This summer has been such a rainy summer so far. It is raining again today. Rainy days are perfect for being inside and crafting or snuggling up with a soft blanket and a good book. I usually spend mine crafting or cleaning. Today I did a little knitting and a little cross stitching. I will show you what I am cross stitching on, but first let me show you what I finished last week.
Dark Queen of the Seas
Well, she is not actually finished, but I finished section 11 and am now caught up. The 12th and final section will come out August 1. I am assuming it will be backstitching and beading. I did skip 2 elements; her crown and the corner ornaments. I am for sure leaving off the corner elements. I haven’t fully decided about the crown, but I am leaning towards leaving it off also. II think she looks fine the way she is. The fabric is 16ct Aida Iris and is actually purple and blue, but with all of the rainy days, I haven’t been able to get a good photo. Hopefully the next time I photograph her, I will capture her true colors. So now what am I cross stitching on?
20 Year Celebration
I have pulled out the 20 Year Celebration from Passione Ricamo. I have the block I am working on to finish, and below this row, there is another row of 4 blocks to do. And then beading on all of the blocks. This is such a fabulous design and I will be so thrilled to finish it. The fabric is 16ct Aida Nantucket Sky. So perfect for all of the fairies.
Jolie
Here is my progress on Jolie. It is a relaxing knit and the yarn is so nice to work with.
Jolie Sparkle
Can you see the sparkle? The yarn band says it is Gold Stellina, but it is clearly silver (which I prefer). I love it! This is going to be a light and airy shawl, so delicate. Yarn is from Britty Rae Knits.
So that is what I have been up to on this rainy day today. What do you like to do on rainy days?
Hello my blogging friends! I hope all is well with you and that you are finding time to craft. A couple of weeks ago I was inspired by a post on Woolly Wednesday’s blog about making a Market Bag. I have had a pattern and yarn in my stash for a market bag for a couple of years now. So I pulled it out and got started on it.
Market Bag start
The pattern is the Eastern Market Tote by Tanis Gray and it is a FREE pattern on Ravelry. The yarn I am using is Berroco Modern Cotton in color 1665 Wetherill. This pattern starts out using the Provisional Cast-on, which is a first for me. I crocheted a chain with the pink yarn, adding a few more stitches than I actually needed. I flipped the chain over and skipping the first chain, I inserted my needle into the “dash” looking stitch and knitted a stitch. I repeated that for the number of stitches I needed for the bag. Then I started stitching the pattern in the round. One thing I will note: The pattern called for a 36″ circular needle, but there was no way I could make 90 stitches meet in a circle, so I used a 14″ cable, added to the 5″ length of my tips to make a 24″ circular. This is the 3rd time I have run into this problem with a pattern. Am I figuring something wrong? The width of this bag will be 10 1/2″ laying flat, so doubled will be 21″. Not even sure how I would have stretched 21″ around a 36″ needle?? The 24″ circular worked out perfect.
Market Bag progress
The pattern is so cute and very easy. I must say, it is a very relaxing knit. And the Berroco Modern Cotton is a dream to work with. This is my first time using it, but it won’t be my last. So I knitted the pattern for 4 repeats and then added the garter stitch border at the top and then bound off. Then it was time to unravel that cast on. I was a little nervous at first, but it was pretty easy pulling the cast on pink yarn one stitch at a time and picking them up with my needle. There are wonderful videos on You Tube about this cast on. I then knitted the pattern until the decreases made it too small to continue with the circular needle. I switched to Double Pointed Needles. Not my favorite way of stitching, but sometimes you have to do it.
crazy knitting
I started with 4 needles. It looks like crazy knitting! So chaotic!
More crazy knitting
Then I went to 3 needles. It took a little bit of finagling, working around stitch markers and the pattern and the decreasing, but I did it.
Bag Bottom
I was so happy to be done with Double Pointed Needles. Seeing the finished bottom of the bag made it all worth it. It looks so cool! I just love it! I added a knitted handle, making it about 2″ shorter than called for, wove in my ends and it was finished!
Finished Market Bag
I love how it turned out and can’t wait to take it to the vegetable tent to get some fresh fruits and vegetables. Aside from the DPN’s, I loved this pattern and the yarn I used. I already have a few requests to make more and I will get to them eventually 😉 And while I had a nice evening to take pictures of my bag, I remembered to take some photos of my blocked Merfolk Fade Shawl.
Merfolk Fade Shawl
This shawl turned out really beautiful and I can’t wait to wear it this fall. So, now what is on my needles?
Jolie by Lindsay Potter
This is the Jolie pattern by Lindsay Potter and was included in the July 2021 Seed Club Packet from the Yarn Garden in Michigan. The yarn is Britty Rae Knits and is so gorgeous and so soft! I think this Seed Club Packet is my favorite!
Scrumptious yarn!
This is my first time using this dyer’s yarn. It is so soft and squishy and has some silver sparkle in it. The name of this yarn is “A Visit to the Nursery”, as in gardening.
Jolie shawl
I casted on last night and look forward to all of the knitting on this one.
My Time Stitching 