Autumn Pouch

I started this pouch before the black and white one, but didn't finish it until yesterday. (Please forgive the extra little thread around the top. I am trying to train the petals to droop down. If it does not work I will have to put in a little invisible stitch to keep them folded down.) I like the colors of this pouch, but not the fabric. It is supposed to be a silk fabric, but the store I was in didn't carry silk, so I found this shiny substitute. It looks nice, but doesn't handle nearly as nice, and doesn't feel as nice either.

I love the tassel! C helped me pick out the beads (I may have shown the tassel earlier), but it looks really rich. The kumihimo braids turned out very rich too.

The leaves are appliqued by machine, with just a straight stitch.

I got out one of the kumihimo kits I picked up at the Midwest Stitching Expo last month. The kit is very complete, with a new braiding disk, chenille fiber, and bobbins to keep the fibers under control. Each strand is more than twice as long as anything I have braided before, and having the fibers on bobbins is making a world of difference.

I don't know if you can see, but 4 of the 12 strands are metallic, with beads. It is forming a very pretty and interesting spiral; I hope to get better pictures of the braid itself when it is done. I am not as sure about the chenille, but I will be working with beads again! I do have another kit with both chenille and beads, so if I do something different, it will be after that.