Treasure Bags

Happy April! Erin here -

Today I'm going to blog about one of my favorite things to make - treasure bags, aka amulet bags. I've knitted them, crocheted them, made then with peyote/gourd stitch and brick stitch. By far my favorite is peyote/gourd stitch. Most of my bags end up as gifts for our UnStrung Aunt Joey - someone who can truly appreciate the time and effort put into making each and every bag. This first bag is of a moose, I found the bag pattern at about.com beadwork website. The fringe and the necklace have lots and lots of stuff. The picture of this bag was taken in Aunt Joey's fabulous front yard - she built that stone fence all by herself!

The back of the bag is a simple pattern in the black and green. This bag has been featured on Woof Nanny's blog about amulet purses. Take a few moments and poke around her blog - she has lots of fun information and projects to make.

This next bag was also a gift for our UnStrung Aunt Joey. This bag did take me over 6 weeks to make (back in 1999). There are over 30 different colors of beads. I can weave to make the beaded fabric all day long, but oh that twisted fringe did frustrated me!!! This breath taking life-like bead pattern is by Ann W. Paxton. Ms. Paxton's patterns can be found at bead stores or there are lots of sources on the Internet (just search Ann W. Paxton), the website I had book-marked for Ms. Paxton is no longer in service but take a few moments to search - her patterns are true works of art. This bag has the perfect message of JOY on the back.