A neat Bag!

Neat in both the colloquial and literal meanings of that word.

Not my pattern. You can find that HERE. (I ran out of the dark blue cotton so used the turquoise to finish up.) It weighs about 70g including flower and button so could be made with a 100g ball.

Here is the bag laid out. What is the little touch of yellow? You will see in a moment!

The base is two thicknesses and creates a pocket for the bag.

Here it is emerging from the pocket. Tuck it all in and you get – (I rescued the button from a birthday card!)

And a view from above. Just right to pop in your pocket in case you need a bag!

A beautiful bag

I have just completed the project I started after I had finished the cloth for the dining table. I wanted something that would be easy on my hands and this bag has been on my to-do list for quite some time.I have made two bags before.

This one was a present and a trial before making my hexagon blanketand this is one that I use for my knitting or crochet projects.For the first I used a cotton shopping bag from John Lewis as a lining and the second bag had no lining. So this is the first time that I have actually made a bag where I had to make a lining.

This bag was one I first saw made by Jill – https://jillgoldberg19.wordpress.com/2013/02/20/my-big-fat-granny-bag/

The pattern is on Ravelry – http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/29-210-44-striped-bag

Of course with it basically being a granny square with thirty rows. I couldn’t resist the temptation to use my fifteen ‘spectrum colours’, two rows each.

Having recently seen a post by someone saying how they reversed direction every row because it made a granny square square and knowing that if you went round and round it was hard to keep the square square, as when I made the doll blanket.I reversed direction for this even though the chart showed it being made just round and round.

And I was pleased with the result. Here is the granny square.The corners are curling at the top because I finished the square in the early evening and went on to do one of the gathering edges.

And here is the inside. I got the fabric for free one Friday when someone had fabric they wanted to get rid of at the Craft group.and another view.I’ve already started on another project but as it will be a present I won’t be able to show you it for quite a while.

 

 

Another Project finished!

You remember in my ‘Projects, Projects, Projects’ post I showed you a picture of the attic24 inspired crochet bag that I was making to hold my knitting or crochet.

Well at last I have got round to finishing it.

I finished the bag part a few days ago and then I settled down to make two handles. Seven rows, well it had to be two rainbows didn’t it?

And lastly I got to the flowers.  I decided that I ought to be able to work out flowers and leaves for myself and in the end I make four flowers in different colours but the same basic pattern and twelve leaves: eight dark green and four light green to go round the flowers.

And then finally I sewed on the handles added the flowers and leaves and Yes!

Here it is! Sitting on my settee with my current lot of knitting in it.

Of course it had started with rainbow colours too.

So they could peep out from the bottom of the bag between the balls of yarn.

I said that I didn’t feel that I could say what I was making at present but here is a picture of all the bits in scarlet red that are needed.

Anyone guess what it is going to be?

Projects, Projects, Projects!

I realise that I actually have four projects on the go at present.

Firstly and most importantly there is my hexagon blanket.

The main body is almost finished and I am trying to give it priority.

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Then there is my ‘can I really knit a sock?’ project.

The assistant priest in our parish, having seen me first in my spiral scarf and then in my rainbow scarf, realised that I must be a knitter and asked if I would knit him a pair of socks. Not any socks, mind you. He plays the bagpipes and is part of a music group. They have to wear white knee socks, which turn over at the top.  Apparently you can’t buy socks like this and they have to improvise. But if I could knit him a custom made pair!……………………..

Well I have never knitted socks. All these double pointed needles and picking up stitches for the heel had made me feel that I would never knit socks. But I told him I would think about it.

I discovered that socks could be knitted using circular needles, so not so many ends for stitches to fall off, and I even found a pattern  that used wraps to shape the heel, so no picking up stitches. It was getting better.

I decided that I would have to practice before I was finally sure I could do this. I only had DK yarn and circular needles suitable for DK yarn so I decided that would have to do. (At least I had some boring colours I didn’t need at present). I adjusted the number of stitches to suit the yarn and wow! I actually made a sock that fitted my foot. Yes. I can do this!

I couldn’t entirely eliminate the ladders you get, when using a long circular to knit a small circumference but then I discovered really small circular needles and decided to buy one.

Yes they really are that small.

I practised using straight needles and the small circular just to knit the heel part in some odd 4ply wool I had. Yeh! This works too.

Yes and I have even bought myself some gorgeous sock yarn to knit some socks for myself when I have made the knee socks. I am saving a reveal of this for a separate post.

At present, when my hands want a rest from crochet, I am working out how much I might have to increase to fit the sock round the calf. When I have finished the blanket then I start the socks proper.

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I have also been making a bag

similar to Lucy’s. I had so loved the thought of having it to use for holding my yarn, next to me on the settee.

She uses aran yarn and I only had DK so I have increased the number of rows for base and sides. It was useful for using up scraps of DK yarn and it was also good for when I needed some crochet I didn’t need to concentrate too hard on, (well not once I got to the sides). It is quite well advanced really.

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Lastly

I have a project that is really on the back burner and that is to make a Buff®. I saw it advertised in one of these little booklets for online companies you get and thought I could use the pattern I had used for my Scarf/Hat Tube Thingy  as all it is a stretchy tube. I have only done about the first four inches but it won’t take long when I decide to give it time.

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And of course I also manage to fit in the odd project on the side that can be completed quickly like the Cup Cape I made from the pattern at the Wool Hogs blog.

I made it to fit an old white mug I had, as most of my mugs have pictures on that you want to see. But now I have transferred it to my Bodum glass mug that I use for my breakfast green tea. It looks good on there too and fits just as well.