Cardigan: Floral Yoke Cardigan by Jordana Paige
Dress: Anthropologie via eBay
Belt: Target
Shoes: Kenneth Cole
Hnadbag: Bella by Jordana Paige
What does one do Monday morning after a super fun, long weekend? Yes, go to work, but I’ve found the remedy to Monday morning blues; turn on “Soul Sister” by Train, put on a really cute dress and start dancing. It will kick you right into gear and you’ll be ready to face the day. It works, I promise. Today’s been a really good day.
Just three more days left to the sweater challenge. If you haven’t sent in your entries, don’t wait any longer. The last day to enter is December 3rd. Remember, you get a free Jordana Paige pattern just for entering. Also, be sure you photograph yourself from head to toe like you’ve seen me do for the past 27 days. I want to see the complete look!
No, this wasn’t planned. The family just really likes Bella in Bronze. It gets really confusing when all the purses are grouped together. I’ve mistakenly put my sunglasses in my Gran’s purse before. Unfortunately, no one has ever mistakenly put money in my mine.
The fall issues of knitting magazines are hitting the stands. Not only did the editors fill them with great knits, but they’ve also said “hello” to Bella. Check out their reviews:
“It’s the most glamorous knitting bag we’ve seen, yet it transports projects with ease. Cleverly disguised as a high-end purse, this tote is loaded with extra pockets–including a large zippered divider–to hold needles, notions and that tube of red-hot lipstick.” -Vogue Knitting
“Jordana Paige bags are, without exception, wonderful and well designed besides being incredibly fashionable. Bella is a stylish and nicely sized smaller profile knitting bag with every feature a knitter could want, while at the same time doubles as a purse that you can carry daily, with or without a knitting project (not that there’s ever a day without knitting!)…” -Knit ‘n Style
Okay, so you want to know the new color. I’d hoped to get it photographed this week, but it seems my photographer must be out of town. Hopefully I’ll be able to do a shoot next Tuesday, otherwise it will be another week.
I leave next Wednesday to teach at the Baskets of Yarn retreat in North Carolina. But, if you’re going to be at the retreat, you’ll get to see the new color!
Delivery day! The new product came today…it’s Bella in a new color. I hadn’t even seen a sample of the bag in the new color, just a fabric swatch. This could have been a really dumb move on my part. I held my breath and opened a box.
My heart leapt, it was love at first sight. I mean it, absolute love. Of course I always think my designs and colors are fabulous, but there’s something about this new color that I just can’t take my eyes off of. I ran to my office, dumped everything out of Pearl Bella and into new Bella. I couldn’t get everything in it fast enough.
Since I didn’t have a sample, I don’t have photos of it yet. I don’t want to tell you the color because I don’t want you to get a picture of it in your mind. You just have to see it. So, I’m only teasing you here, you’re going to have to wait a few more days.
A couple weeks ago I read a review of Bella from a blogger in Germany, Hexe. To summarize, she wasn’t happy with the size of Bella (too small), didn’t think it closed up well enough and didn’t think Bella could easily be carried over one’s shoulder. I wrote Hexe to address her concerns and our correspondence turned into a great little experiment. I thought I’d share because this isn’t the first time I’ve heard these concerns.
Bella ships flat, without stuffing inside. We find she ships best this way and keeps the cost of shipping down. The downside to this is when she is unpacked she’s flat and not nearly as cute as the photos you see on the website. The straps appear short and don’t easily slide to gather the bag. But, don’t worry, Bella just needs a little use.
I told Hexe Bella just needed some weight in her to create the shape and make the drawstring handles work right. Hexe was great, she conducted a little experiment. She put eight, yes eight! soup cans inside of Bella and hung her on a hook for a couple days. Click here to see a photo of those 8 soup cans.
The results…Bella’s straps slide easily to create a secure closure. The straps are long enough to throw over one’s shoulder and at 8 soup cans, Bella is no little bag. You can read Hexe’s final comments here. Thanks for the experiment Hexe!
Bella and the Grape Knitter’s Satchel arrived Monday of last week. I got to break in the new shipping table, which is my favorite part of the new headquarters. It’s so organized. As you can tell by my designs, I like organized.
Anyway, all pre-orders of Bella and back orders of the Grape Knitter’s Satchel shipped by last Friday. So, if you had placed an order for either, you’ll receive it this Friday at the latest. This also means Bella will start popping up in your LYS this week. Check it out the next time you’re there, or ask your LYS to carry our products.
Isn’t she cute? Bella is perfectly sized to be used as an every day purse and carry your knitting—smaller projects like socks and scarves or a portion of a project like a sleeve. While Bella is meant for small projects, she’s not wimpy. I’ve been carrying the prototype of Bella around daily for several months now and am constantly surprised with how much stuff I can fit inside.
To see more photos, get a closer look at the woven fabric I just love and to read more about Bella, click here.
Why have I named this bag Bella? I decided to give all future designs names that mean something to me. Bella Brancato was my high school sewing teacher. I’ve talked a bit about her before. She inspired me to pursue a career in the fashion industry. Looking at this new bag, I think no other name would fit it so nicely.
Bella will be available in a couple weeks. I don’t have a definite date yet, but you can either pre-order the bag here, or ask your LYS to carry this new style.
