the quarter-inch press: ‘cannes’ beach bag upgrade
Quite some time ago, I saw a Martha Stewart project that involved adding running stitches to everything. I also more recently saw a Martha project that involved dipping things in paint. I also saw another Martha project that involved decorating summer-y straw mats, slippers, and beach bags with flowers stitched out of raffia (fun!).
I decided to put all three projects together. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea. I often find it difficult to know when to stop on a craft project: when is it too busy, when is it perfect and shouldn’t have any changes made to it? I’m learning the answer is, when I feel like it. Just do what I like. Trust my gut/instincts/preferences. Some people don’t worry about whether they’re doing it “right,” they just do it!
So I decided to do all three projects on the same purse. I’ve had this plain old beach-y purse for a long time, with matching coin-pouch attached inside. I happened to have white raffia in our gift-wrapping box, and used my biggest needle to create a running stitch along the top of the purse, and along the top of the coin pouch. While working on the coin pouch, I noticed the sides were falling apart, so I stitched the sides with white raffia as well. I like the result: more bold.
Then I dipped the entire bottoms of both purse and pouch in a bucket of white paint. It has been drying for TWO DAYS. Ah well, crafting requires patience. But I want to blog about it now!
Final final results shall be posted as soon as I am able. For now, here’s just the running stitch part.
By the way, running stitches are about the easiest thing in the world, and decorating things with raffia is super fun! After stitching my bag, I wandered around the condo looking for something else to raffia-tize. Entryway rug? Nope, too thick. Dining room rug? Nope, too thick. For now, it’s a no-go.
However…I am loving the idea of embroidering running stitches along some of my plain boring t-shirts and other clothes. I saw this great idea on Sweet Verbena. Totally “running” with this idea. Ha. Ha. Ha.
