Best Intentions
I'm in no way an expert knitter. People tend to like what I do and although I'm often my own worst critic I can usually live with what I've created. But, here's the problem with the experience level to which I've graduated: I think anything I'm going to make will just take a little while. Two weeks to k8's birthday? No problem! I can whip something up in two weeks.
Well, I can knit it in two weeks, but I always forget about the finishing. Its sort of like projects at work. I will tell you, dead serious, with nothing but love in my heart, I'll be done in two hours. I'm convinced everything work-related takes two hours. And, after doing what I do for 7 years now, you'd think I'd have learn this isn't true. Nope, I still believe, deep-down, that everything takes two hours. Luckily, I work for guys who are never ready for projects in two hours. Kind of like everything in L.A. is twenty minutes away.
Ok, back to the knitting...two weeks to birthday, no problem!
As we've talked about before, Regina & I dye a lot of yarn. Its fun. It amuses us. And, we make darn pretty colors. But, here's the thing, we have to start using all this pretty stuff. I'm staring at the bin' o dyed yarn in my bedroom (yes, until recently, I kept my special dyed yarn close, whatever, shut up)...what to do, what to do...k8's birthday, what to do.
So, I go to my library o' felting books.
Bingo!
See that backpack on the left...that's my girl. Of course I'm not doing those odd little squiggles or fair-isle. I'll let the yarn speak for itself. I gathered all the blues I've dyed, and off we went. Some yarn was dyed with Kool-Aid, some was dyed with jacquard, and some was redyed Kool-Aid with jacquard 1.5 weeks before our deadline when I decided that I just HATED the yarn I was about to work with so obviously, something needed to be done. Here are the colors we ended up with:
I was quite pleased. Regina was quite pleased. Gramma was quite pleased until she learned the bag wasn't for her.
Four days before the deadline, the bag and strap were felted. I'm feeling pretty good about myself. All I have to do is enclose the top for the drawstring straps, feed the strap through, sew the straps down and buy & sew in lining. And all of this is going to happen with Todd in town. Ok, for future reference, maybe I should write all of this down 'cause when its all in my head, it doesn't seem like much.
Ok, 2.5 days to go and Todd happily escorts me to Michael Levine's. He and I walk around the store together pulling out various bolts of fabric. We have slightly heated discussions involving polka-dots and Hawaiian prints and why we don't line bags in dark colors. I'll spare you the details but I will tell you it was nice having somewhere there who had a strong opinion and would actually listen when I would say things like "No, remember, nothing dark, she'll lose everything in there." 'cause then I'd pull a bolt out with some dark color and he would scold me ant tell me that she won't be able to find anything.
Here's what we both decided would be perfect:
I didn't mean to buy Amy Butler. I don't want to be one of those crafters who just waxes on and on about her like there are no other cute fabrics out there...but it matched perfectly and I swear I didn't realize that it was Amy Butler for Rowan until I got it home. Kinda funny it worked out that way...sort of like making fun of the "flyover" states my entire life and then spending all of my vacation time in those states for the last two years, but I digress...
Here's the bag, done at 6:22pm, in time for our 7pm birthday dinner. (Thank you 405 traffic doG for ONCE letting me run down the freeway at rushhour at 65 miles per hour.)
Yeah, I know the pictures aren't the most even, but seriously, it was 6:23pm and I had to be in Marina del Rey at 7pm. I was pushing it even taking pictures.
Woo! At the restaurant at 6:50! I made it to the birthday dinner with wrapped gift in hand on time. Of course, I got work an hour early, didn't feed the dogs that day* and wasn't accepting personal phone calls until I went to dinner, but damn it, I finished that bag in two weeks.
Just like I planned.
Happy Birthday Kate!
*no skinny dogs starved in the making of this bag; gramma fed them.
Well, I can knit it in two weeks, but I always forget about the finishing. Its sort of like projects at work. I will tell you, dead serious, with nothing but love in my heart, I'll be done in two hours. I'm convinced everything work-related takes two hours. And, after doing what I do for 7 years now, you'd think I'd have learn this isn't true. Nope, I still believe, deep-down, that everything takes two hours. Luckily, I work for guys who are never ready for projects in two hours. Kind of like everything in L.A. is twenty minutes away.
Ok, back to the knitting...two weeks to birthday, no problem!
As we've talked about before, Regina & I dye a lot of yarn. Its fun. It amuses us. And, we make darn pretty colors. But, here's the thing, we have to start using all this pretty stuff. I'm staring at the bin' o dyed yarn in my bedroom (yes, until recently, I kept my special dyed yarn close, whatever, shut up)...what to do, what to do...k8's birthday, what to do.
So, I go to my library o' felting books.
Bingo!
See that backpack on the left...that's my girl. Of course I'm not doing those odd little squiggles or fair-isle. I'll let the yarn speak for itself. I gathered all the blues I've dyed, and off we went. Some yarn was dyed with Kool-Aid, some was dyed with jacquard, and some was redyed Kool-Aid with jacquard 1.5 weeks before our deadline when I decided that I just HATED the yarn I was about to work with so obviously, something needed to be done. Here are the colors we ended up with:
I was quite pleased. Regina was quite pleased. Gramma was quite pleased until she learned the bag wasn't for her.
Four days before the deadline, the bag and strap were felted. I'm feeling pretty good about myself. All I have to do is enclose the top for the drawstring straps, feed the strap through, sew the straps down and buy & sew in lining. And all of this is going to happen with Todd in town. Ok, for future reference, maybe I should write all of this down 'cause when its all in my head, it doesn't seem like much.
Ok, 2.5 days to go and Todd happily escorts me to Michael Levine's. He and I walk around the store together pulling out various bolts of fabric. We have slightly heated discussions involving polka-dots and Hawaiian prints and why we don't line bags in dark colors. I'll spare you the details but I will tell you it was nice having somewhere there who had a strong opinion and would actually listen when I would say things like "No, remember, nothing dark, she'll lose everything in there." 'cause then I'd pull a bolt out with some dark color and he would scold me ant tell me that she won't be able to find anything.
Here's what we both decided would be perfect:
I didn't mean to buy Amy Butler. I don't want to be one of those crafters who just waxes on and on about her like there are no other cute fabrics out there...but it matched perfectly and I swear I didn't realize that it was Amy Butler for Rowan until I got it home. Kinda funny it worked out that way...sort of like making fun of the "flyover" states my entire life and then spending all of my vacation time in those states for the last two years, but I digress...
Here's the bag, done at 6:22pm, in time for our 7pm birthday dinner. (Thank you 405 traffic doG for ONCE letting me run down the freeway at rushhour at 65 miles per hour.)
Yeah, I know the pictures aren't the most even, but seriously, it was 6:23pm and I had to be in Marina del Rey at 7pm. I was pushing it even taking pictures.
Woo! At the restaurant at 6:50! I made it to the birthday dinner with wrapped gift in hand on time. Of course, I got work an hour early, didn't feed the dogs that day* and wasn't accepting personal phone calls until I went to dinner, but damn it, I finished that bag in two weeks.
Just like I planned.
Happy Birthday Kate!
*no skinny dogs starved in the making of this bag; gramma fed them.
posted by jenna! at
8:22 PM
2 Comments:
And a damn fine bag it is too! It accompanied me well to the Festival of Books yesterday. Big enough to hold all the diapering essentials. I don't think I'll take it to Dodger stadium though. The thought of putting it on that floor in there... ICK!
Love the bag. It turned out great!
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