Market bag update

Success!!!



Pattern: Linen Market Bag (ravelry project page)
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy
Needle: US5

I ripped back the ridiculously long market bag and modified the finishing. I made some little handles perfect for carrying my loot, and one strap long enough to sling the bag over my shoulder. For the shoulder strap, I held the yarn double for less stretch and more stability. Now I'm ready for the farmers market/library/yarn shop. :) This type of bag would also make for a great beach bag--all the sand would fall through the holes!

This was my first time using Hempathy. It was a great yarn to knit with, though I'm not sure what other projects I would use it for besides this kind of bag... maybe a summer cardigan?

Quilting practice

Despite having learned to quilt at the wee age of 8, I still feel like a total novice when it comes to machine quilting. I've done some walking-foot quilting, and a smidgen of (awful) free motion quilting, but this is remains a skill-set that I need to develop. When I was helping my sister pack for her cross-country move last summer, we came across a table runner project that she'd stalled out on after piecing the top. I saw this opportunity to practice my machine quilting and volunteered to finish the table runner for her.



I considered doing some free-motion quilting in this project, but in the end I chose the easier option--straight lines. It's fun to practice on projects that you plan to give away.... so that you won't be looking at the mistakes for the rest of your life. :)

I still need to practice free-motion quilting, but no plans for that right now.

Trying to turn a frown upside down

A couple of weeks ago I was bitten by the summer knitting bug and thought I'd made a couple of knitted market bags. My enthusiasm sped me through the knitting of this one, but my disappointment with the outcome has put the breaks on this little knitting jog. Here's the picture of the bag with my library loot from last weekend:



It's just too stretchy to be practical. I basically had to grab hold of it just above the level of my library stuff because holding the handles would have had it banging against my knee or the ground. But I want to salvage this project, and I have a plan! I'm going to rip back almost half of the mesh, and change the handle design from two long handles to one long handle (for shoulder hanging) and two very-short handles for hand holding. Cross your fingers!!

Two winter projects

We're well into spring (thank goodness!), but I've just gotten around to loading pics of some of my winter projects. First, a crochet cowl:



This pattern (a Lion Brand freebie) was pretty quick and easy. I'm definitley a novice crocheter, though, and I have trouble keeping track of written instructions, so I charted out the pattern (you can see that on my Ravelry project page). My problem with this project is yarn choice. The Cascade Eco + I used is much to itchy, even after a nice soak in WoolWash for my neck. What a bummer. Also, if I make this again, I would add one more pattern repeat to make it slightly looser. Or maybe many more pattern repeats to make it more of an infinity scarf style. But it's still pretty to look at. :)



Next, a scarf for Raj. This was SUPER easy, just a bunch of garter stitch. The pattern, from LMKG, recommends choosing a few different colors to make a stripe pattern, but instead I chose a subtly self-striping yarn by Noro (I love Noro!). The yarn is a tad luxurious--it's a blend of wool, mohair, silk and angora--but it's a nice manly colorway, and it's super soft on the neck.



Raj has gotten quite a bit of use out of it. I like to joke that it matches the majority of his wardrobe (blacks and browns).

FO: Budding Shawlette

Pattern: Budding Shawlette [http://www.ravelry.com/projects/robink/budding-shawlette]
Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca Fine in colorway "Steel Cut Oats"
Needle: US5



This shawl was knit for a charity auction for sister Tracie's club. Pleasingly repetitive pattern, easy to memorize, interesting enough. The color is pleasing, with a bit of heather for interest.



My mom "won" the shawl, and she gave it to a coworker for her birthday.

FO: Hermione [hearts] Ron

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca
Needle: US3 and US6
Pattern: Hermione Hearts Ron (ravelry project page)



Another movie-inspired knit! I remember seeing this hat in the movie and thinking it wouldn't be hard to re-create. Thankfully, someone else did the work! Though I did modify the crown decreases significantly (details on the ravelry page).



Not the first finished object of 2012, but the first one that's been photodocumented. :) This hat was a quick, fun knit. My hands did cramp a bit using the US3s for the brim, but I'm so happy with the result, it was worth it. The yarn is left over from a scarf I made for Tracie P.B. (pre-blog). This hat took nearly all of the 77g I had remaining. Yea for using yarn from the stash!



Rare to have a hat fit my large head so well! (I guess that's what comes of using larger yarn and needles than called for without decreasing the number of stitches cast on).

FO: Bella's Mittens

Pattern: Bella's Mittens (ravelry project page)
Yarn: Cascade Eco +

These mittens were part of Tracie's Christmas gift. A fun, quick pattern. My first time using Cascade Eco +, and I really liked it. It may be a bit too thick for practical use in Seattle winter accessories. We'll see. The skein is freakin' huge! So I have tons of this purple left.

After knitting nearly one complete mitten, I realized it was just too small, so I frogged it and re-knit using US9 needles. The resulting mittens are still a bit snug/short for my hands, but they fit Tracie perfectly. The cabling was fun--I recommend trying "cabling without a cable needle" if you haven't done so yet (just google it for instructions). It's really easy and helps speed things along.