Offspring the Younger, inspired by a pattern and fabrics we found at the Pine Needle, commissioned me to put together two reversible sling bags and a little zipped pouch.
Here's the reverse side of the polka dot bag.
And here's the second bag and the little pouch.
I love this pattern. Can't you imagine all sorts of great possibilities?
My life is full of distractions. I try to make the most of them.
This is a birthday gift for the August sibling, based on the great 1-hour bag tutorial by Jodie at Ric Rac. Took me perhaps five times as long as it took her, but that's--oh, look, a helicopter.
I suspected when I started this blog that it would fall victim to my nature--in other words, it would become wildly inconsistent.
Tah dah.
I can't even blame the advent of Ravelry. I've had this affliction for a long time.
Catching up on some of this year's projects (in no particular order):
A Christmas gift for Mum. Colors are her choice and suit her perfectly. She also chose the lining fabric, a Kaffe Fassett print.
Pattern: The Bag
Designer: Wendy Wonnacott
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Cotton Frappe, approx. 2 skeins (318 yards) in 012 Field Mix and 1 skein (159 yards) in 001 White (cream, really)
Needles: US 4/3.5 mm Addi Turbo, 24" circular
I didn't think much of the garterstitch straps called for in the pattern, so I cranked out about 10 feet of I-cord. I'm very happy with that mod.
If I recall correctly, my row gauge didn't match that specified by the pattern, so my finished bag was squatter. I remedied this by making a shallower gusset (about 1" as opposed to 3"). Another happy mod.
One source of great frustration: Even though the Field Mix colorway was not intense it bled like crazy all over the cream when I washed and blocked the main piece. The effect grew uglier as the bag dried. (The knitting looked like I'd used it to rub down a rusty car.) In desperation, I threw the bag into the washing machine on hot with color-safe bleach and some Cheer. That did the trick!
This little project entails quite a bit of finishing work. Nice--but I don't think I'll make another one.
* The Bag (pattern by Wendy Wonnacott) for Mum
* Knit slipper socks for Gram
* Polar fleece slipper socks for Gram
* Baby Alligator scarf (kit from Morehouse Farm) for Mr. W
* Sewn gift bags
* Something special for Gram's 90th birthday (December 24)--You go, Gram!
Offspring the Elder spent Friday trying to pull together a gift for a friend's birthday. The present was looking a little, well, thin...and we were running short on resources. But lordy, have we got a house full o' crap. Enter this idea:
In the seventies, my dad was quite the dresser. Frye boots, velvet sport coats, Swiss ski sweaters, and leather trenches were his sort of thing. He also had a couple of cashmere turtlenecks. When he handed a yellowish one off to me and gave me carte blanche, I threw it in a big pot of water with several packets of drink mix. Thus was the softest mottled spring green felt in the world born. I love it.
Back to the story at hand: we needed to beef up a birthday gift, as well as wrap it. This seemed a reasonable solution. The pocket, which I made by using the entire turtleneck collar, has two compartments. More fun that way, I think. (And the cashmere. Oh. We just wanted to keep stroking it. Ooh, what about using this bag as a hot water bottle cover?)
Problem solved...and I have a bit more room in my sewing nook. Cool!
