Back in March, 2015, Alison invited me to join a KAL her Knitting Guild
was sponsoring. The ladies in her group chose to knit
"Anne's Carpet Bag" in the book, Green Gables Knits by
Joanna Johnson.
I grew up reading the Anne of Green Gables book series by L. M. Montgomery. The photos of "Anne's Carpet Bag" brought back fond memories of the beloved book character, so of course, I jumped at the opportunity to knit this project.
The bag in the book was knit with 3 colors of Brown Sheep Company "Shepherd's Shades" yarn. The Stitchin' Den does not carry this yarn, but Susan agreed to special order it for the KAL participants. With so many color options available, choosing those three colors was difficult, but I was very happy with my choices when the yarn arrived...
And the knitting began! The slipped stitch pattern, bulky yarn and Size 10.5 needles made this a very fast and enjoyable knit. The bag is knit in the round, so no finishing! And all went well. My bag looked VERY large, but I knew it would shrink in the felting process. I really liked the colors I chose for this pattern.
It was time to go to the laundromat for the magic of felting. I stuffed old jeans in with the bag to increase the agitation that would make my bag shrink to the size shown in the book. After periodically checking the progress of the felting process, I was confident the bag was sufficiently felted and pulled the very heavy, very wet project out of the machine and put it into a trash bag. I felt very proud of my accomplishment as I spread the wet bag out on my kitchen table to dry.
But, I must confess, I had a niggling bit of worry as I tugged on one corner to even it out...This story turned into a saga the next morning, when I realized that troublesome corner was NOT going to pull out evenly. I explained it by deciding that one corner got stuck in the washing machine, which pulled it out of shape. And that was my explanation to my knitting friends. When the bag was dry, this was the lopsided result:
Feeling very downhearted, I brought it to the experts at The Stitchin' Den. The conclusion was that I must have zigged, when I should have zagged, and that I was to blame for the wonky corner, NOT the washing machine. My experts each pulled, questioned, and gave support, but they all came to the conclusion the only solution was to cut off the top portion of the bag and reattach it. Cut my bag??? I knew felted fabric did not unravel, but, really, they wanted to cut it two??? I took the bag home and put it in the closet.
A few months later, I pulled out the bag. Perhaps I was hoping for a miracle, but the bag was as wonky as before. Acknowledging that the cutting option was essential was one thing, but actually snipping was another. I brought it back to the shop, where Donna cut my project into two pieces, while I stood shaking in the next room. The bag did NOT unravel!
Next, the two pieces needed to be attached....but, how? I got several suggestions from my coworkers, but none made sense to me. The fabric was so thick sewing it by hand was impossible. The bag went back in the closet....
Months later, on a mission to finish some UFOs in my closet, I pulled the bag out and brought it back to the shop. This time someone suggested I take it to our local seamstress, who would have an industrial strength sewing machine that could possibly sew through those heave felted layers. I did just that, and it worked!
Attaching the handles and sewing in a couple pocket was easy. My saga is over and I love my new bag:
I'm thinking Lamb's Pride Bulky for my next bag...
What happened??? It seems like it was just yesterday that we were making our New Year's Resolutions...and it's now February? It's time to take stock on how we're doing. Have you stopped eating sugar? Are you eating more veggies? Are you walking 10,000 steps a day? Going to yoga class? All of these resolutions are important, but we fiber freaks know the resolutions that really matter are those related to our craft. So, let's talk about it...
When surveyed, the staff and customers of The Stitchin' Den often name a skill they would like to learn or a project they would like to make. But, overwhelmingly, the resolution to use up stash yarn (or fabric) was at the top of the New Year's Resolution list! Most of us have a stockpile of yarn (or fabric) to use "someday". Whether we fell in love with a yarn, the fabric was on sale, or our friend talked us into buying, many of us have a large collection. If stash busting was/is your 2017 resolution, you are not alone. Following are a few ideas for lessening your yarn stash:
Alison knits a lot of socks and has a accumulated a large cache of scrap sock yarn. She found the ultimate sock yarn stash buster! She is making The Beekeeper Quilt, a free Ravelry pattern. This project requires 380 "puffs" for a 3' x 4' quilt! Ali's goal is to make one puff a day. That is about an hour of knitting per day. She has finished 150 hexagon-shaped puffs, knitted on a Size 4 needle, stuffed with polyfil, used the Kitchener stitch to seal AND sew puffs together! That's a huge accomplishment, but she does have a long way to go! She plans to keep going until she runs out of scrap sock yarn, then add to the quilt as she makes more socks and has more scraps. Ali says, "Am I mad to have started this? I'm frightened to stop in case I never pick it up again!" Good Luck, Ali!
For those of us who are less ambitious, socks, hats, mitts are great projects for using up yarn. I made the resolution to use up stash yarn by copying the "Knit 52 Hats in 52 Weeks" group on Ravelry. Hats use small amounts of yarn, so it takes a while to to use up a sizable amount of yarn, but I love to make hats. I have nine hats completed since the 1st of January and am pleased with the small dent I'm making in my stash. And I will have hats ready for gifting and/or donating to charity. The more yarn I use, the more motivated I become.
Throws can be a great way to use up yarn and are always a welcome way to keep warm.
One of our shop models, The "Garter Squish" by Steven West, is a great stashbuster. This is a pattern that uses 6 colors of worsted yarn held double,and knit with a Size 15 needle. If you are wondering what to do with your worsted yarn, consider this pattern/blueprint. It will be fast and fun and much appreciated when it is completed.
The Slip Stitch Sampler Throw is another pattern that will eat up the yarn you have
accumulated. Color work, slip stitches and lots of different yarns will make this a fun stashbuster! Find it on Ravelry.
Felted items are a good way to use up wool yarn. There are many patterns for felted slippers and bags that would use up lots of wool yarn.
If stashbusting is your New Years Resolution, start knitting or crocheting! We would love to hear how you are busting your yarn stash! Let us know in the comments or in person. Remember....there is something fun YOU can make with your stash, and maybe you can add a new technique to your repertoire at the same time!
