Recently I sent a package of goodies to Diane of Crafty Pod.  One item was a custom-made wristlet.  I love making things knowing who they are for.  I'm able to put a little extra love into them.

This is a commissioned wristlet I finished this week.  I was asked to make it the day before I got the flu ... and it's taken me almost 4 weeks to finish it.  Waaaaaay too long!

I'm still phlegm-y a lot of the time.  But at least I can sleep through the night without waking up coughing, and I'm not consuming a bag of cough drops everyday.  Well, it's about half a bag a day.

Here is a commissioned bird wristlet in blue.  I usually use bright colors on the birds, because natural colors would look a little blah on the ecru yarn.  It was nice to make a little sparrow for Dawn.

And the ubiquitous inside shot.

This commission from Elizabeth of Crafts of Destiny was for a friend who loves to play dominoes.  Her birthday was in July, so I decided to put seven spots on it.

Here is a close up of the top.  For both of these wristlets, I squared off the corners when I sewed in the lining. I really like how it looks ... although I like the loose, foldy look, too. Do you have a preference?

I've added these four wristlets to my handmade shop.

I made them using ecru cotton yarn and my seamless single crochet technique.  The handle is spool knit and securely knotted to the wristlet.  The top closes with a zipper.  They are lined with the bird cage print.

I'm always on the search for cute things to use as zipper pulls, but I haven't found anything I really really like yet.  Does anyone have suggestions?

I'm in no hurry, though, because I'm still loving the fabric zipper pulls.  Maybe that's why it's so hard to find something to replace them with.

I do all the folding and ironing for the pulls by hand.  I really need to invest in one of those fancy bias tape makers I've been seeing on everyones' blogs.

Marci and I made our acquaintance when I made a comment on Craftlog and noticed someone else (Marci) made a comment at the exact same time.  I visited her blog and sent her an email asking about altered books.  Isn't it weird how you make connections on the web?

Since then Marci and I have swapped and even hung out a couple of times.  She recently bought a place in Brooklyn and I was trying to think of an appropriate house warming gift.  Lucky for me, she emailed me asking about commissioning a wristlet.

She had some cute ideas about what she might want so it would match her summer outfits.  She liked the striped purses and she wears a lot of teal and apple green.  I told her I loved her ideas and I'd get back to her.  What I didn't say was that I'd get back to her with a box. :)

The handle is spool knit with the same cotton yarn that I used for the wristlet (Have you seen this loveliness?!  I need to get some large-holed beads!).  For the label, I used Apple Green felt.

  The interior has a little money-and-card pocket, too.  I really like the way you get a peek at the fabric pattern above the zipper.  I didn't get a good picture of the top of the closed wristlet, but you can kind of see what I mean in these pictures.  (Bethany commented on the fabric peek-a-boo effect on this wristlet.)

This is my second fancy fabric tab zipper pull.  It's hard to see the detail because of the fabric's print, but I used a star-shaped eyelet and a jump ring to attach it to the zipper.  I LOVE putting eyelets in things.

As you can see, my wristlets only hold the essentials: phone, keys, money, ID, and credit cards.  I think I could probably sneak a lip gloss in there too.  You know, since I didn't tell Marci I was going to send her one, I was totally tempted to keep this baby for myself.

When I was younger I had a pen pal (maybe more than one ... I can't remember).   It was always fun to imagine people a world away who knew my name. I think I found them through some weird ad in the back of a magazine like Tiger Beat.  Anyway, Aranya is the modern equivalent of a pen pal.  Andrew and Aranya crossed paths on IM and they've kept in touch for years.

Aranya lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand and works as a nurse.  She is such a sweetheart.  I once complemented the plush dog-shaped purse she was wearing in a vacation photo and she sent me one of my very own.  There is a zipper along the spine, so all your stuff is like the dog's guts.  His little feet are hilarious, too.  OK, words don't do the purse justice, so here's a middle-of-the-night bathroom photo.  Even the strap is plush!

This year for her birthday, Andrew commissioned a wristlet.  He picked out the color and style, and I think it turned out way cute.  The fabric zipper pull was a brilliant suggestion from MaryBlanca, who purchased my second wristlet.  I sent her a key fob made of a fabric strap to match her wristlet.  She emailed me to let me know she'd attached it to the zipper.  Now why didn't I think of that?!  The brown zipper is the first thing I've used from my Green Kitchen stash.

Also included in her birthday package was the elephant I made for her in January 2006.  Oh, goodness, was it really that long ago?  I didn't include the monkey ... the google eyes are just too goofy. How funny are those early blog photos?  They're making my eyes hurt. :)

I've been focused on finishing up projects before the Philadelphia Film Festival starts on Thursday.  This year we're seeing more films than ever before, so there won't be much of anything going on* until after the 17th.

One of the things I finished is a wristlet that was commissioned in February.  I made a couple of changes from my original wristlet.  This one has the spool knit strap, a small pocket, and a new zipper installation technique.

The little pocket is just the right size for credit cards, business cards, and folded money.  I was a little worried about sewing the zipper in without enclosing it's fabric edges in fabric, but I think it actually creates a cleaner line, in this instance, to just sew the zipper directly to the fabric without all the folding.

Here you can see that the closed end of the zipper just curls into the wristlet.  I like the way that looks.  I tacked the end of the zipper with some stitches so the zipper head won't slip down into the wristlet.

I try to make every handbag (or wristlet) the best handbag I've made.  I like that I'm always improving.  But that means that earlier pieces might not have all the features current ones do.  I hope no one who has one of my handbags ever feels like they are missing out.  You know, your handbag was the best one I ever made up to that point. :)  


* I will get some crocheting done as I patiently sit in my seat waiting for our movies to start ... unless that's when I have to eat my dinner or catch up on my sleep.

I'm finally feeling better!  Last night was the first cough-interruption-free night since February 8th when Andrew first got sick.  February 8th!  I'm still utterly exhausted and have a waking cough, but a couple full nights of sleep will cure that.

The knitted cord from my Clover Wonder Knitter makes the *best* wristlet straps.  I tried all sorts of variations (double strand, multi-color double strand, knitting a cord around another cord), but the plain-old 3-spindle tube is perfect:  it's shape looks nice; the cord is moderately stretchy; and it's so fun and easy to make.  Super-Duper Yay!

This is going to be a very busy week.  Not only have I penciled-in a lot of sleeping, but months ago we bought tickets for two concerts.  Wednesday we're seeing Clinic (with Mahogany).  Thursday we're seeing Of Montreal.  I also have several of big craft projects on the verge of completion.  I can't wait to finish them and tackle the next set.  Below is a sneak peak at the embellishments on handbags that will go to Dustpan Alley.

You might not know this ...  I have a blog blog where I write about non-crafty things like movies and music.  That's where I'll talk about the concerts later this week, if you're interested in that kind of thing.

Ester emailed me in November and asked if I would make a wristlet for her.  Of course!  Luckily, I knew how crazy my schedule would be, so I warned her it would be done after the new year.  See, I'm right on time.

I love wristlets.  I was very afraid of the whole zipper thing.  It took me four tries to get the zipper exactly how I wanted it.  I was so happy when I finally did it, that I sat there ZIP. ZIP. ZIP. for about 5 minutes saying, "Hey, look, a zipper!"

I like the crochet strap because it's soft against my wrist and it's stretchy, but it twists up a little when it's off my wrist.  I'm thinking about making next one with a fabric strap that matches the bag lining.  What do you think?