Mama's Got a Brand New Bag!

Another finished KOTOTW Project  - No. 32, The Spanish Rose Trellis Scarf!

I have to say, I REALLY liked the experience of making this piece, from the knitting to the felting to the sewing together.  Fun to make, and also incredibly fun to wear, as it is such a show-stopper!

I kind of lost track of time while felting the scarf; I think I should have taken it out of the washer more quickly, as it got a bit too short.  Ah well, that is just a good excuse to make another someday.  Maybe with a different color of roses!  That trellis stitch is addictive!  And the rose pattern just works out so well, I can tell I will be making those a lot more in future.  You sew them into a spiral shape before felting; I also used a sewing pin to hold the spiral in place a bit when they were drying to "set" the rose into the shape I wanted, and they held their shape perfectly once dry.

As I had mentioned, this pattern reminded me of one of Nicky's all-time "greatest hits," the rose trellis bag!  I have yearned for this bag ever since I first saw the pattern, and have been wanting a large knitting bag that is actually knit (!)  (Really large - considering how much stuff I usually bring to Knitting Night!)

So while it was fresh in my mind how to do the trellis stitch, I decided to tackle the trellis bag project as well.  For yarn, I used Ella Rae Mega for the black and green main colors, Plymouth Yarn De Aire, doubled, for the contrasting leaves, and Reynolds Bulky Lopi for the roses.

 

 

I thought this project would be quick, but it took a surprising amount of time. Before blocking, it was HUGE -- I joked with my friends that it was big enough to fix 8 dachshunds!  After the first complete 2-rinse wash cycle, it was still at about the 4-dachshund level, so I sent it through again, and now it is just right, about 2-dachshund size. (Although I don't really intend to carry my dachshunds in it, that gives you an idea of the capacity.

I still have a few more roses to sew on, in fact!  It is a bit difficult.  I had to hunt around for a really long sewing needle to make it through all the layers of felted fabric.  And I poked my fingers to the point where they bled (YOUCH!) 

I just sort of pinioned them down using long tacking stitches, anchoring right through the rose's edges down through the bag edge and back. 

I also wanted the bottom to be solid and firm, so I sewed in a piece of plastic cross-stitch canvas that I trimmed into an oval shape:

Here it is all sewn in, on the turned-inside-out bag.  This works really well for giving a knitted bag some structure, so it will stand up (when filled with stuff), and the bottom won't sag when it is filled up with yarn.

I also intend to line it; I picked out some quilting fabric that I thought would work well.  I'm going to make some pockets, too, for needles and various knitting tools and toys.

I am parTICularly proud of the side seams; I took care to make the pattern edges consistent so that they would be mirror images of each other (this seems to have been the biggest challenge, reading through the notes of people on Ravelry that have made it already, so I was forewarned - ahhh, the wonders and wisdom revealed by the new universe of Ravelry!)

I can't wait to bring this bag to my next knitting night!

Speaking of knitting night...

December 2011 Knitting Night:

Sigh - the last knitting night of the year.  We decided to do something different, and met at the Textile Center where Renay works.  We did a little shopping; they have AMAZING textile crafts for sale.  And then we had dinner at this great coffee shop across the street called Overflow, where there were comfy couches and chairs in front of a big fireplace.  I think we are going to have to meet there more often.

Kristin is working on a wonderful scarf out of a bulky alpaca, soft and cozy.  She also brought a photo of the adorable bootees she had finished for a friend's baby shower, and they came out really well!  It is so much fun to see how quickly she has learned to knit, and to watch her take on increasingly challenging projects.

Karen couldn't stay long, but had a chance to admire the tiny pieces of a green cardigan that Eva was working on.

I showed off my scarf - here I am apparently looking incredulous about something... I was very happy to remember that I have a purple winter coat to match my new scarf's roses.

And here I am being goofy showing off my new vest, which actually looks much nicer than this picture might indicate...

Renay made this wonderful striped, looooonng scarf out of a yarn called Kauni, with really long color changes, interspersed with stripes of something that I'm guessing is Rowan Kidsilk Haze, so those stripes are sheer and soft.

You can kinda see the sheer stripes in this photo (that is, while you are also admiring her great new glasses and fabulous new haircut, to boot!)

I love my knitting girlfriends; I always drive away from those evenings feeling renewed and happy, already looking forward to our next time together.  I knitted all by myself for years and years; decades, actually.  If it weren't for this blog, even people I know well wouldn't have realized that I knit, or that we shared this hobby.  And now a bunch of people at work are wanting to learn how as well; it is such a great way to make friends, establish a bond.  I know I'm sort of a crazed knitting evangelist, but it has given me such joy to help teach people how to knit, and then to watch them catch on and see their wonder at what they can create, and to hear their stories about the other gifts that knitting has brought them - a sense of calm, order, color, rhythm, comfort, to otherwise hectic disorderly modern life.

The Evening Gala Aran FINALLY Gets its Debut!

My firm's annual holiday party was last Friday night, and I decided to wear my beautiful pearl-bedecked Evening Gala Aran (since this annual dinner is about the "Gala-est" evening I have most years).  I decided not to go with the boa, thinking that might be a bit over the top for this particular event.  (But maybe if I go to an opera, hmmm...)  I also went out for a badly-needed haircut, to cut some lengths into it and get those curls curly again.

It was surprisingly heavy to wear, with all those pearls; I joked with my friends at dinner that I felt like I was wearing chain mail!  (Well, it wasn't THAT heavy).  But I felt just like Maria in the song, "Pretty, oh so pretty..."  What fun, to finally wear that wonderful garment out in the world.

Here's wishing you lots of fun wearing your own wonderful knitted creations, now that the season is right for woolies!

XOXOXO,

Mar

Comments

[RebeccaED]

Nicely done-Love all the roses!

[Linda]

Everything came out great! I will have to gather some yarn and make that trellis scarf for myself. I love it! :)

[Batb]

The trellis knits are fabulous!!, but you really look so beautiful in that Evening Aran Gala - it truly is very, very special! I can only imagine how much fun it must have been for you to get the chance to wear it and show it off. Were you the belle of the ball?

[Cynthia]

Wow! I always enjoy seeing all your beautiful knitted things! The scarf and bag are fabulous! I love the roses! I do believe that one of the very most rewarding parts of knitting is the interaction with other people that it brings. I take my knitting into places like the grocery store and doctors office and basically everywhere I go. I am always knitting something for someone. I think that is one reason I enjoy it so much! Your Evening Gala Aran is so beautiful!

[Steph]

1- I love the sweater one you!
2- I love your haircut :o)