A Bag for a Bag

This is the lovely bag (tote) that I received in the recent Bag Exchange. It was specially felted for me because I had never seen/felt a felted bag before. It is lovely and roomy and I really like the colours. My super pal included some other knitting goodies as well - jealousy gets you nowhere!!


Thank you so much, bookwoolies aka sheepish61 aka tori .....

MOTHER MUGGLE MANAGED to beat Harry!

Work your fingers to the bone and what do you get .... boney fingers
.... and some pretty nice socks!
















Yes, the socks made it to the opening (at 3-00am)















She got her copy - thank goodness she has ears - or her smile would have gone right the way round her head!















She plunged straight into the book (at 3.30am!!)







Even Precious the cat was ignored ....

















Oh yes, by the way, I invented something else ..... a book band, which keeps the book open while you read!




Well, I guess that chapter of her childhood is closed now .... what's next?

Will Mother Muggle Manage? UPDATED UPDATE!!

I consider DD one of the foremost afficianados of the literary phenomenon currently in vogue .... in other words, she is nuts about Harry Potter!!





At the last book launch, she was super-excited and managed to be Number 100 in the UAE to get the book (at 3.05am!) She had dutifully worn her HP scarf (as megafans do!)

The idea this year was for her to add some more HP knitted garments for her line-up.

Plan A did not quite work out as intended, so Mother Muggle (Me, Myself) has hauled out the knitting needles and is frantically whizzing (wizarding?) up a pair of socks. Naturally, DD did not want plain ol' stripey socks, so we combined stripes, zigzags (scar ala Horcrux pattern) and some liberal thumbsucking by moi! I was stumbling along, having almost completed the first sock, when I realised ....

Urm ... THAT is not much time for a novice like me to bash out a pair of socks ..... I pulled my finger out, finished the first sock and have cast on the second one .....

Bearing in mind, the child does not have feet,

she has YARDS .....

WILL
MOTHER
MUGGLE
MANAGE??????????????????????????

LOTS of coffee later .... we are closer but time has flown too ....

Progress is sure, but slow .... I wonder if she can wear them like this ?




*Sigh* Hubeasts are such odd creatures!

Wine Blossoms ARE (finally) HERE

WINE BLOSSOMS
(Which Wine is Mine)

Wine Blossoms
are a colourful way
to identify wine glasses
during a party.
Each guest gets a uniquely coloured blossom which is easily removable when they use a new glass

I think I have made my fans wait long enough ... so here is the pattern for the Famous Wine Blossoms ... but first a couple of technicalities :

- Please make them, change them, improve them, sell them, enjoy them, BUT ... please call them Blossoms (you can can call them Sue's Blossoms, Linda's Lovely Wine Blossoms, I don't care, but please, in honour of the wonderful person they were invented for ... call them BLOSSOMS)

- If you DO make them, in any form or evolution - please send me pics - I would love to know who is making/using them, and where, and what YOURS look like. Thank you.

The Pattern : (Now, remember, I ain't no designer, this be my first time, so be gentle with me!)




Yarn requirements : I used Double Knitting Yarn (400cm ... 4metres ...158 inches ... 13,1feet) ... talk about using up scraps of yarn!!



Needles : 3.5mm or 4mm (not too big, you don't want floppy blossoms, do you?)

Cast on 13 stitches

Next row : K1 (Knit into front and back of rest of stitches) = 25 stitches

Next row : Purl one row

Next row : Cast Off 2 stitches* (Knit 2tog, Make 1 to end) = 22 stitches

Next row : Cast On 2 stitches* (Purl to end) = 24 stitches

Next row : Knit one row

Next row : Purl 2 tog to end = 12 stitches

Next row : Cast off ...
It is an odd shape, but don't worry - that is what it should be - odd shaped (like me)!








Fold over lengthwise, thus forming the blossom bumps


Stitch together along short side, leaving the *2stitch cast on and *2stitch cast off bits not doubled .... are you getting this - am I 'splaining it ok? Those two little sticking out parts are where you must sew a press-stud or velcro, which will allow the Blossom to be opened and closed around a wine glass..... got it??

Well, that's it folks - looks more complicated than it is - just like me!!

I tried adding beads to the edges (looked crap because I could only get crappy beads! But I reckon nice beads would look quite larney).

I tried crocheting long ties instead of the press-studs, but the guinea pig I got to try them (namely, DH) tied the knot so tight, we had to cut the Blossom off the glass!! Savage!

Please, have fun, adapt and change them to suit your needs. Let me know what you think and how they work out for you!!

Caveat Lector - Reader Beware!!

Reader Beware ....

Some of my posts (well, most actually ...) contain the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, according to Lulu. They are biased, one-sided and contain extremely knitting-politically incorrect content. (And this is AFTER I have edited and re-edited them to take out all the really harsh stuff!)

Readers who are hyper-sensitive, exceedingly non-judgemental, thin-skinned, touchy or delicate are warned not to proceed any further. Exposure to my harsh, straight-talking, direct, blunt, candid views may cause nausea, weeping, faintheadedness and tremors which could lead to the poking out of one's eyes with knitting needles ... especially if the truth hurts.

So read them at your own risk ..............................................................

Just had to take a deep breath .......

BAD sheep!!

The finished bag ....

I finished knitting the bag/tote for my exchange. My pal said she is not a frilly girly girl and prefered natural colours and simple patterns. I have always loved cabled bags, and this was my opportunity to make one!

The finished product looked like this :















Then I added a matching makeup/nick nack purse to match















which I filled with a pen, notepad, lipbalm and other necessities of life!
Then came a little money bag/pursey type thing and some yum yum
thingies and .... off it went ....















I hope my pal likes it .............