Here it is!  My new bag!

I used the Birdie Sling pattern by Amy Butler.  All of the fabrics from Heather Bailey's two new lines.  I chose the fabrics with transitional seasons in mind.  I think thebrowns and oranges fit right in with fall while the pinks and yellowsmake it springy.  Of course, I think green is perfect for any season.  I really really love this bag.

It's a big bag which works really well for me.  I'm a tall girl and I think that little bags look wimpy hanging on my arm.  I also like to cart around way too much stuff - I can easily fit a book and a small knitting project in here along with my point and shoot camera, sunglasses, wallet and checkbook.  I could probably even fit more if I tried.  Because it is made of fabric, it is nice and light weight.  I am really trying to take any pressure I can off of my right shoulder and my neck hoping that my wrist will benefit from less stress.  Although I love my green Coach bag, it is really heavy when it's empty, let alone when it's full. 

There are two pockets inside:  one small and one large that is divided.  If I were to make this bag again, I might make the bigger pocket smaller.  As it is now, it'd be great for a baby bottle or sippy cup, but I don't carry anything like that around any more.  I think it'd be great to have a pocket that wasn't so deep, but still divided so my cell phone could have a home of its own.  That is the one thing I struggle with using a big bag - I can never find my phone when it's ringing!

The pattern is very well written and the bag is fairly easy to make.  I would not try it as your first project, but maybe as a third or fourth?  There are lots of pieces to cut out including interfacings and fusible fleece.  The pattern calls for three fabrics - one for the outside, one for the handles and one for the lining and pockets.  I used four because I didn't have enough of my lining fabric for the pockets.  I also had to go back to the fabric store to get more of the brown floral because I was dead set on centering that pattern.  I needed twice what the pattern called for.  It was totally worth it though.

Edited to add:  Caroline reminded me that while our power was out, I toted my laptop around in this bag.  It fit wonderfully, power cord and all!

Well, hi.

I was going to show you all my new bag and tell you about how much I adore it, but the camera battery is dead.  I don't use a card reader so it needs a charge before I can get the photos off.  Tomorrow, ok?

Instead I'll show you a happy little fabric shot.

Melissa asked for trees for this month's Virtual Quilting Bee.  She sent the light green solid at the top of the photo and some white.  She said we could add prints from our stash so I played around in the studio yesterday, making piles of green fabrics.  I was really surprised at how many different green dots I have.  Anyhow, I have a plan - and I am pretty excited about it.  I just hope I can make it work out.  I think I will have lunch and then give it a go.  I always sew better on a full stomach.

It was my nephew Declan's birthday yesterday.  He loves to roll and throw balls so I made him a fabric one.

I used the fabric beach ball pattern from the Purl Bee.  This is the medium one and my sister-in-law Georgia said it is perfectly sized for one year old hands.  I didn't sew the fabric circles on the top and bottom because it didn't seem necessary to me.  I also tucked a small cat toy - the kind that has a bell inside a plastic ball - into the middle of the stuffing.  It has a nice jingle when it's tossed around.

Of course, he needed a shirt, too.  I copied the train design that Georgia used on the invitation although I had to change the color palette a bit.  That is a green giraffe, but I think it also looks like the number 1- perfect if you ask me.

We are having a beautiful fall day.  I hope the weather sticks around this weekend.  Have a good one!

My knitting needles and I have a love/hate relationship at the moment.  I have three sweaters in progress and many little projects that I tote around with me, squeezing in knitting wherever I can.  Having no electricity for 8 days didn't stop the knitting - you certainly don't need power for that.  I want to knit so badly, but sadly my wrist/elbow/tendinitis just don't want me to make loops with sticks and yarn.  My body is betraying me and I don't like it one bit.

For awhile I was doing just fine, knitting in moderation.  It was going overboard that did me in.  I think Kate's new hat is the culprit.  I was a woman obsessed.  I went to the yarn store one afternoon and by the next afternoon, I had finished it.  That was knitting only in daylight hours.  And this was try number two.  The first one wasn't working for me - cute, but not exactly what I wanted.  So I started over.

I didn't use a pattern, per se.  Kristin, the owner of my lys, printed out the fair isle chart from this hat project at the Purl Bee.  I cast on 88 stitches in worsted weight yarn, using a size 8 needle.  My gauge is 4.5 sts per inch in the fairisle part.  The colors are all Nashua Creative Focus, which I had in my stash.  The gray is Lamb's Pride Worsted which I bought because it is the perfect match for Kate's new winter coat.  I knit 7 rounds of k2, p2 rib and then changed to stockinette stitch for 7 rounds.  I worked the chart and then worked 2 more rounds of st st in the green.  I started decreasing by k6, k2tog across the next round.  Then I knit one round and followed it by the next decrease, k5, k2tog.  I kept alternating the decrease round with a knit round until k1, k2tog.  After that one, I just kept k2 tog until I had about 9 stitches to pull my yarn tail through.  I added a little braid and a pom pon and that was that.

My fair isle is a bit sloppy in parts - could it be the two different yarns?  Regardless, the photos really don't do it justice.  I'm not sure why I thought putting a 6 year old in her winter coat and wool hat in 85 degree weather would work for a photo shoot.  Really.  What was I thinking?  I had about 3 minutes before the meltdown started.  Oh well.  She'll be happy come winter.

And me?  Well, I'm calling the physical therapist again.  And I am searching for an acupuncturist, too.  I need my body to work with my mind, not against it.  Just think of how productive I could be then.

I didn't forget about the book giveaway.  I know you all understand that the electricity went out and - kapow! - so did my access to any web-based random number generator.  I used the next best thing:  Fatty.  I told him to pick a number between 1 and 529 and he said.....

437

I really want a copy of this book. Thanks for the generous offer. I just found your blog and am really enjoying it.

Posted by:Rain |September 12, 2008 at 02:38 PM

So, Rain, please email me your mailing address and I will get this off to you a.s.a.p.

Back tomorrow with crafty things.  Really.  I actually knit something and, no, it is not the tangled yoke cardigan.  And it's not a ripple blanket.   This one is from Jane's book.  It makes me think I should get back to my own crochet afghan in progress.  I'm slowly working on it, one square at a time.  Maybe it's time for an inventory.  I think I'm about half done.  I don't think I will be checking it off the list this year.  But next year?  Uh huh.

The power is back on.  It came on almost exactly 8 days after it went out.  Last night at dinner, Fatty asked each of us what we what we had missed most while it was out.  Right away, I chimed in with vegetables - oh how I missed having fresh veggies to roast and snack on!  Kate said she missed toasted bagels and Jane said she missed lights.  All of us then nodded and said, yeah, lights are good.  Notice no one said TV or computer.  I was happy about that.

The forced computer break was good for me.  I think I really needed it.  Everything was so quiet and lovely without the hum of electricity.  We went to bed at sundown and got up with the first light.  I did some knitting, read some books, played games with the girls and had impromptu dinners with friends.  Now it's back to daily life.  School started up again yesterday.  I have laundry to do and groceries to buy.  The upside is that my refrigerator and freezer have never been so clean.  I have some crafty things to share - I just need to charge the camera battery and snaps some pics.  First things first, though.  I'm off to the grocery store.  Roasted asparagus, anyone?

Ahoy.  Just checking in.  Still no power and it doesn't look like it's coming anytime soon.  Oh well.  We are doing just fine.  Especially because we have nice friends that do have power and are letting us use their internet and have fed us dinner twice.  Oh, and it's Talk Like A Pirate Day.  Go on, you know you want to.

Have ye a hearty good weekend, me mateys!

Or really, a medium decaf and 2 Jones sodas.  I felt compelled to buy something in order to use the coffee shop's free wi-fi.

We lost power yesterday at about 1:00 p.m.  A huge wind storm came flying through our city, courtesy of Ike, I think.  Anyhow, there are trees down everywhere and it doesn't look like we will have our power back for about a week.  There wasn't school today and it's been called off for tomorrow.  Everyone we know is safe and, besides some downed trees, unharmed.  The weather is mild - cool temps, no rain - so there is little to complain about.  House on Hill Road has a gas stove and a gas water heater so we are really holding up just fine.  I feel really blessed and thankful that we are ok.

I'll be away from the computer until the power is on and the phone is working so if you are waiting to hear from me, sorry!  I will get back to everyone just as soon as I can.

Until then, friends, take care.