Update on French Market Bag

My French Market Bag is coming along nicely -- and rapidly, too, especially considering that it could be such a monotonous knit. Since it is knitting "in the round" on circular needles, there is not even a "knit one row, turn, purl one row, turn" rhythm to break that long, spiral row of knit stitches. However, I have found that it is the perfect project to take someplace. I can knit a few minutes in the car on my lunch break, knit during TV shows that require more attention (I'm looking at you, Lost), and even knit while carrying on a conversation with friends. No pattern to track, no natural stopping point (i.e., the end of a row) that needs to be reached -- just that long spiral of knit stitches.

Here we are at the color change -- my next bag will have several of these

The body is almost finished in this shot. A few more rows and it will be ready for the handles and then it can be felted.

This is really a popular pattern. I have recently joined Ravelry.com, an on-line knitting/crocheting community, and found that over 1000 members have either made this same bag (not a similar bag but the pattern from knitty.com) or are working on it right now. It is interesting to see how other knitters have modified the bag by either adjusting the color pattern or changing yarns. One of my favorite versions had flowers embroidered on the bag before it was felted -- the final look was gorgeous. I want to try that, too. This bag would make a great gift -- I may end up making several this year.

A New Year and New Projects!

First, a finished project -- this is a baby blanket for a friend expecting a little boy. Child's Knitted Blanket at Lion Brand Yarn. I bought the yarn at Lion Brand, too - 6 balls of Jiffy in Heather Blue. Look closely at the uuper left corner of the photo and you can see little white cat feet trying to get on the blanket (and into the picture).


One thing I really like about this pattern is that the reverse side is just as attractive as the front side. The front is an hourglass design while the back looks a lot like a basketweave (see below).


See the basketweave design? This was a great project for a baby shower because it worked up very quickly (3 weeks).

Not every project is a knitting project ...

Penny and I are working on the same counted cross stitch project. Right now, she is way ahead of me but she has recently started working full time so the advantage is about to be passed back to me (I have loads of experience in dealing with the battles of full-time work vs full-time hobbies). This piece is a series of six panels (all worked on the same piece of fabric, not six separate pieces) surrounded by a border. Last I saw, Penny had about 2 1/2 panels finished. I have done the outlining on three and started one of the scenes. I have to admit that I prefer knitting -- counted cross stitch takes too much concentration and too much, well, counting. I can knit while watching a movie but the stitching requires too much of my attention.

... but there is a new knitting project waiting in the wings

Here is the beginnings of my next project -- are you as excited to see it as I am? (Probably not)

This is my next knitting project but it is also something brand new for me because it will be felted after knitting. I've never felted anything before and am really looking forward to trying it. Felting requires a natural fiber yarn (like wool) which is knit and then deliberately shrunk in a hot bath. That means the knitted article needs to be larger than the desired finished piece. I am going to make a French Market Bag which I can use to carry my next project.

Extreme Knitting

Remember this picture from an earlier post? This would be Extreme Knitting in the sense of extremely small:


Here is the opposite extreme:


No, this isn't me in the second photo. I found the photo online on someone else's blog, but it is still an interesting shot. This woman specializes in giant knits and will use anywhere from 3-200 strands of yarn on these and other giant needles to knit things like rugs.

Other Extreme Knitting ideas getting some publicity - someone has created a Kniittiing app for the Nintendo Wii. Now, you can knit for scores as well as warmth!

Little Knits for Little Gifts

I love to knit gifts. Here are little mini-stockings that I made for our church's Baby Day celebration. There is a music button in each stocking that plays "Jesus Loves Me" when squeezed.

Baby Day Mini-Stockings

I made mittens for all of the kids in the family this Christmas. Here is my selection of mittens hanging on the back of the couch (I had to take the shot fast because Rudy and Tux thought this was just a mitten playground for them). If you look closely, you can see the twisted cords that can be threaded through the sleeves of a jacket. Penny and I made the twisted cords by tying yarn to one of the beaters in Penny's hand mixer and then using the mixer to twist the yarn. (see instructions below)



Along with the mittens, each gift included a copy of Jan Brett's The Mitten about a grandmother who knits a pair of mittens for her grandson.


My friend, Penny, introduced me to the book which is simply wonderful. It is a sweet story with beautifully detailed illustrations. Knitting all those mittens was a lot of fun, but I did get tired of making all those tiny thumbs!

How To make a Twisted Cord

1. Cut a length of yarn twice as long as you want the twisted cord to be. Tie one end to a single beater that is placed in a hand mixer. Note that one beater will spin clockwise and one counter-clockwise. Give it a short "test spin" to see if the spin direction is making the plies of the yarn tighter or looser -- if the yarn looks like it is getting looser and unraveling, you need to use the other beater.

2. Once you are sure you are going in the right direction, hold the yarn so that it is slightly taut and then turn the mixer on. Let the yarn twist for about 30 seconds or until it is trying to "kink" on itself. For a long cord, you really need a friend to help hold everything. Stop the mixer.

3. Keep hold of the free end of the yarn and keep the yarn stretched straight as you use your other hand to grasp it in the middle. Bring the free end up to the end tied to the (stopped) mixer, and hold those ends together so that the yarn is folded in half. Let go of the middle and the twist will form.

To make a two-color twist (like the red and white twist in the photo), tie a length of red yarn to a matching length of white yarn and treat like one long strand. Twisted cords make a nice finish to lots of different craft projects. You can twist them by hand but that is really only practical for small (12" or shorter) pieces. Besides, using the mixer is a lot of fun -- people watching you will think that you have lost your mind before you "magically" create the twist at the end :)