Category Archives: knitting

One down…

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…several more to go.

Remember last week when I was off balance and wimpering telling you about my want/need/have-to-do list?  I crossed off one of the have-to-do things this weekend:

I cleaned out the pantry.

The before:

The after:

The only things I have left to do are to buy a couple of baskets for the opened snack bags and pastas, organize the cookbooks so they don’t take up half a shelf and make a wooden box with casters for my cookie sheets, cooling racks, large trays and cutting boards which live in the box on the floor for now.  Know anyone with a table saw willing to make a 1/2 inch plywood box with casters 18 inches wide by 18 inches long by 17 inches high?

The big bag of candy on top of the pumpkin basket (that my very talented sister made) will be given out on Halloween.  I hope.  (I buy candy that I don’t like so I don’t eat the leftovers.  I take it to work.  Mr. Aitch disagrees.  He thinks I should buy candy that we like so we can have the leftovers.)

ALL my extra food used to be stored in the basement but I decided to bring the boxed goods upstairs into the kitchen.  We do have a dehumidifier but I still worry about dampness getting into the dry goods.  The canned goods are still down there.  Going to the basement for something is part of my exercise program.

Expired foods, things that didn’t belong in any pantry, and stuff I don’t remember buying went into the garbage.   The setup isn’t ideal as the shelves aren’t adjustable so I have to work with what I’ve got.  Once I get the crown molding installed, the rooms repainted and the craft room finished, I’ll think about redoing the pantry with adjustable shelving.  It’s all about priorities.

Time allotted for this project was two hours.   Actual time from start to almost finished (this stage) was…four hours.  Deciding how to put it all back took the most time.

I found a 1,327 pound griddle that came with a gas grill we bought in 2003.  Maybe we’ll remember we have it and actually use it.  For what?  I don’t know.

Not sure why I had over 200 brown paper lunch bags either.

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.