From The Craft Room

Archive for the ‘Works in Progress’ Category

So, I’ve been working on my Noni Green Earth Market Bag that I started about a month ago. It’s not going well (I blame the crappy work schedule).

I’ve redone the bottom three different times. First, I was doing something really funky when I turned the rows and they were impossible to pick up stitches from. Second time things were going well until I had decided I was going to knit a few rows one morning when I got home from a 12-hour shift with only 4 hours sleep the day before and ended up doing the rows backwards and no longer had solid stockinette. Being tired and cranky, instead of just putting it down and taking out the 4 messed up rows when I was fresh, I had a tantrum and frogged it all. *sigh* This third time, I see a blatant error — a stitch that I somehow managed to twist or something in about row 8. I’m doing my best to ignore it (since it’s going to be felted for goodness sakes) and I just picked up the stitches for the sides.

I decided to be clever and use a crochet hook to help me pick the stitches up faster since I’ve already wasted a month getting to this point. Well, I managed to twist every single one and have to untwist on the needle as I knit. Yeah, that is saving me oodles of time. Oh, well…knitting is fun and relaxing…right?

In other sad news, I’m already behind on the Afghan KAL. We’re three weeks in and I’m still on my first square. C’est la vie. At this rate, I ought to finish in about two years. LOL

I got my Ravelry t-shirt I ordered in the mail today. It’s so pretty, but the neck is cut a little tight. We’ll see if it feels better after washing.

Well, I’ve finally have a banner close to what I had in mind for this site. It still needs some tweaking, but it will do for now. I’ll deal with the rest of the design at a later date. Once I get back from vacation next week, I’ll write up a post as to why very little crafting has been going on on my other blog, Domestic Geek, and link it here. Let’s just say that major suckage has been going down lately.

One good thing is I’ve finally knit up the felted clogs I started weeks ago. All that’s left to do is to actually felt them. Huzzah! I may try to squeeze in time to do it tomorrow, but with packing and getting ready to leave for Tennessee early Monday morning, I don’t know if I can. I was really hoping to have them done so that I could take them on the trip, but alas, that was apparently not meant to be. I had also intended to have a crochet sun hat I’m working on completed, but like I said, not a whole lot of crafting lately.

A happy note:
Our travels this week will take us to Indiana. While inquiring on a Ravelry board as to a good area yarn shop to visit, I learned that the Yarn Harlot will be speaking in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Marcus agreed to accompany me and I get a 2nd chance to not only meet her, but perhaps even have photographic evidence, as well. Yay!

The Yarn Harlot was in town last night and I had an amazing time. She was so funny — I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time. I’d share the pictures I took last night, but THEY SUCK! Once again my crappy camera decided it was going to be unable to focus. Also, I must’ve accidentally changed a setting, because the pictures are SMALL! I am so done with that thing. I also closed my eyes in the picture I had taken with Stephanie. I really wished I had asked Marcus to borrow his for the evening. I hope she comes back next year after her new book is released and I can try it again. By the next time, I will be making socks!

I made some good progress on my Mistake Rib Scarf I’m working on. I’m into the 2nd skein, so over 50% complete! I tried working on a dishcloth, too, but trying to follow the pattern with so much fun and excitement around me was impossible.

I’m so glad I finally decided to get off my duff and join the knitting world. Of course, Ravelry has been a huge help to entice me to leave my comfort zone and put myself out there.

Today I need to do some housecleaning and some much-needed web work so I can get Domestic Geek back up and finally finish the header I’ve been working on for this blog. I’ll try to sneak in some time on my clogs, though, and read a little bit of Things I Learned From Knitting (Whether I Wanted To or Not) that I got signed last night.

I had to stop by the yarn shop last week because I didn’t know how to finish off my icord I was making for the bag handle or how to start the 2nd one. The shop owner showed me again how to cast on so that I could start my 2nd bag that I want to make into my knitting bag, too. I spent a good portion of last evening casting on, knitting a few rows, taking it apart and starting over again, just for the practice. I’m getting better at it.

Now I have finished both icord handles, so now I need to go through the process of felting the bag. It involves putting it in a pillowcase in the washer in very hot water and high agitation. I was going to do it today after work, but I was in a rotten mood when I came home, so that will have to wait until tomorrow.

It takes a couple of days to dry stretched over a cereal box and then I take it back to the store so that I can be shown how to attach the handles. With any luck, there will be pictures of the completed bag this weekend!

Better late than never, I’m posting this as part of Cass’ Online Craft Club.

After giving my hand a rest yesterday, I got it the bag to the point of needing further help this morning. This afternoon off I went to The Knitting Habitat for additional instruction. The shop owner was in and showed me how to finish off the top edge. After I did that, she taught me how to make what they call icords. These are going to be the handles. After I get 2 of them at 36″ apiece, I get to do what they call felting it. I guess you wash it in the washer in really hot water under much agitation and the wool stitches become like a big piece of felt. It looks really cool. Then it has to dry stretched over a cereal box covered in plastic. Once that’s done, I’ll go back and she’ll show me how to attach the handles.

I may try to work some more of the ribbon thread into the bag before I felt it. I haven’t decided yet. We’ll see how the icord making goes.

Anyway, here are some pictures. The first is the point I was at after my first class last Saturday. The second is one that Marcus snapped after I got settled in to work on it here at home. The third is where I am at after today’s class.

Hopefully next week you’ll all get to see the finished bag!