CaySwann Crafts: Wrapping Up a Crafty Year

Wrapping Up a Crafty Year

I sat down to post a collection of images and thoughts but I found a draft post in my blog folder. So, a short digression first.

Some Small Project Details

I made a small purse with an across-the-shoulder strap, quite some time ago, that I wear every day at work to carry my iPod and a small wallet/coinpurse. It is the smallest module of "My Purse" when I just need to quickly go somewhere. It's really more like a large wallet than a small purse. The lining finally wore out so I just ripped and cut it and threw it away.

But ever since I made the bag, the shoulder strap was braided from yarn that was too thin, so the strap always cut into my shoulder. And because it was too thin, it also wore out too quickly. The thin braid would snap, I would tie it back together, and the strap got shorter and shorter and shorter.

At my last week of work in the office, it snapped again and it was too short to wear comfortably "at my hip" (now realistically, it was riding almost at my elbow). I'd been meaning to rebraid some chunky (softer) yarns, but I'd been brainstorming about the main problem for some time: yarn wears out and the straps break. I purchased some coated wire that people use to hang frames on the wall, intending to run the wire down the center of a four-strand braid.


The whole purse	First shot of the new strap, showing the steel core

The first picture I posted on twitter didn't really show off the tricks of this fix, and I thought some of you might appreciate the details.

Close-up of the 4-strand spiral braided strap.
I also love the embroidery I did on the original purse.

A Look at the Past Year

As I flipped through the photos from 2012, I had to smile at all the things I've worked on this year.

I continued to make floral hair clips for the Dance Haflas.