... And Now

For one thing, I've learned to take better pictures. I have a space set up in my studio for taking pictures and I have specific props.

This is my latest creation, 3 years later. I have learned a lot in those years. This purse uses silk on the outside which is laminated onto the wool which is inside. I still use a resist so that the purse is made in one piece and I have complicated it a bit to include a double resist so that I have a pocket inside. My handles are more complex for each purse and instead of being sewn on the outside these are sewn inside. Usually I would felt them into the purse but these had to be measured to a particular person so they were added last.

Right now I think a lot about the details of each purse; the inside, the outside, the closure, the flap, the handles, whether the bottom will be flat or rounded. And I use a felt stiffener so that the purse is more durable.

I think it is useful to go back and really document progress. I still like the earlier models and think they are beautiful and unusual. These later models are really not better in the sense that the early ones failed to meet a standard. The later models are merely an increased awareness of the properties of wool and how one can create a complex piece of fabric from the wool.