other dressy purses are just too summery for the weather we've been having and I don't like to carry a big bag when we're going out for the evening. The outside fabric is a nice wool blend houndstooth with a velvet ribbon and a covered button that matches the cotton lining. It took me ages to make up my mind about which ribbon to use but it was the button that finally decided it - it just popped against the black velvet and at the same time looked very warm and inviting.

I didn't have any flannelette for the interlining so I used two layers of broadcloth (it was handy). They don't provide as much loft as the flannelette would have but the wooly outer layer makes up for that. I think the bag is a little firmer than it's meant to be but I like as it is.  Because of all the layers (and my forgetting to clip the curves before I turned it right side out) the bag has a slightly puckered, squashy look to it. I think it suites the shape and handle style nicely. I'm usually quite particular about how my edges turn out and where my topstitching goes but on this project I didn't mind the little mistakes and now that it's all finished I kind of like them.


Note about the apron: I cut out the front and the pocket and then discovered that the  rest of the green I was using was all in little bits and I don't have enough to make ties. An apron without ties just won't work so I'm going to have to go back a step and get some more fabric - I'd still like a pale green so I will have to drop by the fabric shop.

...or "All the things I was going to blog about but didn't get to and then the power went out."

The highlight of my weekend was certainly Erin lending me a spinning wheel. It's the Ashford Traditional and is great fun to play with. It takes a bit more co-ordination than my hand spindles but I can spin a lot more stuff. This is especially exciting since I was thinking of asking my family to help me buy a wheel for my birthday and it is wonderful to be able to try one out before making an investment.

By the way, spinning wheels make the most incredibly relaxing whirring noise. It's lovely to listen to and even better to make.

Besides Zeke's bed I've been working on another little knitting project. This will be one of two Cabled Fingerless mitts. The yarn is Socks That Rock Heavyweight in Rose Quartz and feels so beautiful to work with. I love to see all the tiny variations in the pink. Watching the cable emerge is magic - a couple of little twists in what looks like the wrong places and you end up with a braid. I can't wait to wear these; they manage to be feminine and substantial at the same time.

I've been sewing too. Just before Christmas I discovered that a bunch of the wrapping cloths I had stored away were not fat quarters but quarter metres and not very handy for wrapping. After Christmas I decided to take all these bits (leftover from making our stockings I think) and make a quilt top. I pieced for almost two days straight and came up with a crazy quilt style middle but didn't have any fabric to make borders. A couple of weeks ago I was at the quilt shop and picked out enough fabric for borders, binding and backing (I think) as well as some batting to sandwich in the middle.

On Sunday I finished off my top and couldn't be more pleased. I had enough left over from making the centre to add a skinny pieced border and managed to do mitred corners (which were not very hard but extremely fiddly). When I held up the top to show Rob the sun shone through it and illuminated all the pieces like a glass window. I'm looking forward to starting the quilting next weekend.