"First make your project bag." This is the first rule of thumb for anybody starting a new knitting project. Knitting has been upgraded. I spend ages picking my yarn, often hand dyed, even on one occasion yarn from a half a dozen sheep on one farm in Oxfordshire. Much time is spent on Ravelry, looking at patterns and designer. Stalking other knitters' instagram accounts. Why then would you put your project in a supermarket plastic bag? Moi, no. Never.
Also, you can kid yourself you are getting underway with the knitting whilst it is "resting" in a knitting queue. Especially when said knitting is for one's husband.
Back track about a year, and I was lucky enough to be gifted some 8" squares by Michelle, Creative Blonde @creativeblonde on instagram. Michelle is an ambassador for Island Batik, and was doing her ambassadoring. I wasn't quite sure at first what to do with them. There is a very nice sub pattern in some of these batiks. Trees and birds. I am very fond of trees and birds. It seemed a shame to cut them up. By coincidence, my husband, who doesn't always express an opinion, has often said he likes batik quilts. So, I wanted to make something for him that didn't involve cutting the squares. It went into my pending drawer whilst I thought about it.
This year he asked me would I knit him a jumper. He asked last year too, but it is good to make him wait! Deferred gratification. When I asked what sort of jumper, he replied a jumper like I knit him some 35 years ago. I don't imagine he meant that exact jumper. But it started me thinking. And the first thing we needed was a project bag to store his jumper in, ready for when I bought the yarn!
I sewed the squares together in a simple format of two rectangles, comprising three squares across, two down. To these I added a band of dark blue Essex linen at the bottom. I had some grellow spotty stuff which was perfect for a top band of about 8".
I then sewed a similar pillow case for a lining. I used lemon kona for the main body, and a sort of creamy yellow circle fabric from eons ago for the bottom band. (the creamy yellow was the backing for a baby quilt for a cousin's baby. The baby is now 14).
Now, don't be silly. You know you don't come to me for a tutorial. I sewed the top raw edge of the grellow on the outer pillowcase to the top of the lemon kona on the inside and turned it right side outl Of course I remembered to leave a gap for turning in the inside bag. Then I sort of unpicked an inch stitches half way up the seam on the grellow on both pillow case things. This was about half way up the 4" piece of grellow. When it was ironed these stayed put.
Feeling rather pleased with myself, I got adventurous. I sewed a channel around from side opening in the grellow to the other side opening. This made a channel for the two strings, which I made from yellow kona. I took a 2 1/2" strip and folded and ironed both long raw edges towards the centre. I then folded this in half lenthways, and ran a seam down to secure. Did this again for the second string. The length? I just used what I had.
And that was my bag. Or rather my husband's project bag. Project Scots Fishing Fleet Guernsey. I had decided to see if I could find the same pattern again.
I remembered it was in a Traditional Knitting book I had way back in the early 1980s. I had a look on line and was able to buy a second hand copy of the same book. Before this all sounds like a happy ever story, buyer beware. I have the book. It may even be my own book donated to the charity shop. But ... the book smells fusty. To be polite, it stinks. I am very sensitive to smells, and a month on the book still stinks. I think I will be knitting from a photocopy!
Now all I needed was the yarn. Blue was the request. We looked online and found a Jamison and Smith Shetland yarn which was perfect for the Scots Fishing Fleet Guernsey, mark 2. I ordered up the Prussian blue colourway and waited for delivery. When it arrived, he says, here's more wool for you. That's for your jumper, says I, rather smugly. Rather a small parcel says he. It did look rather a compact and bijou parcel for the huge quantity of yarn needed. The parcel sat for a few days, then I opened it with a heavy heart. It was as I thought. I had mistaken the 25g balls for 50g balls. I ordered 15 balls, it should have been 30.
That was why it seemed rather reasonable pricewise! I didn't want to admit to my mistake, my sister laughingly reordered the remaining 15 balls for me. We were also going away, and didn't want the parcel sitting on the doorstep, or put in the rubbish bin, as a recent delivery man did. (go figure, cosmetics covered in fire ash. Lovely) I still have to collect my 15 balls from my sister. No rush, it will be a while until I get to that stage.
So, now we have a lovely project bag.
We have a rather smelly pattern. We have the yarn. Now I just need the time to knit the flipping jumper. I must look out a photo of him wearing the Scots Fishing Fleet Guernsey mark 1. There is a photo of him with a rather short lived, unfortunate ginger beard in his cream sweater. Looking like a folk singer!
And what do I love most about the project bag? The square with the trees and with the bird are intact. And still my favourites.
Happy sewing.
Helen x
linking with Beth of Cooking Up Quilts
Also, you can kid yourself you are getting underway with the knitting whilst it is "resting" in a knitting queue. Especially when said knitting is for one's husband.
Back track about a year, and I was lucky enough to be gifted some 8" squares by Michelle, Creative Blonde @creativeblonde on instagram. Michelle is an ambassador for Island Batik, and was doing her ambassadoring. I wasn't quite sure at first what to do with them. There is a very nice sub pattern in some of these batiks. Trees and birds. I am very fond of trees and birds. It seemed a shame to cut them up. By coincidence, my husband, who doesn't always express an opinion, has often said he likes batik quilts. So, I wanted to make something for him that didn't involve cutting the squares. It went into my pending drawer whilst I thought about it.
This year he asked me would I knit him a jumper. He asked last year too, but it is good to make him wait! Deferred gratification. When I asked what sort of jumper, he replied a jumper like I knit him some 35 years ago. I don't imagine he meant that exact jumper. But it started me thinking. And the first thing we needed was a project bag to store his jumper in, ready for when I bought the yarn!
I sewed the squares together in a simple format of two rectangles, comprising three squares across, two down. To these I added a band of dark blue Essex linen at the bottom. I had some grellow spotty stuff which was perfect for a top band of about 8".
I then sewed a similar pillow case for a lining. I used lemon kona for the main body, and a sort of creamy yellow circle fabric from eons ago for the bottom band. (the creamy yellow was the backing for a baby quilt for a cousin's baby. The baby is now 14).
Now, don't be silly. You know you don't come to me for a tutorial. I sewed the top raw edge of the grellow on the outer pillowcase to the top of the lemon kona on the inside and turned it right side outl Of course I remembered to leave a gap for turning in the inside bag. Then I sort of unpicked an inch stitches half way up the seam on the grellow on both pillow case things. This was about half way up the 4" piece of grellow. When it was ironed these stayed put.
Feeling rather pleased with myself, I got adventurous. I sewed a channel around from side opening in the grellow to the other side opening. This made a channel for the two strings, which I made from yellow kona. I took a 2 1/2" strip and folded and ironed both long raw edges towards the centre. I then folded this in half lenthways, and ran a seam down to secure. Did this again for the second string. The length? I just used what I had.
And that was my bag. Or rather my husband's project bag. Project Scots Fishing Fleet Guernsey. I had decided to see if I could find the same pattern again.
I remembered it was in a Traditional Knitting book I had way back in the early 1980s. I had a look on line and was able to buy a second hand copy of the same book. Before this all sounds like a happy ever story, buyer beware. I have the book. It may even be my own book donated to the charity shop. But ... the book smells fusty. To be polite, it stinks. I am very sensitive to smells, and a month on the book still stinks. I think I will be knitting from a photocopy!
Now all I needed was the yarn. Blue was the request. We looked online and found a Jamison and Smith Shetland yarn which was perfect for the Scots Fishing Fleet Guernsey, mark 2. I ordered up the Prussian blue colourway and waited for delivery. When it arrived, he says, here's more wool for you. That's for your jumper, says I, rather smugly. Rather a small parcel says he. It did look rather a compact and bijou parcel for the huge quantity of yarn needed. The parcel sat for a few days, then I opened it with a heavy heart. It was as I thought. I had mistaken the 25g balls for 50g balls. I ordered 15 balls, it should have been 30.
That was why it seemed rather reasonable pricewise! I didn't want to admit to my mistake, my sister laughingly reordered the remaining 15 balls for me. We were also going away, and didn't want the parcel sitting on the doorstep, or put in the rubbish bin, as a recent delivery man did. (go figure, cosmetics covered in fire ash. Lovely) I still have to collect my 15 balls from my sister. No rush, it will be a while until I get to that stage.
So, now we have a lovely project bag.
We have a rather smelly pattern. We have the yarn. Now I just need the time to knit the flipping jumper. I must look out a photo of him wearing the Scots Fishing Fleet Guernsey mark 1. There is a photo of him with a rather short lived, unfortunate ginger beard in his cream sweater. Looking like a folk singer!
And what do I love most about the project bag? The square with the trees and with the bird are intact. And still my favourites.
Happy sewing.
Helen x
linking with Beth of Cooking Up Quilts
A knitting adventure complete with a lovely project bag, what more could your hubby ask for.
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