A Socking Along...

Just wanted to post a quick update... Well into my 2nd Monkey sock on magic loop. Slowly working on my version Wendy's Knit Toe-up sock. Its slow because its car knitting or group knitting. Since I am almost finished with the Moneky socks I am picking out my next "complicated" sock. I had picked the next pattern out but have since decided that I want to try something that I haven't tried before and that not that many people are doing just to be different. :-) Mix it up a bit.

Well time to heard students off to lunch. I am gone this coming weekend so will catch up with posts Sunday night or Monday. Going an a knitting group trip with some friends to Lake Tahoe, will take pictures and write up a post for next week. So everyone have a great weekend.

Monkey Needs a Friend

Just finished the first of my Monkey socks. This pattern has some kind of mojo and that Cookie A knows how to write a pattern. Easy to follow and fun to knit. This is short but I leave you with a serious of pictures of construction of the sock

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A comment about the earlier post...I recieved a concerned phone call....ty to my lovely friend :-) hugggsss! She called just to check up on me (not saying who cause its her and my personal business, she is a FRIEND). Just so for infor for those of you who care about me know. I am fine. I wasn't crying or hurt at all. I was PO-ed...big time. I just do not suffer fools well sometimes. Shrugs we all have our things. Mine happens to be messages from silly people who need to get a life. If they think my posts are such drivel and the world is such a serious place then what in the hell are you doing checking over a knitting blog? Just kind of curious...if you have such low thoughts about the world, society and people then shouldn't you be out there trying to do something to change it instead of bitching about it or pointy fingers at others whom you are assuming are wasting time? I am out "there" doing something about it....(my personal non-knitting info that I will speak of in general terms ...see?) Ok yeah ....I said I wasn't bringing it up again ....but damn some people's kids I swear! Now I am just laughing about it because it is rediculous.

Time for bed. Sweet Dreams...ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

There comes a time...(to rant)...

...when everyone is pushed to the edge...when even the nicest person reaches their limit...when its time to stop being NICE. This is where I am in this moment in time.

I have had a couple (more then a couple) of emails from people who do not KNOW me. To KNOW me you would have to be a part of my everyday "face to face" life. This blog is about KNITTING. Knitting makes me happy so the tone of this blog is a happy one. This blog TELLS you nothing about who I am nor what I am about. NOTHING. I rarely put any personal info outside of knitting or yarn content in the posts. When I do it is in general terms. I do NOT choose to put my deepest darkest thoughts and feelings on this blog. I do NOT choose to put my life into the post.

Writing to tell me things like "you are too damn happy to be real"..."your happiness is fake and makes me sick"..."you are disgustingly sweet".. .. (this one really gets me laughing) "why don't you talk about something real and substantial and stop pretending like the world is all happy happy joy joy" (yes someone said that exactly..lmao). Listen up...KNITTING BLOG...NOT my life stories...KNITTING MAKES ME FEEL GOOD AND WHEN I FEEL GOOD I AM HAPPY. So if you are bothered by my happiness or find me to be "fake" in your opinion then move on.

If it is your choice to have a blog about more complicated ideas and stories then good for you. It is NOT my choice. I choose with whom I share my total self with...if you enjoy judging people in shallow terms then your opinions about the "tone" of my posts is your deal NOT mine. If you have a problem with the "happy tone" of my posts then its your deal NOT mine. If more people in the world shared the things that they are passionate and happy about with others then there would be less of the crap going on that we see around us!

When I post I just write. I don't analyze my grammer or my spelling. So what? Yes I am a teacher...and a damn good one! So what if I have spelling errors in my posts. Its a BLOG not a research paper or my dissertation. This is where I choose to hang out and just be. If You have a problem with that then its your deal NOT mine.

Everyone can't be nice all the time but so what if I were? What is your major malfunction that you have to put your opinions on me and waste my time with your insecurities and judgements? I am me! I love me and I make no excuses for who and what I am. If you see my happiness as "fake" then thats your deal NOT mine.

I am real...complex and with a story. This blog doesn't even begin to touch the surface as to who I am nor make a dent into the story of my life and the person I am and what I put out into the world. Life is too short to spend it always talking about the serious topics of life all the time. I work with kids who have serious things going on in their lives every single day. I KNOW what the reality of the world is, I am not walking through life with rose colored glasses. I LIVED a serious life for a long time. I am choosing to focus on peace now in my personal life. Yarn, knitting and the sharing of it is my peace. So if you have a problem with someone who chooses to focus on a happy part of their life then that is your deal NOT mine.

Anyone who sends me jerk-off emails will just get their messages tossed in the recycle bin, without another thought. Learn to examine yourself before trying to take someone else apart.

It takes a lot to piss me off but when I do it means I am done. Take care of your own business before trying to "teach" someone how to be real. Get a clue that people are individuals and not cookie cutters of some abstract definition of what they "should" be like. What works for one doesn't work for all. No one can be liked by everyone they meet and I wouldn't want to be.

So (specifically to one person who sent an email recently) I don't need a large amount of friends, I do not have a large amount of friends and I don't want a lot of friends. I want real friends the few that are counted within that number and are called friends by me are real and truly friends. I will not ever be liked by every person I meet nor do I wish too. If you don't "like" me then its your deal NOT mine. Quality over quantity. It is a waste of time to believe or expect that every person I meet will like me and want to be my friend. Its rediculous and silly.

With that I end this rant and will not bring it up again. There just comes a time when enough is enough and I just had to speak up. So to those that this post pertains too (you know who you are...you show your cowardice by emailing your comments instead of posting for all to see) ...GET A CLUE...GET A LIFE...SCREW YOU AND THE HORSE YOU RODE IN ON. To my friends, family, regular commenters and lurkers...lots of love your way with yarny knitterly happiness (with lots of sappiness thrown in for good measure).

Squatty Sidekick Bag

First completed bag (Amanda's Squatty Sidekick Bag)from knit to closure. I am really happy with the way it came out. It is really cute, I think I will make another one at some future time. I have 5 more bags that are almost finished. Three need to be felted but I have to take them to the laundrymat.


I felted this one and three others by hand. I am not completely satisfied with the other three I did by hand so I will toss them into the washer with the others. Felting by hand sucks! LOL...I was exhausted after doing them in the sink. Will not be doing that again any time soon, unless its a really small project. :-) Just for information sake I used orangey smelly dishsoap to felt the bag with which left a nice scent behind and the yarn stayed soft. I am really happy with the closure, it is an old post earring. I sniped off the post and sewed on as the "button". I think it suits the bag and colors really well.


Specs: The pre-felting specs can be seen on an earlier post here. The following is what I got after I hand felted it:


Size:
Bottom: 8 1/2" X 3"
Body: 5" in height X 22" in circum.
Closure Tab: 4" X 2 1/2"
Handle: 1 3/4 " x 17"

Another Knitting Tool

From the Ravelry forums I got this link to a list of places that translates textile terms to different languages (or from different languages):
A World of Crochet & Knitting Translations

Yarn In A Tea Cup Survey

Just recieved the survey for the "Yarn in a Tea Cup" Swap and thought I would post my answers here. I am excited because I have not done a swap before.

1) Which type of yarns do you prefer? I am open and adventurous. There is little that I would not prefer as you can see by next answer. J As for colours I love variegated and self patterning usually bright and colourful.

2) Which yarns do you dislike? I am not big into novelty yarns, such as ribbon yarns, fun fur or eyelash yarn. I am not a browns kinds of person.

3) Do you prefer skeins, balls or cakes? I am open to this, which ever is fine with me. I have the power! I have a swift and a ball winder!

4) Do you have any allergies? No allergies.

5) Do you prefer to drink your tea from a cup and saucer or a mug? Surprise me! I am open J. I own a lot of mugs but few teacups but honestly I will be happy with anything.

6) Is there anything else you would like to add? I would love to be partnered with someone who is far away from me just because I like to learn about new places and people.

7) Would you prefer to make socks, mittens/gloves or a little scarf with your swap yarn (any other suggestions welcome)? Yes! Lol…well I know that’s a simplistic answer but seriously I am adventurous so I leave it up to my partner I am interested in the tastes and ideas of others.

Summer of Socks Update

Honey has been asking for more socks soooo... I downloaded Wendy's Generic Toe-Up sock pattern and am using it as my "don't need a pattern small to carry around" knitting project. I am using Patons Kroy sock yarn on US 3 dpns. I am doctoring the pattern (of course lol) so that I cast-on 18 stitches to begin with (because it makes the toe less pointy) and I instead of plain stockinetter I am doing a k2p2 ribbing (except on the soled) because ribbing seems to shape to my honey's foot better then stockinette.

Here is the Monkey Sock. After the mis-step it is now going well. The 2nd pic shows up to 3 pattern repeats. I am just going to do one more pattern repeat because I want to have a shorter ankle sock (the pattern calls for 6 repeats). The yarn is working well with the pattern, compliments it well. I knitting the sock with Magic Loop using Addi Turbo Lace US1 needles. Oh and just as an aside the lovely stitch markers seen in both socks were a gift to me from the lovely Tezzcan in Britain. They are my fav stitch markers for socks because the rings are tiny for sock needles :-).

Let the Felting Begin

I finished knitting the bag that I have made up my own pattern for and I found little things to embellish it after felting. In its un felted state it looks a little wonky. The flap has curled in on its self so it does not have the triangle appearance I was going for at the moment so I hope that after it felts I will be able to mold it so it will lay flat and have the look I was envisioning. Shall see what the magice of felting brings! lol



Also finished the Kureyon-Chan bag and it is awaiting felting. I actually like the way it came out unfelted but it would need to be lined and as I have mentioned before lining is not my thing because sewing is involved soooo in order to make it sturdier I will have to felt it. Its pretty small so shall how small it will get after its bath. :-)

Toes & Heel (and more...)

I was reading Chappysmom's blog today and she posted a great link for sock knitting. I thought I would post it as well to share the info., :-) Check out: "Toes & Heel (and more...)".

I have been knitting socks but making slow progress because "life" stuff gets in the way of knitting. Don't you just hate when that happens. I will post progress pictures tomorrow :-).

Update 24 June: Found another place that has a list of instructions and help for sock knitting: Socktopia's Tutorials

Swaps and KALs

Yarn in a Cup: This will be my first swap. Have never done one before so this seems like a fun one to do. Its being put together by Zoe of Zoe's Knitting Bag. :-) Seeing as the place I work has cool thrift store/antique shop it always has cute "tea" things. Can't wait will find something fun there and other goodies for my swap partner. When I get matched up. Of course there will be yarn involved. Since Zoe is in Britain I think we will get a good mix of people from all over, which is always cool.

Summer Kal - Cal Purse Round up: Finished my 6th bag and have found some really cute embellishments for it. Also last night I found a slightly large then silver dollar size Chinese "coin" that will work well for bag closure and will be unique.

Summer of Socks: Aka SoS...love that. I started my Monkey socks and was in the middle of doing the first pattern repeat when I realized something just wasn't right and I had too many stitches (yes I was knitting along without counting duh me lol). Soooo I had to rip out late last night so I only have the cuff of the first sock done. However this am before leaving the house I decided that I need a project that I really would need a pattern for and one that I can knit in the car on the way too and from work or when playing yarn with others. So I downloaded "Wendy Knits" 's toe up sock pattern and will make ankle socks. So I will have two pairs going. As usual cannot stick to just one project.

Well I hear entirely too much talking from my "kids" and it doesn't sound like school work talking so need to go light a fire under their feet. Its Friday, Its summer and they all asked if they could get done early but they must work first. LOL...but seriously this group of kids this year (about 12) are extremely motivated. I don't mind if they are chit chatting as long as they get their work done. One young man recieved an Astronomy course (from BYU courses for High School students) on Tuesday, with 6 lesson he already knew the info. Two hours after starting it he comes to me and says: "Miss Vikkie I'm done with the course. Can you correct it for me please?" I laughed and said "Yeah, go find a quiet corner and work"..."No, no seriously I am done with the whole thing." So I took it and corrected it...not only did he finish but he did not miss one so he is done...an entire semester done. That is just one...all of them are kicking butt and taking names. I love them! They are just great! I love this job.

Indie Fiber

I love the fact that there as so many out there doing their own thing when it comes to fiber and then that they are dyeing and spinning enough to share with the rest of us. :-) I thought I would put together a little list of some of the ones that many art talking about.

Some of the most Popular:
1. Cabin Cove by Dave Daniels (have some of this WANT/NEED more)
2. Socks That Rock by Blue Moon Fiber (gifted a lovely skein for my bday...soooo yummy NEED MORE)
3. Scout's Swag by Scout (i do believe i am DESPERATE for her stuff, everything i have seen (and able to molest for a few minutes) is absolutely gorgeous)

Some of the newer (well newer to me since I have just recently be hearing about them), I have not had any face time with these yarns but I see alot of noise on blogs about them and see them knitted up beautifully:
1. Posh Yarns by Dee GB
2. Pirate Yarns by Georgia
3. Hello Yarns by Adrian Bizilia
4. Lotus Yarns by Lotus Knits

Summer of Socks 2007

I have picked my first pattern for Summer of Socks, which begins on Thursday (21 June 2007). I have picked Cookie A. "Moneky Socks" pattern to be the first one. I have wanted to make these for awhile. I have other socks in progress but the rules for the KAL require that you start a new on the 21st so that everyone is starting at the same time. So no working on old patterns already in progress. :-) I might not make them as long as the pattern calls for because the color (Trekking XXL 04) I am using is springy/summery and I think shorty socks go well for summer. I am also going to use a size smaller for the needles then the pattern calls for because I learned during Sock Madness 2007 that when doing a lacier pattern I tend to knit loose and then the sock will end up too big. I will post pictures when I start and while I progress. The KAL goes until September so I will be making other socks. There is a contest and prizes but unlike Sock Madness it is not a timed competition but I didn't join it for the prizes I am hoping to "meet" other knitters (like I did with SM) whom I wouldn't have come across other wise. :-)

Bag Update. I finished knitting (including the handle) the one skein Chan bag and am on the handle for the bag that I am making up. Once I finish that handle I will felt all the bags I have made together and then post completed pics. As I have said before I am putting the bags into the "Summer KAL - Cal Purse Round up" which also goes until September. Nice people in this KAL.

More Bags

Though I have heard the call of sock knitting I am still on a bag roll. Just finished my 4th one and started 2 smaller ones. I am participating in "Summer KAL - CAL Purse Round Up", so all the recent bags will be a part of that.



Here is the Latrop II Bag, unfelted. The specs are as follows:

Pattern: From a Noro Book; Latrop II Bag. I am sorry but I don't remember the title of the book (I know I should have written it down oops along with the name of author. If someone knows this pattern let me know and I will credit appropriately.) Oh btw...thats my Princess Lilly who insisted on posing with the bag. Isn't she pretty? (She says I don't need to ask that because its obvious. lol) Just as a side note about this pattern, when I finished it I held it up so that Honey could look at it and his first reaction was with a look on his face like he was going to puke! :-( He said "Its fuzzy." :-( for some reason he doesn't like fuzzy. Well I am not too keen on fuzzy either but the look on his face was shocking to me. Sigh. I hope after it felts that it won't be too fuzzy, if it is it will get a shave. LOL.

Needle: Addi Turbo US 11, circs.

Yarn: Berroco Hip Hop in 7265 colorway. (5 balls) The picture makes it look like there is more red in the varigation but there actually is more purple.

Size: 17 1/2 x 9 (t0 12)" for the body and 18 " for the strap prefelted. Shall see what happens after it felts.

Here is the botton of Kureyon-Chan bag. Using 1 ball of Noro Iro, 5 dpns (US 11 Brittany's).








This is a little bag I am making up. Right now I am calling it "Summer Sunglass Neck Bag". Using Brown Sheep's Handpaint Originals in New England Fall on US 8 dpns (5). I am writing it all out as I go along and will share the pattern I come up with. I really like this yarn because it felts nicely and the colors blend well. I like using all of Brown Sheep's lines though. I have plans (in my head) to add beads and doo-dads to this after felting.

Once I finish these next two bags I will then felt all the bags I have done lately, total of 6, together. I am going to go to the laundrymat to do it. I haven't used the laundrymat yet for felting but I have been told its the best way to go if you are felting more then one or two items at a time so that it will save your washer mechanisms. Also I am told the water at the laundrymat is very hot so the felting comes out well.

On another front: I am participating in another summer KAL: "Summer of Socks". There are a lot of people involved in it so should be interesting. Unlike Sock Madness it will not be a speed kind of KAL and patterns are picked individually. I have so many socks that I want to make and so much sock yarn that this will not be a problem.

Oh and before I forget: I WANT TO LEARN HOW TO SPIN. Unless anyone has forgotten. I now have roving. I tried the spindle thingy but that didn't work out so well for me. I found lots of info online on how to use it but I think a combination of my not being coordinated enough and also needing to learn from someone face to face, using the spindle was not comfortable for me. So the next thing to do is try a wheel. However, I cannot afford to purchase a wheell just to try it out. But I don't really know anyone who has one. Some of my lovely fellow Ravelry-ers (?) recommended that I post about this on my blog and ask if anyone out there (or rather in my area) would be willing to help me through the first steps of a spindle and let me try their wheel. I really want to learn but I also want to try it out first before spending alot of money on spinning tools. Anyone out there that can teach me??? Oh and before anyone far away asks...no there aren't any fiber, weaving or spinning shops here. None of the local knit shops carry spinning supplies. There is a spinning guild here but due to an episode with someone who belongs to the group I am shy to go to one of their meetings and ask if anyone would help me out. (Yes I KNOW it is hard to believe that I would be shy but it happens to the best of us! LOL). I am motivated to try it out but need some assitance to get started. Anyone? I can afford much for paid lessons but I can swap some original/unique ONE OF A KIND, handpainted (by yours truely) yarn. You could even choose the colors you wanted. :-) Would anyone swap spinning lessons for hand dyed yarn?

New Online Knit Mags

I have come across some new online knit mags (well might be new to me lol).

iTheAntiCraft: Is mostly knitting patterns but has other types of crafts with unusual themes and names for the projects. I really like it alot!
http://theanticraft.com/

Tejemanejes: An online knitting magazine in SPANISH! It just came online. I found out about it on the Raverly forums. The patterns are high quality and the page setup is top notch. Nicely done for its first issue. Some of the non-spanish speaking commentors on the forum said that it translated nicely so even if you do not speak Spanish you can avail yourself of the patterns. On a personal note I speak and read spanish fluently (or at least I thought I did) but evidently I need to open up my dictionary because I didn't really understand the patterns' spanish knitting terms. lol...first time I have read a pattern in spanish so I am not familiar with the terms in spanish. Funny.
http://www.tejemanejes.com/

Knitters Review: This one has been around awhile but for some reason I just recently came across it. Duh...where the hell have I been? lol
http://knittersreview.com/

Black Purl Magazine: Shares knitting and stories. I like because its not typical. I like the unique.
http://www.black-purl-magazine.com/

Knitting Daily: Set up by Interweave Press. Its brand new, but so far I think its pretty nice. I have even made one of their patterns (Amanda's Squatty Sidekick Bag).
http://www.knittingdaily.com/

The Daily Knitter: They advertise that they have more than 1000 free patterns. They don't really have the free patterns but rather they link TO free patterns.
http://www.dailyknitter.com/

The Knitting Garden: Nicely setup and organized.
http://theknittinggarden.com/main.htm

YARN Magazine: A knitting magazine from Australia.
http://www.yarnmagazine.com.au/index.html

There are lots more, such as Knitty but I only mentioned a few of the ones that are not as well known. If you google "free online knitting magazine" you can find all sorts of links. What I like about the lesser known mags is that you can find patterns that not everyone is knitting and there are some hidden gems out there if you look!

New Blog Found

Hey check out the new blog I just came across. The blogger is funny and really entertaining...
Its called "Shut up I'm Counting" ...isn't that a perfect title? lol Check her out even the opening picture is cute and makes you smile. :-) "me likey hokey pokey" LOLOL too funny!

My Beautiful Friend

My lovely Knitty Otter friend posted something that moved me deeply and show me the beautiful, thoughtful and intelligent person she is. Every time I experience time with her I find out more about the beauty that is her. I am a better person for knowing her.

The Stash

I have spent the weekend working on my stash, knitting books, tools etc....organizing, sorting, listing and photographing. All I can say is I am WAAAAYYY OUT OF HAND. LOL...Well I have been stashing yarn for at least 20+ years...so what does that tell you. But before I get into that...



Last month on my bday I mentioned that I had won some yarn. It arrived over a week ago and I do apologize to Yarnivorous for not posting sooner about. I have showed it off though! :-) She not only sent me 100grs of handspun, she specially spun it for me from soft lovely handpainted Australian wool...AND then she also sent me 100 gr. of Australian wool roving! Now I just have to get my hands on a spindle and get someone to show me how to spin it.


Now lets talk stash...I spent all of today photographing, sorting and listing my stash so that I can organize it in my Ravelry. I only got to 3/4s of my stash! I am so out of hand.


1. This is a shot of SOME of my wool and natural fibers collection on the floor. It was the easiest way I could find to sort the stuff. I collected all the wool that I had around and put it into one pile. I then sorted it by brand, photographed and then bagged it as it was sorted.


2. While I was sorting and hand my back turned my little guy pushed his way through and made himself all comfy in the yarn. I snapped a picture really quick because he was so darn cute...and the shooed him away because I don't let the furballs hang out on my yarn. Another reason why I am taking the time and spending the money on bagging it all. I love my fur children but I don't want their fur in my yarn or my projects.


3. These two shots are of my yarn that did not get sorted....didn't even get looked at actually LOL. This is all Acrylic (yuky Red heart and Caron's Simple soft for the most part) and crochet thread/cotton. This is yarn that I will eventually sort and catalogue but I am in no hurry. I rarely get into this yarn and really am not too worried about it. Much of it will be donated, or used for teaching yarn arts to kids (something I will be doing next winter...project that is in the works).


4. Finally this is what I worked on today. Every skein, cake or ball was sorted and photographed. From left to right: A. All cotton, B. Lace weights, ribbon yarn and novelty yarns (I don't have much of that), C. Wool and Natural fibers (ie the stuff that will felt), D. Sock yarn. Can you tell what kind of yarn I like the most? LOL...I have been mostly concerned about organizing this yarn. This is the stuff I used the most and replenish the most. I need to be able to find out what I have or need when I am putting things together for a project. Years and years ago I had done this but it was all on paper which was not really convient. Ravelry is making it way easy to organize this stuff. Now I can easily see what I have or what I need for a project and easily put it together with a project. The photographs will show me what colors I have and the way its organized in Ravelry I will know how much I have on hand as far as yardage for a project. I am also able to organize the yarn that I have dyed which is really cool.


So I still have to organize and list my needles, hooks, notions. I have already organized my WIP's and FOs. Including crochet projects that I had done years and years ago. Did the projects first because I really needed to see what I had going on. LOL. I have some work to do on the pics I took of the yarn but the hard part is done! yeah! This is going to be so nice to have it all in one place.

Ok well start working with my kids tomorrow. Looking forward to that. Have a good week everyone!

RAVELRY!

Ok...FIRST: OMF-ingG! Ravelry has to be one of the most fantastic ideas to come to the internet that I have come across in a long long time. If you have not heard about it or come across it somewhere in blogland...THEN WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? LOL....

It is fantastic, they are still in beta testing because they are adding things and improving things and just opened up in May 2007. But I have to tell you I have been a beta tester for many geeky type things over the years...and if this site is still in beta test I cannot imagine what it will be like when its full fledged!

What is it? Well it is a database, organizing tool and network for fiber artists, designers and hobbiests. It is the best pattern, yarn and project organizer I have ever seen. I would challenge you to find something better. Seriously! It is simple to use, verstile...and get this...FREE! You have got to see it for yourself. There is a tour of it here. The tour does not come close to showing you all that the site has to offer.

Since they are still beta testing, joining is by invite for now. But all you have to do to get an invite is put your name on the list and you will get an invite. It takes awhile to get because of the HUGE response they got. They are doing things right...doing it little by little so the site doesn't crash and so it will work as advertise. They are two young people who had an idea and the talent to put it together. They aren't charging for it and want it to be as great as they invision it. Here you can find a detailed letter that explains how and why they are doing things the way they are.

So go put your name on the list! When you do my id on there is Yarnatic...come play yarn with me!

Library thing

Have any of you heard of LibraryThing.com? I just learned about it and it seems pretty cool. Meant to add this to the last post but forgot. I will be playing with it this weekend and will post again about it.

Barbara Walker's Books

Has anyone heard of the series of books written by Barbara Walker? There are 4 in the series titled "A Treasury of Knitting Patterns". There is also a KAL for the books (called "The Walker Treasury Project") and from what I am seeing these books are a must have! I would love to have them. I have never seen them in any of the yarn shops nor in the bookstores, but Amazon carries them so I will have to get them from. So I have a few books on my must have list:
1. The Walker books
2. Knitting for Peace
3. More Sensational Knitted Socks
4. Fitted Knits
5. Runway Knits: 30 Fashion Forward Designs
6. I am sure there are some others lol

Ok well time for dream land...sweet dream all.

The Bag Issues

Finally some knitting...I know amazing!

Even though I haven't posted in over a week I have been knitting. I had to knit...needed it for stress relief from all the work I had to do for the intensive 3 credit class that I took in just 3 weeks. Wow was it a dozy...I have only taken one summer class once before but it was over an 8 week period. This was a new experince for me. I have to say though that it was well worth it. The Professor, Dr. Jennifer Ring, was enthusiastic, extremely intelligent and passionate about her topic. The course was called Race and Gender in the U.S. It was under the heading for the Political Science Department and the Women's Studies Department. Excellent, course! Challenging with the amount of reading that I had to do in the last 3 weeks and with having to write a term paper (10 pages AFTER cutting it back from over 20!)

Anyway, on to the knitting. As you can see from the opening picture I have made three bags. I finished two last night. They are scheduled for "shrinking" (a.k.a felting/fulling lol). Thought before I subject them to the process of size reduction I would post about them. I have wanted to do some bags for awhile but have been in "The Sock Zone" for a while. So while taking a break I did these. They went really fast. I have a fourth one on the needles still and hope to finish it by early next week and will then process all 4 together. I have made 3 other bags prior to this but they have been on hold due to issues I have with them which I will discuss below.



First, "The great purple bag" (as I am calling it). I pulled together several patterns to come up with this one. It is basically a typical messenger type bag. I have been wanting my own funky knitting bag. There are many cool knitting bags out there for purchase but they are a bit pricey for my budget so I figured that I could come up with my own and then it would be unique. Pre-shrinking this bag is huge and though I know it will be smaller I hope it won't shrink too much. Here are the specs:

Yarn: Brown Sheep's Lamb's Pride. I used 4 colors, black and 3 purples; about a skein and 1/2 of each color.

Needles: Addi turbos, U.S. 9, 36" circulars.

Pattern: Part from "Knitting for Peace" (a book that I want badly!) messenger bag and from 2 other sources plus my own ideas. I have written all down and came up with my own pattern by combing things I liked from the other patterns and my own ideas. It was done all in one piece, from bottom to handles.

Size:
Bottom: 16 1/2" x 5"
Body: About 20" in length (5" per color) and approximately 60" in circum.
Handle: About 4" x 61" (about)
Flap: 19 1/2" x 18 1/2"

Notes: Really easy to do. We shall see how much it shrinks, will be interesting. I know that Brown Sheep felts to a nice texture. It really is a lovely yarn to work with (as I have mentioned before).




This was a REALLY quick bag to do. Super easy and cute. Here are the specs:

Pattern: Knitting Daily's "Amanda's Squatty Sidekick Bag".

Yarn: Paton's SWS, in variegated pink. Really nice and soft to work with. I read somewhere that it felts fuzzy, but if I don't like the fuzziness I can use one of those clothing shavers to smooth it out and then it lays nicely. I am not really big into fuzzy so will see. I bought the yarn a long time ago to see how it felts. It is part Bamboo and was meant for felting projects. Everyone who has seen this bag so far, pre-felting, thinks I should leave it as is. However, the problem with doing that is that it would need to be lined so that it would be sturdy. I DO NOT sew and DO NOT care too...I have never liked sewing. I could pay to have someone line it for me ...but geez who can afford that! lol...so it WILL be shrunk. (SO THERE ;-p~~~ ) Oh btw, it was done in one piece and I only used about 200 yds, which was about 2 balls. Not too bad.

Size:
Bottom: 9 1/2" x 4"
Body: About 8 1/2" in length and approximately 27 " in circum.
Closure Tab: 4" x 3 1/2" at the base and 1 3/4" at the tip
Handle: 3 1/2" x 21 1/2"
Needles: Addi turbos, U.S. 9, 24" circulars



This was the fastest of the three for some reason. LOL. I was sent the yarn as a gift for my bday and it went perfect for a bag that I have been wanting to do for a very long time. The person who sent it to me (who asked me not to say who they are though I have no clue WHY! Silly woman! but I love her so its cool), said that when she saw it that it screamed to her "VIKKIE!!!" She was right of course...she said that it the lady in the craft store said it was perfect for "shrinking", lol, I am sure the lady told her that it felted but that is what she told. When I asked her "shrinking? or felting" She said "Whatever, if I put my cashemer sweater in the wash it will shrink...so what the hell is the difference. It shrinks and I knew you would love it because of the colors and I don't know one damn thing about yarn so shut up!" LMAO LOL! So here are the specs:

Yarn: Poems (I could not find a link for this yarn, a search only gave me links to actual poems about yarn and knitting...sheesh) in two colorways....and umm I was so excited to get the yarn that I ripped off the labels...which my dog promptly grabbed and shredded so umm yeah. I could google it but I am lazy today so...no. It has a mat sort of finish (unlike SWS and Lamb's Pride which has a sheen). It isn't that soft but the color patterning is nice and even. Transitions from one color to the next nicely. I used about 3 balls of the colorway with the purple and one ball of the graduated blues. (Edit 09/07/07: Wisdom Yarns Poems; 4 Stitches to the inch on US 7s, 109 per ball, and I used colorways 550 and 558. I just found it online)

Pattern: "The Lucy Bag". I was gifted with the pattern. Even though everyone around here (in my area that is) is making this bag, and I don't usually like to make the same projects everyone else is making, I love the way the bag works and looks and have wanted to make it for a long time. It worked up really fast. I had started in Lamb's Pride in blues but when I got the poems I ripped it out and started over. I basically made it in about 3 days. It was also made in one piece from bottom to the handles. I chose to do the smaller version.

Size:
Bottom: The bag is constructed in the round. You cast on the bottom and join into a small circle and increase to a certain number of stitches. At the end of the increases it is 7" diameter.
Body: 16" in length and about 24" in circumfrence.
Handles: The longer one is 3" x 25", the shorther one is 3" x 16 1/2"
Needles: U.S. 7, bamboo, 24" circulars



The first bag is made from Sari Silk remenants and was completed back in the fall. The 2nd bag is an Entrelac bag that I did a few months ago (with Noro) and then felted. The last one is a Booga bag (in Berroco Hip Hop and Cascade Pastaza). I am not going to post details on these at this time because of the issue that I will discuss below. I loved making the bags but the lack of being able to totally complete them as me disappointed. When and if I can work out the issues then I will post details about them.

Issues:
Ok so here are some issues I have been having with all the bags.

Closures: I am having difficulty selecting closures for my bags. I do not want the same (typical) closures everyone else uses. Like buttons or beads. I want things that are different and unique. But, what? Does anyone out there have ideas? I want original, unique and different....NOT typical. But exactly what that is I have not figured out yet! LOL...so I am open to ideas.

To line or not to line?: The entrelac bag and the Sari Silk bag definetly need to be lined because they just aren't sturdy enough for use. But as I said I do not sew. Do not know how too (well barely)...so not sure what do.

Handles: As with the closures...I want different and unique and not something that everyone else is doing. I made handles for the entrelac and Booga bag but they are what everyone else has done and they really do not call to me nor do they do anything for the bags. I really love the entrelac bag and I want something classy and special for it...as well for the Booga Bag. Any ideas?

Well I have more to post about...but not about bags. I will save it for the weekend so I will have another subject to post about. Plus this has ended up being a long post and if you are still with me at this point you probably are saying "Enough already!" LOL...plus I want to go knit and play yarn! Woohoo.

Sorry

I am sorry for the lack of posting in the last 6 days. I have been doing my last week of my Mini-Summer Term class (ie 3 week intensive course). Whew! Tomorrow is the last day of the class so I will post something fibery in the next couple of days.