Baby's got a brand new bag

I'm not much of a seamstress, but I figured I could sew the output from learning to weave on a triangle loom. Besides, I planned to felt the bag, so expected any "quirks" to be hidden. And that is what happened.

I used what I guess is called a running stitch to join two pairs of triangles to form the front and back of the bag. I wanted something relatively invisible so the fabric would not look pieced. And that is what I got (after felting).

To join the back and front, I used blanket stitch on three sides. For the flap, I'm guessing the stitch I used is called overcast. Across the purse opening, single crochet provides reinforcement. Fringe finishes off the flap; in retrospect, I should have left the fringe longer. Five-stitch i-cord became the strap.

I haven't felted much, but I remembered enough to put the purse in a mesh bag. Then I tossed it in with the regular laundry, intending to check on it after five minutes of agitation. I forgot all about it, so it went through the whole cold water wash cycle.

I half expected the result to be doll-sized. While the loom is ostensibly 8" on a side (okay, on two sides - the "top" is longer), the material contracts to about 7" when it comes off the loom. After my lackadaisical felting, the purse is about 6" on a side. Perfect for a six-year-old, me thinks.

Almost monogomous

With my gdaughter's birthday closing in, I have devoted all my knitting time to her sweater. I finished the sleeves, more or less. They are knit in the round using DPNs, no problem there, but they are then to be set in. I have never done set in sleeves before, so this should be interesting, plus a pressing reason to get the rest of the knitting done in a timely manner, to allow for do-overs.

Originally, I started the body on circular needles, but when I had to start the body over, I switched to straights, the better to cable with. I eschew using a cable needle (using this technique - scroll down) and find it easier on straights.

The pattern is not difficult, but for some reason I cannot do anything else while knitting it - no audio books, no TV - without messing up. Consequently, this project is relegated to the home front. Needing something portable, I started gdaughter's xmas socks, using the same yarn as the ones for her mom.

And because my purse was too cramped for carrying even small knitting projects, I just had to buy a new one.

The designer is Donna Sharp. Not only are her purses attractive, they have lots of pockets inside and out. And this style has room for a bit of knitting.