On a more pleasant note, the other reason I haven't posted this week is that I have been busy finishing off my Sushi Bag, which has been rechristened "Flower Clutch".
Can you see why I changed the name? I am very pleased with this project, as I believe the decoration work has transformed the bag. I have spent several days embellishing this bag and lining it. The flower was created using needle felting. I used some fibre I got from the Harrogate Show and the needle felting starter kit. I managed to break the needle I got, and as I had got half-way through the flower I decided to invest in a Clover needle felter. I got mine from Mary Clare and feel much safer using this tool than the exposed needle. It also works faster, though not as fast as Clare's embellishing machine, which she allowed me to play with. I may invest in a proper felting mat as the foam block that came with my starter kit seems to be flaking already, and getting stuck in the felt.
After adding the flower, I stitched some Gutterman glass seed beads into the shape of a twisted stem. I filled in the gaps between the beads with some perle cotton in dark green. The stem twists round onto the back of the clutch.
I then, stitched up the lining and sewed on the magnetic clasps using a petersham fabric backing, to ensure that the lining fabric didn't fray. I then stitched the lining inside.
I filed down the rough edges of the dowels and stuck needle felted balls on the ends, to ensure the dowels didn't slide out of the handle slots. This bag will be kept unused, to be displayed in the Mary Clare exhibition in Novembe,r and then given away for Christmas. So now I have two Christmas presents made, how smug am I??
In Knit Along News, I have managed to reach the end of the repeats for the centre panel, that I set myself to do in February. I have placed the panel on a KnitPicks Options cable and put it away until next month. I couldn't face doing the same project, two months in a row, no matter how lovely it is.
I have cast on a square from Debbie Abrahams book Blankets and Throws to Knit. The coloured squares for my blanket come from a pattern called "Flower Power" which has bright colourful intarsia and beaded flowers. I am using the patterns for some of these squares but with the Elle Elite yarn I bought, which has much more muted colours. As soon as I finish my first square I will post a picture.
I have also been working on my scarves. I am about half way through both my Porom Inspired Scarf and my Noro Striped scarf.
This is the second time I have got this far on my Noro Scarf, but I think I made the right decision to start again. The colours are blending much more smoothly and the edges are much tighter.
My Porom Inspired Scarf is quite a complicated knit, so it going more slowly than I originally thought, mainly because if I take it to a knitting group I end up having to rip it back and start again.
I have treated myself to some pretty and girly pink silk sock yarn. I have never worn anything this girly in my life, but I just couldn't resist it. I going to try and find the perfect toe up/heel combo pattern if it is the last thing I do!
Pretty huh? I can't wait to start knitting with it.
