Gnomes!

I tried a Craftster swap again. I've been a little wary since my last experience. The thing about swaps is that if one person puts their whole soul into the project, and the other person doesn't, it ends up being a really slimy memory..but hey! For gnomes, I will give it a another try. Today is the send-off date and here's what I made:

It's a Jordy bag, made from this genius tutorial: I used some kind of stiff denim for the outside, and some vintage cotton from my local antique store for the inside.



Then the gnome: Found on Google, I admit it. I am not so confident in my crafty skills to think I can create a decent gnome. Maybe if I was more artistic in the painting kind of way. And I can't help thinking that all the crocheted and knitted gnomes out there would be disappointing to someone who, like me, holds the gnome from Amelie to be the pinnacle of gnomehood.

So I did an iron-on transfer onto yellow felt and patched him on there. I freehanded the crocheted mushroom, and used my favorite yarn, that green Lamb's Pride, to do the grass in a lazy daisy stitch.



I made a little keychain, too, because my swap partner specifically requested one. The strain of turning the felt inside out is starting to make the transfer flake already, though. I feel bad I couldn't do something more permanent.

All in all, I'm very pleased with it, and I hope my partner is too.



Oh, and check this out: nifty Japanese knitting and crochet patterns with charts.