Monthly Archives: October 2011

Post felting

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I did it!  And I’m happy with the results.

The finished measurements are 10 1/2 inches tall and 13 1/4 inches wide.  It’s shown here stuffed with 2 bath towels and a hand towel.  The pile of fluff is what I had to shave off as it was a bit fuzzy.

I bought some leather straps but I don’t think they are quite right for this bag  so I’ve decided to knit some I-cord around a clothesline  as straps for strength and durability.  I’ll sew them on after they are felted.

The final decision I need to make is with the fabric for the lining.  Most of my bags have a dark interior and I feel like I’m looking into a black hole to find what I need.  I prefer a brighter lining.

I’d rather use a piece of fabric I already have rather than buy something new.

Option 1 is a scrap of cotton (less than 1/2 yard) from my mother-in-law’s stash.  There might be enough for pockets which I find are a necessity.  Of course the pocket could be made from another fabric or I could make a zippered pocket with a different lining as well.

Option 2 is a bright lime green silky-satiny fabric that matches the green squiggle on the front.  I have a yard which is more than enough for the lining and many pockets.

Do you have an opinion on the lining? 

I still have to knit the straps so I have at least a day to decide.

Pre-felting measurements

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I measured my Garter Stitch bag before I put it in the washing machine.

The square measures a little bit less than 4 inches.   Sorry for the glare.

16 inches across.

And almost 13 inches from the top point to the bottom.

It’s in the washing machine right now in a mesh bag and two pairs of jeans.

Felting.

I will check it in 15 minutes.

I hope I’m happy with the results.

WIP with picture

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I rushed home after the two-day conference we held in another city so I could get to my final knitting class for the Garter Stitch Bag.  I was only 15 minutes late.  Not bad for leaving at 1:25 and walking into the class at 2:15.  67 miles in 50 minutes including parallel parking right in front of the store.  You do the math.

One side of the bag was sewn together late Sunday evening.  I didn’t get home from work until after dark on Monday and I didn’t have time the past two days to get any pictures of the actual sewing.

So in class today I learned how to do an attached i-cord on the top edge and am half way around it.  My brain is a bit tired from all the running around the past few days and I just hope I remember how to do it tomorrow so I can finish and get this felted over the weekend.

You can see the i-cord on the top left side and my needle sticking out on the back.  The blue and orange stitch holders are holding the left side together until I can finish sewing it.  The yellow yarn is the provisional cast-on for the beginning of the i-cord.  Hmmm…that one section doesn’t look very even.  I might have to frog (rip it) that part and redo it.   

I want to take “before” and “after” photos with measurements so I can get an idea of how big/small this one will be when finished.  My sister (Hi Jude!) hinted that she might want one of these, too.

Garter stitch bag update

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I’m finished with the main part of the knitting and all the ends are woven in that can be woven in.

I numbered each square so I didn’t get confused as to what I was doing.  I kept the little squiggle of the lime green.

I also did swatch and felted it.  You can see the difference in the texture but it didn’t shrink too much.  It’s the one that doesn’t have a number pinned to it.

I’m having a terrible time getting the colors to show up right on here. 

The next step is to trace around the entire bag on a sheet of tissue paper so I have a template for the lining.

The the sides are sewn together: A to A, B to B, C to C, and D to D.

It becomes three-dimensional at that point and gets a little complicated after that since I don’t have those edges sewn together.

I WILL have those edges sewn together before class on Wednesday and then can start on the attached I-cord around the top.

Work is going to be a little (who am I kidding?) a lot hectic the next couple of days.  We have a conference on Tuesday and half of Wednesday so I will be busy.  I may will be working late on Monday so any sewing has to get done tonight.