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30 minutes to a recycled felted sweater

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sweaterbags

Get out all those old wool sweaters or take a trip to the thrift shop and in 30 minutes you can have a stunning one-of-a-kind bag.  I found this felted bag tutorial on “Whip Up”, by Abigail Percy who is a contributor.  Abigail lives in Scotland and is a jeweler and a so much more designer.  So check out Abigail’s stunning jewelry on her site or become her fan on Facebook.  About “Whip up”: To prepare quickly. To excite. To create. To incite. To build. To invent. To conceive. To push. To upset. To manufacture. To provoke. This website has been created in order to bring the best original and exciting crafts to the attention of many. To create a community of artists, crafters and makers and share ideas in a central space. A handcraft guide in a hectic world

What is handcraft? “To fashion or make by hand”. “A craft or occupation requiring skilled use of the hands.”  Whip up is a multi author site with contributors from around the world united by a passion for making things, for beautiful design and for a desire to share ideas with others. The editor and originator of this site is me, Kathreen Ricketson, I wanted a central meeting place for ideas and projects and technical advice for all the latest that is handmade around the world.

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Designer Spotlight: Natalka Studio

Natalka Studio is an Etsy shop based in Ukraine with a wide variety of cross stitch designs, including realistic, detailed designs with women doing various things, holiday patterns, geometrics and more.

One of the biggest categories in the shop is called girl cross stitch, which features detailed designs of women with flowing hair doing things like drinking coffee, dancing and carrying flowers. There are seasonal projects in this category as well as a couple having to do with hobbies.

I like the knitting one, of course, and almost shared the sewing one as the featured pattern above until I realized the thread is coming off a cone on the floor and there’s no pedal for running the machine.

The one I am sharing here isn’t actually in that category but it is really cute. Little Girl with Watermelon uses 21 colors and measures 73 by 73 stitches. That’s 5.21 inches or 13.3 cm square if you work it on 14 count fabric. I love her messy hair and the little dress and matching bows. You could also change the colors if you have a little girl who isn’t as into pink (or doesn’t have brown hair).

The largest category on the page is animals, and there you will find wild animals like monkeys, pandas and sloths; ocean creatures such as rays, an octopus and a blue tang fish; frogs, dogs and geese, among others. 

There are also a lot of Christmas cross stitch patterns, which include a lot of traditional motifs and some more whimsical themes. I like this one of Santa resting by the fire with his boots off.

In addition to all these you’ll find pretty flowers, a bunch of mostly floral bookmarks, a whole big set of patterns with lemons, and a lot more. The fruits and berries section (if you like fruits other than lemons) would be perfect for decorating your kitchen or breakfast area.

Check out all the great patterns they have to offer at Natalka Studio on Etsy.

[Photo: Natalka Studio]