pay it forward, 2 of 3

Felted Project Bag (my ravelry project page)

Pattern: totally filched from another knitter's project page on Ravelry.
CO 34 stitches, knit about 40 rows.
Pick up and knit stitches all around the rectangle.
Knit in the round until piece measures about 12 inches. Bind off.

Knit for: Donna (of The Chaos), as part of Pay It Forward

Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted (#56 Olive), 1.5 skeins

Needles: US #11 (Knitpicks Options)

Mods:
* Well, I'm not sure if this was a mod or not, but I did bind off the bottom of the bag before picking up all the way around. I picked up a couple of extra sts in each corner. Both of these things caused the bag to come out rectangular, rather than round like the original. I didn't plan for that, but I do like the final result. I blocked bag over a plastic babywipes box ;-) Oh, and I also knit 11" of the bag body in stockinette, and the last inch in garter, to avoid curling while blocking.
* I added metal grommets after punching the holes, I used black cording and a slide instread of an i-cord drawstring, and I fashioned a wrist strap out of jewelry hardware and belt webbing. Tinkering with this stuff was my favorite part of the project.

Started: 11/9/2008
Finished: 11/21/2008; This could have been a weekend project, no sweat. A couple of days to knit, felt, and block...plus a day to do the hardware, and there you have it. Took me a bit longer because I ran out of yarn and had to get back into the city to pick up a second skein!

Notes: The strap for the bag and the inspiration for the goodies inside, came from a favorite sock bag that I purchased for myself awhile back from JulipBags.

What I tossed into this bag was hand lotion, a crochet hook for picking up dropped stitches, a hair elastic, addi sock needles, and a tin fashioned with a magnetic strip, a tape measure, folding scissors, a darning needle, a long pin for holding stitches, and stitch markers (from PaperAndYarn).

The sock yarn I added was one of the shipments from Sock Yarn Cinema from Knit! (and I did not part with it because I didn't like it, just in case you are thinking of ever joining in on the fun over there---I am just behind, and I was pretty sure Donna would like the themed yarn thing). This yarn was based on the movie Gone With the Wind, and it came with a letter addressed to Scarlett, plus some hand balm, and a lemon verbena sachet.


I have a hunch there are more of these in my future, maybe some striped ones as a way to use up some of my odd balls of feltable wool. I'd love to have one for myself (of couse. selfish me.), but I think they'd make great gifts, even for the non-knitter. But then again, being a BagLady, I suffer from the notion that everyone needs many, and can never have enough :-)
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Now, onto PIF item number 3, which has been frought with all sorts of problems: underestimating the complexity and time required of the project, not being able to find the correct quantity and colors of exactly the right yarn, and well....then there was the kittens getting at the WorkInProgress, in which their shredding then called for an entire frogging and restarting.

It is going to be late, but I have advised the recipient, and she says she's okay with it.
Still. I suck.

pay it forward, 1 of 3

I finished this a few weeks ago, but I didn't want to post photos until the recipient had received it. It's one of my three Pay It Foward projects. The other two are in progress and the due date is November 27th (I had 365 days to do all three--leave it to me to take it right up to the last minute).

Clapotis (my ravelry project page)

Pattern: Link ~ Ravelry Link

Knit for: Barbara from Nova Scotia as part of Pay It Forward

Yarn: Black Bunny Fibers, Wool-Silk Blend, in the colorway "Rusty Rose" (purchased as a 4 skein set dyed specifically for clapotis, I used just under 3 skeins, approx 594 yds). This yarn was soooo yummy to knit up, had a great drape, and was very soft. There was no pooling anywhere.

Needles: US #8, KnitPicks Options
Mods: made more like a scarf instead of a shawl

• Did the increase section 4x instead of 6x, ending with 83 sts
• Knit the straight section 16x instead of 12x to make it long enough.

Finished Size: Well, I forgot to measure it after blocking and before sending (duh); I think it was about 16" wide and probably close to 60" long.

prior to blocking

Started: July 3, 2008
Finished: October 21st, 2008 (but I set it down for a long while in the middle. It was actually a fairly quick knit)

Notes: I would totally knit this again, and would love to have one for myself in midnights blues.

paid and forwarded!

Leave it to no-blog-rachel to up the ante on Pay It Forward:



An absolutely GORGEOUS lacy scarf made out of her own handspun!!



I love it so much!!! Totally my colors, totally my style, and totally something I will wear often and all the while remember how it became to come to me. Thank you, Rachel!! *mwah!* You raised the bar!


I've been working on gifts for my three recipients, but I'm keeping things under wraps so it's a surprise. The commitment is to have them all out within a year (end of November), but I'm hoping to have them done much earlier than that.

snaps on saturday

Weekly theme number two (again, in an attempt to survive 365 days of blogging)...

Saturdays will be for Snapshots

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Lots of fiber arrived in the mail this week, and I am casting on this weekend:

Artfiber's "Phyz"
soon to become handmade item 1 of 3 for the PayItForward a-long

some absolutely gorgeous plant dyed roving from simmy
along with some Lamb's Pride Worsted in Onyx from Article Pract
soon to become MyFavoriteKid's FeltedFlamingFuzzyFeet

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as a reminder....new for 2008:
my comments to your comments will now be found in the comments

pay it forward

I cannot believe I am getting in a NaBloPoMo post this early in the morning. Dude, I haven't even had my cup o' tea yet.
It's kind of freeing, I tell ya'.
Not as freeing as December 1st will be, but yes. Freeing.

The only reason I have blog fodder this early in the day is because late night blog reading occasionally presents something cool, and this is what I found last night before I hit the sack.

I'd seen this crafty PayItForward thing whizzing around blogland, and I finally decided to bite the hook when I found a way in over at No-Blog-Rachel's blog. (And yes, I just find it damned odd that No-Blog-Rachel actually HAS a blog. I think she needs to be Why-Yes-In-Fact-I-Do-Have-A-Blog-Rachel. Or something.).

Anyhow.

Here's the deal:

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days. That is my promise. The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.


I think this is really cool, and although I believe this round of PIF originated in eh KnitBlogCommunity, and although I love all things knitting and the whole KnitterlyGang out there, what I gift may not be handknit. It might. It might not. Just thought I'd mention that.

I'm kinda feeling crafty these days, and I am thinking this might just be the swift kick in the ass I need to do something different. I welcome anyone out there reading this who can create anything interesting to consider it being "handmade". Why can't a poet or a musician or something be one of the three who sign up. Why not?!!

Goodness, I hope I'm not being an anarchist and breaking the rules by suggesting that (umm yah, I'd just hate to be a rule breaker), but hey...handmade is handmade. So long as it can be gifted away, right??). And of course, knitters be welcome. I'm just sayin'. No one needs to be left out here, eh?



So. Do ya' wanna?