I've kind of been slacking on the knitting lately, but I went to a little knitting gathering last weekend with some other moms. It was nice to have a night out, even though only a minimal amount of knitting was done, and it did kind of "recharge" me to start some new stuff. I decided to try to make a felted bag using a pattern similar to the 'squares' hat the I recently made for a friend. Pictured at left is what I've got so far. It's turning out to be a bit narrower than I thought it was going to be, so now I'm debating whether to really felt it or not. Also, it loses so much length in the felting process that it may take me a hundred years to make it long enough pre-felt. I originally was shooting for a tote bag, but I may just leave it as is, sew a lining, and slap some wood handles on it and call it a purse.
Oh, I also finally got my second dishcloth done. It looks pretty much the same as the first one, just different colors. I like the variegated yarn a bit more though. It's a little more interesting. I really like this pattern as it's really easy and mindless to knit, so it's good for doing in front of the tv. The bag I'm working on...not so much.I'm still working on finishing up the needle roll from the knit along. I don't know what my problem is, I just have to do the cables. I think I've just lost interest in it as a project.I've got the sewing bug lately and have a lot of things that I want to get started. I bought a bunch more flannel to make bibs. They had some really really cute prints at Joann the other day, and I couldn't resist. I'm hoping to get some sewing done this weekend.
All of my obsessive-compulsive behavior has paid off. I finished the main portion of the needle roll and felted it over the weekend, and I must say, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Here are the before and after pics:
I threw the pen on there to give some sense of scale, and as you can see, the felting process shrank it up quite a bit, although most of the shrinkage was in the length, not the width. It went from being approximately 24 inches long to just over 17. After I took this picture, I also stretched and pulled it a bit to get it to be more squared off in shape.Now I just have to knit the cables to stick the needles through and then sew on buttons and it's done! I'm just hoping I have enough yarn.
I'm trying really hard to stick to a project from start to finish with this Knit Along thing. But because I had to divert from the pattern, it's getting a little complicated. The needle roll so far has come out way wider than I thought (always a problem because I seem to knit very loose compared to gauge). Normally, this wouldn't bother me because this thing is supposed to be felted anyway, but now I'm starting to run out of yarn and it's not quite as long as I'd hoped. Also, my friend Mee just told me that when you felt, your piece shrinks more in length than width. Doh!! 
Anyways, here's what I have so far. I'm too anal retentive to just start tacking on whatever other yarn I have on hand. It has to follow the pattern I have in my head. Since I took the picture, I've run out of the green, so I unravelled and picked out stitches from the bottom and am adding more on that end. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens when I felt. I'm hoping to finish this main part tomorrow night when I have people over for a Knitting Night.
After the knitting night last week, I decided to take the reins (or be Julie the Cruise Director, as my friend Meighan likes to call it) and organize a knit-along on the mom's board I'm on. I thought I'd post it here too for anyone else who happens to randomly come across this and wants to join in. It's a felted needle roll. The cool thing that I really like about the pattern is that instead of pockets for the needles, there's two bands of cabling. Here is a link to the pattern:http://www.berroco.com/exclusives/kable/kable.htmlIf you actually do this and finish it, send me a picture, and I'll post it!
I've kind of been slacking on the knitting lately, but I went to a little knitting gathering last weekend with some other moms. It was nice to have a night out, even though only a minimal amount of knitting was done, and it did kind of "recharge" me to start some new stuff. I decided to try to make a felted bag using a pattern similar to the 'squares' hat the I recently made for a friend. Pictured at left is what I've got so far. It's turning out to be a bit narrower than I thought it was going to be, so now I'm debating whether to really felt it or not. Also, it loses so much length in the felting process that it may take me a hundred years to make it long enough pre-felt. I originally was shooting for a tote bag, but I may just leave it as is, sew a lining, and slap some wood handles on it and call it a purse.
Oh, I also finally got my second dishcloth done. It looks pretty much the same as the first one, just different colors. I like the variegated yarn a bit more though. It's a little more interesting. I really like this pattern as it's really easy and mindless to knit, so it's good for doing in front of the tv. The bag I'm working on...not so much.
