One Less UFO

Another project from last summer, that I finished up recently, was the Granny's Not so Square Bag from The Happy Hooker. It was basically all finished for months, but I was trying to find O-rings, which are impossible to find. I also wanted to line it, so it would be more sturdy. I ended up lining it with fabric and somewhat stiff interfacing, and putting in an inside zipper. That was difficult for me, and I had to do it a bunch of different times, because the pocket kept becoming inside out. Anyway, I really like how this turned out and it seems really sturdy. I used all the recommended yarns, Berroco Suede in Tobacco and Wild Bill Hickock, and Berroco Twist in Sprout, Sweet Violet, Soul, and I think Satin Beige. The inside lining is actually the more green color, and the blue areas on the bag are actually purple. Sometimes it bugs me that it's hard to get accurate colors in photos. The crochet part was easy, except the last part when you switch from the Cotton Twist to Suede, you are supposed to crochet around the surface of the granny square to outline it. I couldn't figure that out. But it's not noticeable. My next crochet project from that book is either Short and Sweet or Unseamly Sweater.

Booga Bag Done

Here is my finished Booga Bag. I used Noro Kureyon and Patons merino wool, which felt differently. The Patons was done the first time I took the bag out of the washing machine, but after two times, the Kureyon still has stitch definition. I like how it turned out, except I would have made it a little bigger and the handles longer. I don't know what the ratio of how much it shrinks is, and I didn't want to make it enormous if i wouldn't shrink much. Other than that, I like how it turned out. I wanted to have a sort of stained glass effect, and it seems like it worked.

Bags and Stuff

I found this bag from Berroco, and I'm thinking about trying it out, because of the fair isle. I want to get better at fair isle, so this seems like a better beginner project, instead of a whole sweater. I'll probably get a cheaper yarn though. It calls for 10 balls of Ultra Alpaca, which would be about $100. The designers must have access to lots of yarn, so they don't think about the cost.
I made this small pouch out Noro Kureyon. It is the end part of a ball which has mostly blues and greens. It doesn't seem like the colors work together, like the colors on this bag should have been it's own colorway, and the blues and greens should be separate. I felted it, but it doesn't look like it. I think Kureyon is harder to felt. But I really like it, since it reminds me of fall and barns.
I've also been working on Shedir, which isn't going well. I've had to rip out and reknit the same 3 rows over and over. They are not even the hardest part of the pattern. I think I had one stitch in the wrong place and it threw all the others off, so half of it looks wrong. Part of it is that I'm using a tweed yarn, so it's harder to see the stitches, and there are so many of them, that's it's hard to remember what I just did. Hopefully it's right now, and it will get easier.

Crochet Granny Bag

I started the Granny's not-so-square bag from the Happy Hooker. I ended up using the recommended Berroco Cotton twist, because it's shiny and seems more durable. I used a couple of other cottons, but the colors weren't right, and they didn't blend in with the suede on the outside. Now the only thing is I ran out of suede, and the color I'm using, Tobacco, is difficult to find unless I pay a lot. Also I can't find the 2" O-rings for the handles. So the project is on hold for a while. Which is too bad, because I really like these colors. The picture makes the purple look too blue, and the Cotton twist is a lot more shiny in reality. It's twisted with rayon, so it looks really pretty.
I've also been having a lot of problems with Blogger. It's erased my template a few times, won't let me log in, won't let me post pictures, and overall just frustrates me. I don't want to pay for a another blog, like typepad, so I guess there's no solution, but it's still irritating.