Mesh Bag by Veronique Avery FO

Mr. Chandelier standing in for my usual photo assistant.

Pattern: Mesh Bag by Veronique Avery

Source: Knitting 24/7

Yarn: Giza Mercerized Cotton

Colour: Apple Green

Needles: 3.75mm Addi Circular

Start: June 4, 2010 Finish: September 9, 2011

Modifications: None

Not unlike the "Waving Lace" socks I posted about the other day, I took a while to put yarn and pattern together for this one. Unlike those socks, however, the colour of this did not disappoint - except in these photos where its looking much less vibrant than in real life.

I grabbed the yarn at a DKC meeting in the autumn of '09 at which a presenter invited everyone in the audience to take one ball or skein home with them from a big box of singles and samples. When I spied the shiny bright green of this yarn I instantly grabbed it (to do otherwise beside a single box of free yarn in a room of 150 knitters would have been to loose it for sure!), but I immediately imagined a great spring time shopping bag all squishy and cool in its cord-like texture.

It was a year later before I saw the pattern in Knitting 24/7.  In fact it was the first project I cast on last year after getting the book at the DKC Frolic, taking a course from Veronique and asking her to autograph it.
Once the roughly solid bottom is done the mesh portion of the bag is a simple 2 round pattern (the second round being straight knitting!)

With the pattern established, the start of the round moves one stitch to the left every other round yielding the diagonal effect. But it was too simple to keep me engaged so I'd day dream and miss moving the marker or forget a yarn over, everything would get misaligned. Rip. Rip. Rip.

After several frustrating episodes over the course of the next year I finally managed to focus enough to get the job done and I'm loving the functionality of this knit.

Unlike other mesh bags I've made/use, once fully loaded this one is designed to be looooong rather than round with the handles intended to be worn over the shoulder rather than carried in your hand. The above photo (again taken without the aid of assistance - or chandelier! - shows, as best I can, how the bag extends down the side under the arm hanging right alongside the leg leaving both hands and stride free to go about whatever else is necessary after the shopping is done. Brilliant!

The thing is also easy to fill with a large, flexible opening at the top.

The yarn didn't disappoint either. Utterly un-woolly, cool, strong and ready for a bath in the washer whenever the need arises.

Another skein leaves the stash and an FO starts its useful life!

Thanks for dropping by!

Grommets II

My Aunt saw my bag last spring and decided to make her own - and it really is just that - 'such a different take on the pattern with her choice of black cotton yarn and the fabulous lining she chose...

She asked me to install the grommets for her so yesterday I did just that but noticed something else about hers that was quite different from mine...

Its quite a big bigger.  When I made mine I had a complete ball left over to return to the store so I told her I thought the pattern overestimated the yarn requirement. Well it may have been the case for my gauge but not for hers. She finished the bag itself but now will in fact need the whole quantity stipulated in the pattern in order to complete the project by making the bag's "rope"  handles.

Its a real eye opener for me to see a demonstration of just how much gauge can impact the amount of yarn consumed by a given pattern!

Happy weekend everyone!

Guernsey Style Bag by Debbie Bliss FO

Pattern: Guernsey Style Bag by Debbie Bliss

Source: Debbie Bliss Knitting Magazine Spring/Summer 2010

Start: May 22 Finish:June 16, 2010

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Eco Aran Cotton

Colour:32613

Needles: 4.5 mm

Modifications: None

The yarn, evokes the summery sight of tomatoes ripening in the garden. (The photo above is dead on from my monitor at least) The cool yet substantial Aran weight cotton is set off nicely by bright shiny grommets threaded with rope like handles which bring a bit of nautical whimsey to the piece.

Its knit in horizontal stripes of Aran style patterning which keeps the knitting entertaining yet quite straightforward.

The twisted handles were quick and fun to make and will no doubt be comfortable on the hands. (I have sprayed the whole bag inside and out with Scotchguard to keep it from getting grimy)

Rue was asking about the grommets.  You buy the grommets and a little two piece tool (above) that's used to affix them. The tool kit consists of a "stud end tool"(in my hand) and a "base tool" (on the table). The circle at the centre of the base acts as a cutting edge which you place under the fabric right at the marked spot where you want the grommet to go. Setting the base on a solid surface with the fabric over it you place the stud end tool on the fabric so that the base holds it in place then you tap, tap, tap the top of that little stumpy thing I'm holding and very shortly, a perfect hole has been cut, right where you want it! (Don't try this on a wooden table or floor - the base can leave marks!)

There is a perforated barrel portion of the grommet which you then pass from the right side of the fabric up through the newly cut circle

... and then through a toothed washer at the back - the two pieces creating a sandwich around the hole in the fabric. (I can't photograph it with fabric in place because the fabric blocks the view of all the business going on below it but I'm sure you get the idea.)

 Again, the whole works is seated on the base tool, again a few hammer taps are applied via the stud end tool but this time the force causes the barrel to split and then wrap down over the washer, fastening the grommet in place....

Its really a fool proof system. I did eight for this bag and the whole exercise took less than half an hour. I've used them in a range of sizes over the years when sewing and never had a problem with them and now I see they can also be a great addition to a knitted piece as well!

As for the lining, (I used a remnant cotton print from another cottage project) I affixed interfacing to stiffen it a bit and give the bag a bit more structural integrity.

 Interestingly, the lining is smaller than the bag (as stipulated by the pattern) and takes the full weight of the bag's contents preventing stretching or pulling the bag out of shape.

While not called for by the pattern I hand stitched the lining around the top to the knitted fabric to keep things tidy and prevent anything from slipping between the bag and lining. 

It was a nice change of pace working with the cotton after months of wool and right in keeping with the change of season. So look at that..I knit something in the specified yarn and colour with no modifications! (And I admit, no swatching - I just blocked the pieces to size prior to assembly.) Its was a great little project to do and I'm looking forward to getting lots of use of it now that its finished! 

Hey thanks for dropping by today!

A Bit of Follow Up

First of all, the green was not happy enough for me last night.  I ripped it back to nothing and 'will revisit when things are less distracting around here.

Besides, as Lisa RR pointed out, I also have the red bag in progress (looking rather pink in the photo but believe me, its tomato red!) I'll put some effort into finishing that up rather than struggling more with the bag at the moment.  I picked up the grommet tool I was missing this morning.  The grommets are in, handles are on - all that remains are a few little stitches to keep the lining from dancing around and I'll be ready for an FO report!

As for my issue with the mesh bag pattern, I so appreciate that people have thought it was perhaps a truly challenging problem.  Sadly it is just this simple...

Its a two row repeat, (Row two being a resting (knit all stitches) row when you reach the marker for the start of the next round, you remove the marker, knit one stitch, replace the marker and then start on row one from a new place.  This move is what creates a spiraling effect in the finished mesh.

Row one has a four stitch repeating pattern. A knit and a slip, k2, psso.  Each of these is followed by a yarn over.

What I do every few rounds is forget either a yarn over or to pass the slipped stitch over. Maybe I look up at the wrong moment or answer someone's question as to the whereabouts of any and all items in the house for which I am the resident data base and I may forget just a single yo which will only be recognizable at the end of the next row 1 - two rows later! This of course puts the spiral off by one which of course looks terrible.

The fine, mercerized cotton yarn has no hold whatsoever so frogging doesn't work unless its right back to the beginning. Tinking back through those sk2psso's every other stitch for over 100 stitches is, well, you're knitters, I'm sure you can imagine how fun that is.

So that's it - the full extent of my mesh bag issues. Pathetic.

Its the final DKC meeting of the year tonight but, as last year, tonight is My Beloved's birthday dinner and the only evening he'll be in Toronto this week so I won't be able to attend the meeting :(

On a happier note, I got a long overdue hair cut this morning. Its super, duper short  and makes me another step closer to being summer and cottage ready!

Well I'm off to cook a birthday dinner! Thanks for dropping by!

A "happy" green but is it happy enough?

First of all, thank you for all the kind words on the Garter Sweater!  No, the garter part didn't bother me at all because it was so mindless I really didn't have to think about the fact I was doing it.  My hands worked on it as independent contractors - something I find very easy...unlike the process outlined below where my wandering mind has to pay just a bit of attention...

I'm referring to a mesh bag pattern by Veronique Avery from "Knitting 24/7". (A book I find is most aptly named as I seem to carry it around 24/7 and contemplate the patterns in it, scheming on what to make next with similar frequency.)

This pattern is unique in its long narrow shape that allows for carrying, fully loaded, over the shoulder rather than at arms's length banging on your knee at every step.

The green is so happy isn't it? Good thing too because despite the "very easy" 2 row/4 stitch repeat I cannot report error free progress. Or really much progress at all.

"Wandering mind" syndrome has me forgetting a yarn over every four rounds or so and having to rip back but then not being able to find a sound row and so going right back to the garter stitch base of the bag. I've only done it four times. My total row count to date equals the length of the mesh section of the bag.

Must I face the fact I need a lifeline to work such a basic pattern?

As I said, good thing the colour is "happy"!

'Hope you have a "happy" knitting day! Thanks for dropping by!

And Now for Something(s) Completely Different

The Victoria Day weekend was truly, completely different - we didn't go to the cottage - in fact it isn't even open! My Beloved is in Europe so in his absence I was on evening drop off and very late/early pick up duty for Number One Son. I even spent a couple of evenings alone with the TV and my knitting - very, very rare. More rare still I barely cooked at all.

And my knitting was pretty different too!

I started the "Guernsy Style Bag" from Spring/Summer Debbie Bliss Knitting. Its red and its in a heavy cotton and its more pattern than I've worked in quite a while. It has no shaping, required no math or customization and I'm using the yarn and even the colourway recommended in the pattern!

It starts at the top of the bag with a new (to me) cast on they call "Guernsey Style"

...Wrap a double thickness of yarn (a separate strand from the working yarn) twice around the left thumb counter clockwise.

...Bring working yarn over

...Knit the four strands...

...then pull them tight around the bottom of the stitch to form a little decorative knob

The yarn overs lie down flat between each knotted knob, further accentuating them.

...Well suited to the overall look of the bag, easy, fun, new - something completely different on a very different kind of long weekend!

Thanks for dropping by!

Debbie Bliss Pencil Case FO

Pattern: Pencil Case from Premier Issue - Debbie Bliss Knits Magazine

Yarn: Remnants Debbie Bliss Cotton DK

Colours: Duck Egg, Stone, White

Start: October 20, 2008 Finish: February 3, 2009

I stitched this pattern from the Premier issue of the D.B. Knit Magazine back in the fall using Debbie Bliss Cotton DK remnants. Not having a lot of call for pencil cases around here these days I'm going to use it to house my knitting notions. 

I knit on this until I ran out of yarn, modifying the pattern's alternating colour instructions to add a solid colour section that better utilized the unequal amounts of yarn I had to play with. After blocking with steam I left the little rectangle and bit of a cotton remnant from my fabric stash that I thought would make a nice lining in the mending pile awaiting the next time I wrangled the sewing machine out into the light of day.

I sewed in the lining and attached the zipper to the sides on the weekend during my Saturday mend-a-thon.

 'Basted in the zipper last night. The zipper work is really the challenge of this little piece. Garter stitch is particularly stretchy of course and that makes it tricky to attach to the zipper that is free of all stretch. The last zipper I installed was along  a moss stitch edging - much less stretchy, much easier installation. As with any zipper, careful pinning and basting is the key - oh and ripping it out and redoing it a couple of times helps too. Anyone who saw yesterday's post and went to the VK 360 site saw the Fair Isle Cardigan I'm about to start has a major zipper aspect to it. This was good practice in anticipation of that exercise. With the work now done on this little piece, this morning I'll spray it with Scotch Guard inside and out to prevent it from getting grotty.

Tonight I'll enjoy having it out of the UFO pile, once again among my WIP's - this time as a working FO!

Comments

How wonderful to read so much feedback on Celtic Tote! Thank you for taking the time! For those who expressed interest in someday making one of your own I think you should feel good about diving right in. There is a lot of bang for the buck in this pattern, the small amount of yarn it requires and the very serviceable item that results. (I should clarify though I think it seems more suited to use as a purse than as a true "tote").

As for Tiennie and her suggestion that I just send it off to her - I could but Tiennie's knitting output is the stuff of legends - the way she knits she could no doubt finish half a dozen multi coloured versions before a package from me would even arrive ;)! 

Can anyone tell me why most, but not all comments to my blog arrive with a no reply comment return address that prevents my replies from going anywhere? Not all the comments I receive are like this so I assumed it was a setting chosen by commenters themselves. I asked frequent commenters (thanks Brenda and Cheryl!) about the settings they choose when they comment to see if it was the case but they tell me it isn't. I've double checked the settings in my comment moderation specs but I cannot figure it out. Does anyone out there know if this is something I can fix and if so how to do it? 

In terms of moving on in the wake of the Celtic Tote to something to entertain between the tedium of red scarf and blue socks in stockinette I did manage to find a project! Its a Tilting Blocks scarf - I'm calling it my "DKC Diamond Tea Time Special".

I reference "Diamond" because they are the Canadian Distributors and the men who threw the yarn my way at the DKC Men Throwing Yarn meeting.

I have 270 yards of this very special silk and merino blend in a DK weight. The colourway -"Thistle" evokes its pale lavender colour but the prickly nature of a thistle is diametrically opposed to this yarn's smooth, almost liquid texture that also somehow features a slight haze of fluffiness. It reminds me of liquid mercury or plumber's flux. You really have to feel and see this yarn to understand it but the photo above at least captures the various features fairly accurately absent the tactile experience of course.

I reference DKC because of its role in making the yarn part of my stash but also because the Tilting Blocks scarf pattern I chose is featured in the January 2009 DKC Newsletter!

The pattern has a 12 row repeat on 37 stitches.  To knit 12 rows takes me the same amount of time as it does to have a hot mug of tea - hence the inclusion of tea time in the name. One cup, one repeat, a bit of knitting entertainment each day without dedicating evening knitting time to something other than red scarf and blue socks. Perfect!

BTW for those of you who don't belong to the DKC but have access to Toronto, a DKC meeting would be a great way to finish a yarny day in T.O. Anyone can attend (non members just pay a small entrance fee at the door). There are close to a couple of hundred knitters at most meetings so no one will ever know you're not a member (I attended meetings for a couple of years before I actually joined) Meetings always feature presentations to appeal to knitters and crocheters and sometimes there's also a bit of spinning or weaving thrown in!

The next meeting is this Wednesday - details on the DKC Website! 

Celtic Tote FO

Pattern: Celtic Tote - Jennifer Tallapeneni - IK Winter '07

Yarn: Ella Rae Classic 100%Wool 

Colour: "Ironside Grey" - Col#122 Lot#3108

Needles: 5.5mm Aero

Start: Oct. 27/08 Finish: Jan. 15/09

Modifications: Side finishing - details below

I like the knit, I like the finished bag. 

I anticipated the sides of the bag might droop under the weight of the bag's contents so I doubled the quantity of stiffener knit into the bottom of the bag. 

I also made the side seams more robust by sewing right sides together and then back stitching on either side in contrast yarn to match the detail around the cables. (Instead of just sewing wrong sides together as the pattern dictates) I also assumed the light fulling of the bag would make the fabric less soft but it made no discernible difference in that regard.

Whining about "droop" aside, I'm really happy with this piece. Its the size and shape I anticipated and the Ella Rae "Ironside Grey" yarn has a slight variation in its greyness that once knit in the reverse stocking stitch reminds me of woven wool suiting. 

I used about 450 yards of yarn - a wee bit over two balls.

Grafting the cabled handles to meet the tops of the cables on the bag beautifully infers the cables flow up and around the handles - a detail I find satisfying beyond reason so I highlighted it with contrast back stitching unlike in the magazine version which features no contrast stitching in this area.

The irregularity of the cable crossings adds to the character of the finished bag and so was well worth the additional attention paid to the chart to make it happen.

Finally we have the button. Do you believe I had this on hand? Just the one button - what else would it/could it have been used for? Like a good button should it ties the details of the rest of the piece together while also adding a bit of its own magic. The shiny black that encircles the centre was the determining factor in choosing to use black for the embroidery around the cables. (I was favouring blue until I saw the button in context.)

So that's it - once again a great experience with an IK pattern and with the Winter 2007 issue in particular (Bonbon and Gathered Pullovers both came out of that issue as well) I did print off the page of notes the designer blogged about the pattern a while after the publication date and I found them quite useful. There is a very small bit of errata right at the beginning (you'll have to scroll down to Celtic Tote) - its also on Ravelry.

Finishing this leaves my knitting basket quite bereft of interesting projects (Cursed Red Scarf and Socks with Gauge Issues somehow just don't excite me that much) 'Still on the hunt for yarn in which to make "Vivian" I might have to visit my micro stash and see if there's anything there to entertain me in the meantime. I hope you have a good weekend of happy knitting in the meantime!