Eleven Stitches

Brand New Bag

Let me show you my new handbag, which I think is my favorite handbag ever.

 

Pattern: Upsized Buttercup Bag, by Made by Rae
Fabric: Scrap bundle from A Stitch in Dye, similar to this one for sale, and brown corduroy with a blue background, from JoAnn Fabrics a few years ago
Modifications: I lengthened the bag by about 2 inches, I added a zipper to the top and inside pocket, and I added a front pocket

This pattern was easy to use, and I love the bag that I have!  I've made (and used) enough handbags to know exactly what I want now.  In addition to an attractive bag with nice fabrics, I want a front pocket for my cell phone, an inside pocket, and a way to find my keys easily.  For the keys, I added these.

 

Two ribbons (or bias binding, to be exact) attached to mini-carabiners, and sewn on the inside of my bag close to the opening. I clip in my keys, and they're easy to find when I need them!

I couldn't find my fusible interfacing, so I fused some canvas to the lining to give the bag a little support. The lining is a pink and orange batik that's been in my stash for awhile.

 

The fabrics from A Stitch in Dye are just as beautiful in person as they are in her photos.  I think this bag was a great way to showcase them! Her book is on my wishlist, and I'm looking forward to its release date.

 

Oh, I love this bag!

So Many Buttons

This Saturday was the annual Garden State Sheep Breeders Festival.  David came with me again this year, and we had a nice time.  We found the pocket beagle puppies in the first barn.  They were only six weeks old.

 

There were also some "guard llamas" for sale.

 

But I have to admit that I was there for the buttons.  Last year, we found a wonderful vintage button vendor, and David bought all the buttons for his sweater there.  This year, David wore his sweater, and I had on my Owls sweater, so the button lady warmed up to us immediately.  In fact, she said that she mentioned David (and his railroad buttons) in a lecture she gave recently.

I spent probably an hour looking through her wares.  This is one of the three tables she had at her booth.

 

I got a lot of buttons.  Every time I needed buttons this past year I thought about the button lady and wished that I could choose something from her collection.  So I thought I'd buy up this time around, and I'm hoping I'll have the right buttons for my projects this year.

One thing I especially like about this vendor is her button samplers. I bought one set from her last year. These are buttons that are all different, but are similar in size and shape and go together well.  This was the inspiration for the buttons I used on my Owls cardigan.  I bought a few more samplers this year.

I also got two cards of buttons.  The button lady said that she bought them from a 92-year-old woman, who had put together and decorated all the cards herself.  There were probably 40 cards in the box, and I'm guessing there were a lot more in the collection.

 

 

Looking closely at these cards, I can see a lot of hand made details, including the initials in the corner. It warms my heart to see how she cared for these buttons. I hope I'll find a really nice way to use these buttons soon!

Finally, David pointed out that this was a fiber festival, so I felt like I needed to get some yarn.  This is the merino superwash sock yarn from Stranded in Oz, and I had a nice chat with the dyer before I picked up this skein.

 

I've actually been doing a good job working through my handpainted yarn, and I thought I could use a little more.  I'm thinking about quickly turning these into a pair of Heel-Hat Socks. Doesn't that look like a fun pair of socks to knit?

New WIPs

Oh, I had a busy week.  I worked long hours, and even the past two Saturdays!  But I think my classroom is ready for children (the new ones start on Wednesday), and I'm quite satisfied with that.  I haven't been doing much else, but I have gotten in a few rows on my new project every evening.

 

This is Dulce de Leche, in about the same color as the original sweater!  I feel like I don't have very much done, but I'm going to be increasing after the waist soon, which is reasonably far along. I have a feeling this will be a favorite sweater when I finish this!

I also started a new pair of socks, Leyburns,  to knit while I was in Amsterdam.  I made a fair amount of progress while I was there (and on the plane back), but I haven't really worked on them since.

 

David bought this yarn for me while he was in Duluth this summer.  He went to Yarn Harbor on his way to the airport to fly back home.  He got there about 15 minutes before it opened, and asked if he could come in early to get some yarn for his wife before he flew home! They were very nice to him :)

The socks are pooling, but David likes it when yarn pools, so it's fine with me.

 

They're also fun to knit!