Another Bag, More Socks and Mittens for the hubby

So as one can see from my sidebar I have a waiting list for bags. I wish I could make them faster and as I do each bag I do get a wee bit faster with them and then listen to feedback on what could or should be changed/added/deleted etc.

So here was the latest bag delivered this morning and the recipient was so happy she bought yarn to match her bag...which we all noticed also matched her current project bag, and yarn and her car!

Heathers Bag

I also realized about 30 min before my Monday Morning knitting group I really had nothing portable on needles so I had to remedy that! I have some beautiful Araucania hand painted sock yarn and no idea what it wanted to be. So I brought my cake along, in one of my sock bags of course, and cast on a toe while I was there. I am using size 1 (2.25mm) needles and generally like 64 stitches around on these needles, so figured I'd cast on and increase to 64 stitches before I came home to decide what the socks would be.

I decided on Express Lane socks (linked in the side bar) as it would give me a slight pattern to hold my interest while knitting, but, would be enough straight knitting to really showcase the beautiful yarn.

Express Lane Socks

I also had some Alpaca left over from the Hemlock Ring Afghan I made for the Olympics. I had to open a new hank of yarn to bind off the last 2inches of the afghan leaving me with about 108 yards of yarn to use on something.

My husband liked the feel and warmth of the yarn so I made him some fingerless/convertible mittens. I started with the Pele pattern but soon discovered that pattern just didn't work for my husbands hands (I'm not sure whose hands it would work for as they were about 4inches to short and 10inches too wide) So I used that pattern as inspiration but did a lot of modifications I noted on my Pele Project Page on ravelry.

Now they well fit like a glove and will keep his hands toasty warm and he has no excuse not to shovel this winter!

Hubby's Convertible Mittens

I also had started 3 times a pair of socks out of a beautiful Brooklyn Handspun yarn that Mardi gave me in exchange for her bag. I ended up settling on the Pablo Blue socks which I loved to knit, they were fun and interesting, however, a bit small for my foot using the pattern directions. This is alright though because they are a Christmas gift for my mother in law whose foot is about 1/2 a size smaller then mine so will fit her beautifully!

Pablo Blue Socks

So thats whats been getting done, craft wise, around here the last week. I have more bags cut out and more projects in mind. I do start my college semester oh in about 8hrs and expect with school, kids, homework and such things will slow down a bit on the craft front but not all that much! I find it very therapeutic to craft during school and such because it's kind of time for me away from a computer, kids, text books, TV's etc.

More bags and a Barter

I had sewn up a prototype bag I jokingly call the worlds most perfect sock bag. Well the women I knit with LOVED it and have been asking me to make them ever since. I had started about opening a store but I always go back and forth as to if I want to make my hobby into a job or not. So one begged and prodded me with goodies to make her a bag and here it is!

She supplied the material, which I normally wouldn't do because sometimes people give you really a fabric that could never work for a pattern they have to have, but, I know she has impeccable taste and already knew it was upholstery weight and perfect for the bag.

I was able to create a working pattern and test it then went to town on her bag using this pattern. I cut down some of the sewing time from about 12hrs of sewing and fitting to now about 8. Theres a lot that goes into these bags, every inch is fully reinforced and lined with 6 pockets, zippers gallore, inset snaps you name it.

But, I was thinking for myself I wanted an even smaller version so created the perfect 1 sock project bag.
It has the basis of the design from the larger modle but would only hold 1 sock project with the pattern on index cards or folded paper. You could though throw in a credit/debit card into the internal pocket, cell phone, cash and keys and use this as a knitting on the go/purse...like for Rhinebeck?

Inside the 1st photo of the small bag is a cake of Brooklyn Hand spun currently in use for a pair of socks. This is one skein given to me by Mardi to make her bag. She gave me the material as I stated, and then below:
A skein of Mama-E's C*EYE*BER FIBER Sock in Winter Sunrise (top blue/red hank), A Skein of Brooklyn Handspun in Tropical Punch (orange/peach hank), 2 skeins of Panda cotton in roses ( burgandy/pink/green skiens), 2 skeins of Rowan handknit cotton in Red (2 skeins bottom right), a skein of Froebe Fibers hand Dyed in Watermelon Bombe (Top right pink/green skein) and the Brooklyn hand spun in the bag was Leafy Stalk.

So if wondering if I will barter with you the answer is yes I love to swap/barter...but the bars been set pretty high for pricing. It's really because 1. she likes to spoil people. 2. the bag is well made and takes a lot of time 3. the raw materials I supplied to put in the bag bring the cost pretty far up and 4. just cause she wanted to keep giving me yarn.