Some Imperfections Just Can't Be Lived With

Remember this cute grocery bag?

Adorable!

I've been working away on it for far too long and finally finished it up this weekend when the snow brought us the delicious, quiet, can't-get-out-the-driveway days.

As soon as I had finished off the last stitch, I immediately stuck in a large bunch of bananas and imagined myself walking the aisles of the grocery store, pondering my purchases.

It was a lovely mental image. A problem, however, immediately became evident. Because of the stretchy nature of this bag, the bananas immediately sunk almost to the ground in their new springy green hammock.

Having a hard time picturing this? Here let me show you.

And this stretch is just with one apple, one orange and several bananas.

Just saying . . . if you have to hold your market bag up around shoulder level to keep your produce from dragging along the floor as you maneuver the aisles of Earth Fare, there may be something amiss with the design of your market bag.

Let's look at that original picture one more time.

Aha! Exactly as I thought! They don't show the bag tossed over a shoppers arm, hard at work bringing home her food for her family. No, the bag is resting on a bench . . . clearly hiding the stretch that would make this design unworkable.

Grrr!

But, no, I'm not bitter.

The great thing about crochet is that you can unravel it in a mere fraction of the time it takes to put it together and immediately set about to planning something different to make of this soft . . . organic . . . celery green . . . cotton.

::sigh!::

Green spaghetti, anyone???

Coming Along

Well, this project has been a long time in the making, but I wanted to show you that I really am making progress.

This is where we're headed:

Photo Courtesy of www.purlbee.com. You can click here to find the pattern.

And this is where we are!

In the first picture, this bag looks like it should take approximately 30 minutes to create. But actually there is a mind-numbing amount of "chain 8 and attach" that I can only take for so long.

I love the quickness of crochet . . . the more immediate way you see a project come together. But after hours of this frantic hook, hook, hook, I'm longing for some of the long, fluid movements of knitting. Slower . . . but more soothing. Then, of course, when I'm driven crazy by the need to see my work come together a little more quickly, I pick up the crochet again. Nice tradeoff.

I needed a break from the hook, hook, hook of the grocery tote this weekend, so I picked up my old standby . . . the best dishcloth on the planet. Just enough of a quick, knitted project to keep me from losing my mind from "chain 8's."

And, of course, you can never have enough dishcloths!

Tote Bags and Prince Charming

My knitting projects are not something you should plan your schedules by. If you want that, you had better go to Yarn Harlot, where Stephanie McPhee regularly rolls out a new pair of socks or a blanket or a full-blown lace shawl on a weekly basis.

I like to keep my knitting projects very . . . uh . . . fluid as far as schedule, color, fiber and any other variable is concerned. All are subject to be changed at a moments notice. They are also subject to being started and being abandoned at a moment's notice.

Which brings me to my current project. You remember the tote bag I was going to be working on?

(Photo Source: Purl Bee)

Knit in this stunningly warm and welcoming yarn?

Oh, I could cry just looking at it! I bought this from a small yarn shop up in Hendersonville, NC and unbelievably bought only a 50 gram ball!! What was I thinking. The tote needs 100 grams. So, weeks later I went back to the store to pick up another 50 gram ball. And . . . you know the story . . . no more 50 gram balls of this glowing sunshine of a color!!

I asked the proprietor if he would be getting any more. He looked shocked and said no, of course not. He is from Lebanon and every fall he leaves to go and buy his yarns in the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and brings them back to his shop to be sold in the upcoming year. Hence, the beautiful yarns. Hence, the one-of-a-kind projects. Clearly I was not shopping at Hobby Lobby.

And so, there you go, 50 grams of fiber sunshine tantalizing me . . . but not enough to make my tote.

I bought this cotton instead, but it's kind of like settling for going to the ball with your kid brother and watching Prince Charming whirl around with Cinderella.

Just as I was ready to lift the knitting needles to get going on the "Nest Tote," across my computer screen comes this distraction.

(Photo Source: Purl Bee)

This pattern is crochet. Crochet is faster. I'm tempted . . . really, really tempted. This pattern with the sage cotton yarn. It could work!

If I can't have the Prince, guess I can be satisfied with the Kid Brother. ::sigh::

See what I mean . . . always keeping my projects fluid . . . very fluid.

P.S. You can find the pattern here.

Knotted up in a Crochet/Knit Quandry

I've shown you my knitted dishcloths. I've shown you my crocheted baby booties. But, now it's time for a project. I mean something of substance.

You see, it won't be long before our family of 7 is going to be heading out to our big silver van, packing enough goods to last a month, and driving 24 hours to Minnesota for a reunion. Yes, that's 24 hours sitting in the passenger seat of a conversion van there, 24 hours sitting in the passenger seat of a conversion van back, and (perhaps) another 5 hour jaunt to Lincoln, Nebraska. As I said . . . I need a project of substance.

I had so much fun getting back into crochet when I did up those baby booties. So, I thought I'd maybe like to crochet up an afghan for the master bedroom. Look at this gorgeous beauty!!

The pattern is in this book. I love, love, love paisley. I can see it elegantly draped across the end of our bed . . . until stolen by a devious child.

I had totally set my heart on this paisley beauty, had the heart flutters and all, when I flipped over a Debbie Bliss magazine and found this picture in an ad for a new Ella Rae knitting book.

Oh, my!! Now we're talking knitting, not crochet. This stunning creation took me beyond the heart flutters to the butterflies in the tummy. Simply amazing. But maybe a bit TOO ambitious??

Then there's also the fact that wonderful Lucy in Attic24 has really gotten me wanting to do a crocheted ripple blanket in many fun colors, perfect for having around for children to snuggle under on chilly winter mornings.

Isn't that fun. It would be really quite exciting to move from one delicious color to another, without taking a lot of brain work to keep up with the pattern. I could totally see that working on the 24-hour trip . . . giving me the ability to still hand out snacks, put in a new CD, or keep children from crossing the invisible line into the other's territory in the backseat.

And then, you DO realize Christmas will be here in a mere 6 months. Which does bring up the possibility of some Christmas knitting. Wouldn't I be proud of myself if I actually completed a project before Christmas Eve!!

What about a knitted cushion for a favorite brother and sister-in-law?

You can buy these at Neiman-Marcus for a mere $284. That would be $284 EACH. Yikes! Debbie Bliss has a simple moss stitch cushion cover in this magazine buttoned up with big gorgeous shell buttons. Dreamy!!

So, I've gotten myself into a lovely knot of knitting and crocheting confusion. Can't decide what to tackle. But must soon. 24 hours of staring into space watching cornfields flick by could begin to drive a person crazy. What to do! What to do!

Any suggestions, dear friends??