Mineral Quartz Purse - FINISHED!!!!

This purse turned out so cute!!! And, I learned a LOT with it. This is the project that I started for the Crochet Cafe. I was initially going to only use yarn, but I decided that I wanted to add the purse hardware and some of the embellishments. It was just too pretty!!!! I ended up calling it the Mineral Quartz purse because the random metallic threads and the color of the buttons remind me of a lot of the rocks that I used to pick up so that Dad could tumble them.

Mineral Quartz Purse Lessons
Knitting
Gloves do work if you have sensitive hands and metallic threads are bothersome.

Felting
1. Forget about it for this kind of project when the novelty yarn is twice as thick as the fingering weight wool. This didn't really felt at all. It just ended up losing a bit of the sparkle.
2. Weave ends in before felting. I had a solid ball of tangles when I first pulled it out of the machine.

Lining
1. I found a yard of a pretty celery-colored polyester lining for $1. It was a remnant. So, in total I spent a dime on the lining.
2. Next time I need to buy pins. I don't have a sewing machine, so I hand sewed this. I need to pin the whole darn thing when I do this again.
3. I'm not going to win any prizes for my lining. But I won't beat myself up for a first attempt.
4. Spend a little time marvelling at the thread colors of a big sewing store. Amazing!!!!
5. Cut the lining bigger than you think you'll need if you're a hack at hand-sewing like I am. You'll need the extra fabric for hemming.

Assembly
1. I'm actually OK with the way that it came together despite the too-small lining.
2. I used ribbon to weave the handles together. This allows me to tighten the handles as needed. And, if I want to, I can later create button ties with it...if it needs to be more secure.
3. My standard sewing needles got lost in the yarn when I tried to pin the edges. I'm going to try weaving in a DPN as a guide next time.
4. Next time I'm going to use a stitch marker to place my handles. It worked OK to eyeball it this time. But a larger or more intricate project would have required more precision.

This was a FUN project that really only took a couple days of leisurely work on it.