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This is my favourite time of year and in Canada we have the long Thanksgiving weekend to enjoy it even more. The weather in Southern Ontario has been perfect and we have been taking advantage of it, spending time in places we love and doing the things that make the weekend memorable.
I love working with colours that make me sing. Yesterday I didn’t have a lot of time, but I made these small pouches. They are made from the very very last of my beautiful orange leather which is on so many of my pieces–combined with a pink skirt. Inside I mixed different batik cottons. If you have one of my pieces, I want you to enjoy the feel and the look inside and out — these little pouches fill those criteria–baby-skin soft and great, great colour. They will put a smile on your face.
Here are the two pouches which I use all the time–they are from former days, but are still holding up well to the work I give them. The front pouch is for cosmetics and the back one holds all those essential cords and plugs. I have another small leather one for business cards–and another for all my rug hooks. I find the pouch essential for travelling and for daily use.
This is all by way of introduction to some new pouches. My friend, MA, a lover of all things cobalt, got a new large wallet and so set me on the task of making a larger cobalt pouch to carry it. Here are the ones I came up with–all out of those cobalt skirts I found last spring–and each lined with a different wax print. Calm and dignified on the outside and a burst of colour on the inside. These pouches are all 9.5 inches wide, approximately 6″ high and have a 3″ base.
I have talked here before about how I love the patterns on African wax cotton prints. You can see the wealth of designs here. Lined up above are the linings of some large pouches–similar on the outside, cobalt or evergreen recycled skirts–but each lined with a unique piece of wax print. I have been collecting these fabrics for a while and the examples here were purchased at markets in Kenya and France. Below is another example, this one with its recycled suede pocket is ready to be inserted into the second Toffee Delta tote. Such rich colour and design. 
Here is a new triad–evergreen and aqua with deep red accents. It is an unlined bag made of heavy-duty leather with a double leather bottom attached with dome rivets for durability. It has lots of pockets–three on the front and another four inside. 14.5″ x 14.5″ x 5.5″ and the handles have an 11.5″ drop for easy carrying.
Our local group of rug-hookers attended a great two-day workshop with Anne Boissinot on the weekend. The topic was hooking houses. Anne is full of fun and has much to share about the techniques and the art of hooking architecture. She is a generous and knowledgeable teacher who kept us on our toes and on task almost every minute! It was a full and rewarding two days as you will see from the pieces below. These are not all the pieces from the class–but the ones I managed to photograph at the end.
Wendy’s tenant house:
Carol’s garden shed:
Lise’s village scene, a Joan Boyle pattern:
Jane’s Japanese Christmas card which she got permission to hook:
Mary Anne’s pictorial–we have to admit she didn’t manage all this in two days!
and Liz’s house:
I made two pouches today, inspired by the colours of our cycling trip. These pouches are made of recycled leather and lined with cotton. Great supple leather in orange/cobalt and citron/red. 8.5″ x 5.5″ with metal zippers and a myriad of uses on their own or in a larger bag. In the on-line store now.
We were in Quebec for a few days, first in Montreal and then further north in the Laurentians. We were there to cycle but taking a little time to sketch too. So, I was trying to remember the lessons I learned from Marc Holmes at the USk workshop in Montreal this past summer. You can see him here giving me some pointers about capturing a building’s angles. There are several good examples of early nineteenth-century québecois architecture still surviving on the main street of this small northern town–so I sat on a bench in town trying my hand at capturing them.
And the cycling there was super. There is an old railbed trail, Le p’tit train du nord, which runs from Saint-Jerome to Mont-Laurier with stunning scenery on all sides. We were staying roughly in the middle of the route, so we cycled north one day and south the other–each equally beautiful. The old stations have been preserved and there are charming spots for café along the way. If you are really adventuresome, you can leave your car at the bottom and take a shuttle to the top and cycle the 220 km back down to St. Jerome. With all this time on the bike saddle, I’ve dreamed up some new ideas for totes and bags, and will be glad to be back in the studio before long. I am thinking crimson, citron and orange…
