WEEK 36 YEAR 7

Happy Sunday to all of you. Hopefully, none of you are being caught in that horrible winter storm that attacked the Eastern part of the US.  Those of you on the Western coast, I am hoping your weather has improved since the middle of the week.  We are experiencing some lovely weather here.  A little rain, some breezes, a bit of clouds and plenty of sunshine.  Not too hot or cold.  Wish it would stay this way.

I have had a very productive week.  There are lots of photos too.  Let's get started!

First up.....................the progress I made on my shawl.

I completed section 4 this week and will be increasing this to 388 stitches on the next row.  Looking forward to getting this off the needles before the end of the month.  It is not a hard knit and can be done while watching TV.  The next section will just need me to keep track of what row pattern I am on, so not too hard to manage.

The socks didn't get as much love this week as you can see from the progress keeper.  I am nearing the start of the heels though.  I am comptemplating doing my next pair toe up two at a time.  Not 100% sure I want to do that though.  They just seem so fiddly that way.  I would like to try toe up on DPN's though.  I have not done that yet.  Hmmmmm, decisions, decisions, decisions.

I dusted off my sewing machine this week and decided to try my hand at making my own knitting project bags and accessories.

I found a pattern that had many tote bags on it.  I customized it so there are no top handles or outside pockets.  I also lined it (which it didn't call for).  Instead of a zipper I decided to do KAM snaps.  Your yarn can not get tangled in these type snaps as it can in a zipper or velcro.

I found an accessory to go with the bag on Pinterest.  (very dangerous place to visit)

 I found a tutorial and pattern on DPN keepers.  They were super easy to make with the remnants of the bag material.  These keepers are for 6-7 inch DPN's.  The tutorial also explained on how to do ones for longer needles.  My sock DPN's are 6 inches.  I love the shorter ones for socks and sleeves on children/baby sweaters.

This material was just hanging around in one of my sewing cabinet drawers.  It is nice to have a use for some of that material that has been here for several years.

That went so well, I figured I would make a tea bag holder for my dear friend in Las Vegas.  She is an avid decaf tea drinker and carries her tea bags in pockets or in a baggie.

Of course, I just happened to have some decaf tea to put into it for her enjoyment.  Again, this material was left over from another tea bag holder I made 2 years ago.  This was another Pinterest tutorial I found.

Look how small it gets when all folded up.  I think she will really like it as well as this:

She is also a huge fan of knitting.  She always has a pair of socks going on magic loop. This time I put a handle on it.  See the thing sticking out on the left......that is a wrist strap.  

Here is a close up of the saying on the bag.  (This material was not in my stash.  I went to JoAnn's and shopped their clearance section and found a lot of nice material for 70% off.)

She is the proud Grandma of twin boys and their little sister.  They are so cute and one of the boys is into yarn crafts!

I have never seen her carry a project bag.  She carries a large tote and has several projects in it and they get a bit tangled.  If she likes it, I will make more for her.  I love helping people get organized.  

I really enjoyed making the bags and needle holders. I have started making more of them.

This one is ready to go into my Christmas Gifting area.  

This is the lining being used at the moment.  Once this is gone, I will hit the clearance rack again for more neutral colored fabric for lining the bags.

I am going to make another one or two of the Grandmother bags.  I want to give one to my local Grand Daughter's other Grandma.  She has become such a good friend to me and we enjoy sitting and knitting together.  The other bag will either go to me or into the Christmas Gift box.

My Prayer Shawl Ministry group has a Christmas Party each year and we exchange gifts.  I think these bags will be perfect for this. (Hence the Christmas Gift Box.)  Some are crocheters and some are knitters.  Either way, these bags will be perfect to carry their shawls in.  I will continue to make them with wrist straps too.  Makes it easy to grab and go that way.

Until Next Time.........................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!