DIY Bug Bites
"I'll just do it my damn self," I said.
Today I woke up with the brilliant idea that I'm going to make my own cross body, low profile handbag. Trying to buy one is probably the most painful experience because not only do I want specific dimensions--I will not carry a bag bigger than my head but it has to hold a wallet, smartphone, keys, and an inhaler--I also need it in two specific colors: medium-dark brown and black. eBags, Zappos, and Amazon are the only places I bother with for bags anymore, but I'm tired of having to replace the same low quality pieces. I draw the line at paying more for a tiny handbag than I do clothing and shoes. The frugal minimalist in me refuses.
My DIY self is a determined, and adventurous, creature, however.
Not only am I now sucked into the beautiful world of handbag craft and design, I'm also researching courses on textiles. Why? Because my brain is like that. I set out to find the best yarn type for crocheting a bag and ended up learning why manufacturers are not allowed to label their products as naturally derived from bamboo, and instead must call it rayon, because of their extraction and production methods. A horrible process indeed.
Back to the task at hand: finding the best yarn for a crochet handbag.
I'm gonna need a few more hours of looking, apparently. I thought a simple cotton would do but it stretches too much so now I'm pretty sure it will be hemp. However, even in a state where it's cousin is fully legalized for adult consumption, I'm having a hard time locating a source with the colors I need. In a time of marijuana overproduction and market saturation (go figure...) hemp is not in abundance. I can go find marijuana in an array of flavors, mood effects, and potency on every other street corner but I can't find a simple dark brown skein of hemp yarn? Hemp is already halfway earth colored, what gives!
"No matter," I foolishly declared. "I'll just turn to the fibers our forebears have relied upon since we crawled down out of the trees and made critters subservient to our needs."
I... did not know there was this much to wool. I'm in trouble.At this point, I think I'm going to need a few more days for research. If it weren't for the very specific design I have in mind, this process probably wouldn't be so difficult. Or if I didn't just have to know the details about everything, that would make it quicker, for sure. But, that's not how I work.Off to disseminate too much information!* *Never too much information, there's no such thing! -brain
