Should be finished tonight

I should be finished with my bag tonight! I have to wash my son's sneakers later, so I hope to get the bag in the washer with the sneakers. Here's a picture of what I've knit thus far:

Modification: My Mom didn't want the figure 8 cable on the pocket, just the diamond. If I was thinking I would have done a double diamond.... I have enough yarn for a 2nd bag, so maybe I'll do it as a double diamond on the next one :-)

If I have it finished tonight I can bring it up to NH this weekend & my Mom can use it for the Wool Arts Tour that we're going to :-)

~ Valerie

A little different looking. . .

My bag just doesn't look like most of yours, but I like it. I used a Lamb's Pride bulky yarn for the body so maybe that has something to do with the elongated look of my bag. And I always have a little bit of pattern anxiety. . . wondering if I am interpretting things correctly. Thanks to Sharon, this has been a very stretching experience. I ordered the pattern without a paypal account and now I have one. I hadn't previously worked with cables and now I have. And I've never posted to a blog. So hurray!

My new bag!

Hi! I'm finished my first XL Bowling bag and I think it came out quite well. It felted a bit to mutch and the pattern on the outside pocket nearly disapeard. I'm not sure that the yarn was right, I used Artic (Trysil Garn), and will try out some other yarn next time. I have not felted mutch, so that can also influens the result, but it was fun! Here are some pictures of the bag before and after felting.

Finished Pipes and Braid in Grays ...some tips

Now that I have finished another pipes and Braids, here are a few thoughts and tips.
You can always make the bag longer by adding a few more rows to the main part of the bag or even adding more pipes...simple thought but you really ought to think of customizing size to suit your needs.

Make sure you sew on the X's and thread the braid through before you felt the bag. I had forgotten to do this and felted the bag, and then had to felt the additional pieces separately and sew it all into place afterwards which was a bit harder then sewing them in the pre-felted stage.

Make certain you like the way the braid fits around the bag. It should not be droopy or conversely too tight either. If it seems to long you can either unbraid however much you need to and re-tie the end or even cut it off and re-secure the ends.

Secure the part in which you have sewn the ends of the braid together, underneath one of the X's by tacking it down through the X so those pesky ends don't show.

Lastly if the braid ends up not being the way you want it to be after felting you can confidently cut it off and re-sew it so it is more to your liking




I have made some slight changes and a minor color correction on Cables and pockets (thank to Valerie) as follows

Page 4:
Bag strips are done in Oatmeal bulky wight which is listed as [D}. In the directions I also call it [C].

I like the look of the top strips to be 2 rows taller so I am amending that section on pg. 4 to read as this

Using #13 circular needle and [D] working back and forth in garter stitch, drop first stitch marker and k across 40 sts, drop next 2 stitch markers, turn work and knit back on the 40 sts. you just knit across. Continue with garter st. on those 40 sts for a total of 10 rows (5 ridges).

It used to read 8 rows.

The yarn choice for the Exterior Cabled Pocket is not listed, it should be listed as [B]

Contest for She-Knits KAL members

I have decided to have a contest to give away some of my yarn and it is exclusively for my She-Knits KAL members that have posted at least once. You can still post between now and the end of the contest and be counted so if you haven't introduced yourself, go for it! There will be two winners picked.

How do I enter?

You enter by leaving a reply to this post with a web address link to a knitting pattern or a picture of a knitted item that has a pattern for sale (or free) of something you think is great that you have not yet knit, but want to. If it is a pattern from a book, then link the book.

You may enter up to 2 times if you have two separate links. The links must all be working, so make sure you check!

When will the contest begin and end?
The contest begins now and ends midnight Oct.10
The winner will be randomly drawn and announced Oct. 12.

What do you win?
There are two prizes to CHOOSE from...in other words first place winner gets their choice, and second place winner gets what is left!

If any of you listen to my podcast you'll know that even though I ordered the Berrocco Yarn, Peruvia to make the tilted duster, I have decided against knitting the tilted duster so I am going to give some of it away in this contest. Now, since a number of you are International I hope you understand that if you win I will be sending you a smaller amount of yarn then if you win and are within the United States, international postage is just BRUTAL.

Here it is...the color is tomato, the skeins are 174 yds and I haven't decided how many I will give away yet but it will be at least two or more.



It is a 100% wool and is considered by most to be quite soft (though i still think it is a little scratchy...but I think all wool is scratchy.

OR***************

A surprise mystery skein of sock yarn that is 400 yds.

OR************* ( and sorry my lovely International participants this last choice is only for people within the US because International postage is just brutal!


My additional copy of Laurie Perry's (aka Crazy Aunt Purl) book, Drunk Divorced and Covered in Cat Hair.
----------------------------------------
I will announce the winners on Oct 14 here on the KAL and then you will e-mail me your choice of prize and your mailing addy.

Sound good? Hey you have a pretty good chance of winning sine there are 14 f you in the KAL and I don't think everyone has posted! If you were lurking and considering joining, now is the time.

Remember enter by submitting your comment here.

Have fun- and please make sure your links work.

Pipes and Braid Bag - or Just Pipes Bag

I have finished my bag! I did mine a little differently, and didn't add the braid. I had a belt I used to wrap around it instead. To me, a couple of the colors on the top could have been a little different, but I still love it. Do you think I should have felted it a little longer? I'm excited to get started on another one.

Pipes and braids bag

I finished the bag on Wednesday. Here it is right before going in the washer to be felted. (apologies if the picture is too dark, I've tried lightening it several times but it keeps coming out dark when I post it)

I took it to my mom's on Thursday, and she fell in love. She took it with her to a doctors appointment on Friday and the sweetest thing happened. A woman in her 60s and her mother were both waiting in line behind my mom to check in. My mom felt something touching her bag and after the 3rd or so time she turned around. The younger woman apologized and the older woman asked my mom where she got the bag. My mom told her that I made it. The old woman's mouth dropped and said you can't have a child old enough to do work like this. Young people don't knit anymore. My mom laughed and said well, neither do us middle aged people and that I had taught myself. My mom also got a bunch of compliments from office girls and even her male doctor!

The goal was to take a few pictures with my mom holding the bag, but she wasn't feeling well today. (The following story is to explain the next picture) My mom was once diagnosed with both multiple sclerosis and Nerofibromatosis, the doctors have since revoked the multiple sclerosis diagnosis and have gone simply with neurofibromatosis. She has A LOT of tumors growing in her spinal chord. They did a surgery and actually removed some of her vertebrae in order to allow the tumors to grow and ease the damage done from pressure on her nerves and nervous system. Because of her disease she's on a walker at only 53 years old (don't worry though she's getting great care and is amazing doctors with her strength, she's always in high spirits and refuses to let the disease win). It makes it kind of hard for her to find a bag that she can carry and use her walker. Most bags either drag on the ground or slip off the handles, and if she carries it on her shoulder it trips her up. This bag hangs PERFECTLY on the walker. The straps are the perfect length to rest on one of the support bars and the perfect width. Check it out.


My mom adores this bag, and even though she didn't want to be in the pictures today she stood on the porch to make sure I didn't run away with it.


I love all of Sharon's bag and can't wait to get started on more. General purse addiction + beautiful knit designs/patterns + ability to knit= TROUBLE

So interesting how they are the same but different.

Here is my version of the 5 Petal bag that Jo did in the post below.




To me they look so different just because of the color differences. I like Jo's color choices as they are going to little girls. My color choices are more appropriate choices for grown-up "girls". So my question to all of you is does color choice make an enormous difference or as long as they are ok colors it really doesn't make that much of a difference? Could a little girl also where mine and a big girl wear Jo's?

Here is my second Pipes and braids in grays and black unfelted. I forgot to add the X's and braids and just now have a felted it. So now I am going to felt those additional pieces separately and sew them on hoping for the best. I may have to give it all one more short cycle of washing to fuse it together however I am a little leery of doing that as I don't want to make the bag any smaller. For whatever reason the gray bag shrunk more the the red Pipes and Braid bag even though I washed them both the same length of time and at the same temperature.

Another Loop in a Loop Bag

I just finished another Loop in a Loop Bag. These sweet little bags are addictive!

Pattern: She-Knits Loop in a Loop 5 Petals Bag
Yarn: Valley Yarns Berkshire Bulky (85% wool, 15% alpaca)
Needles: Size US13 9mm
For: Christmas gift for cousin Holly aged 6

I am in love with this bag!

I started the pipes and braids bag a couple of days ago, and I can't believe how fast it is knitting up. I usually knit only socks, so knitting a bag was completely new to me. Oh, I am so in trouble now - a new addiction! Sharon, the directions are wonderful. If I can understand them, just about anybody can :-D I've knit the body of the bag, and am almost to the first piping on the upper part. Now I'm at work and keep trying to sneak in a row here and there. You know what I'll be doing tomorrow on my day off!

Introduction of a new-comer

Hi, I'm Marit from Norway and I get so inspiered by all this lovely bags. I want to knit them all! But now I have a small problem or two. First of all it's not enough knittingtime in my life, and second, I don't have the right needles. The smaller one are on needles 6mm, and the bigger on 10mm. I don't have needles in sizes between, and I have to choose one of this. Please help me! My bag is going to be brown and white and I'm eager to start.

You might consider....

sending me to the nut-house...... I am so in love with the simplicity and good looks of the xl bowling bag. The wonderful thing about this pattern is that it is so easily changeable when it comes to yarn. What yarn you use determens(?) the size of the bag.

I am working on a black/grey one for my MIL as a christmasgift, I have started a small (even smaller than the pink) for my daughters cabbage patch doll in odds and ends from my feltingyarnstash...

and I am thinking about how I can make it even smaller... So I am considering knitting one on 2,5 mm needles with lacewool...

Now, does that not qualify for a little trip to the nut-house?
I am so hooked on knitting that bag that I have had to give myself a time out so I can get two of the three pairs of socks that I also have on the needles done. One pair was finished last night, and I hope to get lots of work done on the second pair tonight.