Iris Purse

Ironically, my newest iris bloom is similar in coloring to a purse I made a few years ago in an Iroquois raised beadwork class.



The freshwater pearls were meant to represent water droplets. The stem is made of porcupine quills, which are really neat to work with. You actually insert a very long, thin, needle right up through the center of the quill. A seed bead at the top and bottom of the quill prevents the thread from being cut by the sharp quill tips.

Here's the reverse side - just a bud.

Both the full bloom and the bud were beaded first on poster board covered in pellon, edged, and then sewn on like an applique.





Like every other purse I've made from a class, it's not very practical. I think I've used it only a few times. The wool felt from a distance looks just like leather. It's lined with a cotton print in the almost identical colors of the beadwork.

Here's my newest iris-I swear it smells like orange to me. Yum.