If you read my other blog, I promised to show the pics of the large version of a knitting bag I recently made. When we go on trips with our RV, I usually end up knitting during a large portion of the drive while I'm sitting in the passenger seat. After struggling with store plastic shopping bags to hold my projects I finally gave in and realized I would enjoy the knitting process a whole lot more if I didn't have to fight to keep my knitting organized.
And this is what I came up with. The bag is made using Kaffe Fassett fabrics, gotta love those bright, cheerful prints of his! The bag measures 18" high and 14" wide and 6" deep.
The embroidery was downloaded from Embroidery Library and stitched out on my Viking embroidery machine. I felt like the embroidered focal point of the bag needed something three dimensional, so I added the lime, pink and orange ringed buttons on the left side and pinned a lime colored silk rose above the embroidery. Aaaaah, now that's better.
I wanted to be sure the bag lasted a long time and so I added 8 sturdy metal purse feet to the bottom to protect it from getting worn.
There are pockets inside to hold scissors and other knitting paraphernalia. And don't you just love the home-dec lime fringe? See the smaller bag peeking out of the top? There's more about that bag below.....keep reading.
Luckily, I had these curved bamboo handles in my stash that were just the right size for the bag and were sturdy enough to hold the knitting bag and all its contents. I took three different colors of heavy cotton and simply straight stitched under the handle to prevent it from slipping and to add some decorative panache. Hand work is still one of the simple joys in my life. Sigh.....
Here is one row of orange stitching completed and the lavender thread is next. You can also see the finished embroidery piece that became the focal point of the bag.
And here is the completed stitching. It works great to prevent the handles from slipping and sliding in their fabric casing which was used to attach the handles to the bag.
Also, I made this smaller bag that is just large enough to hold my sock pattern, double pointed needles and a skein of yarn. This bag is for socks that are in progress. I always have a skein of yarn in the bag and then when I have a doctor's appt. or need to kill some time, I just grab the bag and I have a ready-made project with me.....something to pass the time while waiting for appointments. This bag can also just slip inside the larger one and is made from a companion print and has the lime handle to co-ordinate with the lime accents on the larger bag. Too. Much. Fun!
To close the bag, I used one of my favorite magnets on the lime tab top which also becomes the handle for the bag.
All in all, it was a real treat for me to sew these bags and create something that was both fun and useful for me, myself and I. Since I spend the majority of my time in the studio working on projects for clients, it was a real treat to let my imagination run wild and create this bag "on the fly". I've used the large bag for 2 knitting projects so far and it functions great. But most of all it makes me smile every time I look at it. And the smaller bag gets popped into my purse several times a week so I can keep making more socks.
One more bag to show you tomorrow,
Debbie
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