Those of you who have been hanging around here for a while may recall that this bag was started over Labor Day weekend 2005 by my sister Rae. She crocheted the doily-bits and, feeling the collaborative enthusiasm, I got going on the bag part.

Shortly after Rae went home I chucked it back in the basket. Mostly because of the colors (I may or may not have used unkind words to describe them). Regardless, Rae would occasionally ask me about the bag and when I planned to finish it, mentioning that she would like to have it if/when it was ever completed. So, in a heartwarmingly Christmassy effort of sisterly love, I have finished it. I may have taken over a year to do it, but here it is:

The Specs:

-Heirloom Bag, from Rowan 37.
-Yarn: Knit Picks Shine in apricot, violet, cherry, and grass (originally purchased for Anouk)
-Needles: various size 3s.
-Tassels: pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
-Notions: green fabric and thread for the lining.
-Start to finish: September 2005 - December 16, 2005.
-For: my lovely sister Rae.

more excitement inside!

Notes: A pretty quick and easy project, once I actually got going on it. The whole thing is really very sturdy since the handle is double-thick in addition to being lined. My only changes to the pattern (well, aside from a different yarn with a completely different gauge) were to add a pocket and some tassels, just to up the fancy-factor.

I'm particularly proud of my finishing job on this bag. It may look like a circus tent, but it's a really, really well-made circus tent.

Final Verdict: A bit bizarre. But to quote Bridget Jones' mother: "...that's lovely, isn't it - 'bizarre'?"

Posted by Elli at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

Thanks for all the very nice comments on Beau, everybody! You do realize that Thunk is going to be nearly impossible to live with now, right? If he leaves me to run off to New York and start his modeling career it will be All Your Fault. I’m just saying.

In other news, I’ve still got a few smaller projects to finish up before I take off for Christmas...and exactly one week in which to finish them. So here’s what I’ve got going:

Korknisse, the advanced guard

hello. we are a boy band.

There are actually more of them now…I took the picture last Sunday. I still need to add little eyes and things…maybe some spangles. The goal is to have the whole army ready by Saturday.

Branching Out

This will be Mum’s Christmas scarf. I started it on Sunday and I’m currently about a third of the way done. The yarn is Elizabeth Lavold Silky Wool. Nice stuff. Good pattern. I am pleased.

Heirloom bag:

Sorry, no picture of this one. But I'm finished with all the knitting and just have to figure out how to line the danged thing. And here you thought it was a permanent fixture on the WIP list. How wrong you were...

And in the finished category we have...
Etched Glasses for Rosser

Nearly impossible to photograph, but you get the idea. These are for the other BIL. In case you can’t tell what the pictures are supposed to be, they are: the Greek flag, the four suits, his initials, the Parthenon, a skull and crossed hockey sticks, and a cricket.

They were a lot of fun to make…who doesn’t like playing around with acid and an exacto knife? The hardest part was deciding what to put on them. Instructions for making your very own can be found here.

That's it for now! Back to work with me...

Posted by Elli at 1:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

Hi there! Knitting continues. This weekend I finally reached armpit level on Thunk's Aran Cardi.

sexy Thunk cardi for scale

The body has kept me entertained with all that cabling but I feel like I've been plugging away on it FOREVER. I've never been so glad to start knitting sleeves in my life. After knitting one great hulking gigantastic tube for the last month and a half, I feel like a speed demon zipping through my first cuff. Whee!

In other news:

-Thanks for all the lovely comments on the bunny slippers! I had no idea they'd be such a hit. I expect you all to go out and make some now. Send me pictures.

-I noticed that the Vogue Knitting Holiday 06 preview is up. Holy knittables, Batman! More cables for me! How I love that lavender shawl-collared cabled cardi.

-I picked up the Heirloom Bag again this weekend…time to get those languishers out of the Current Projects list!

Posted by Elli at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)

I've been hiding WIPs from you. Shameful, I know. To be perfectly fair, I haven't worked on any of these in the time that I've been blogging--they've all been loitering at the bottom of the knitting basket. Since I've been in a cleaning mood lately, it seems like an appropriate time to introduce you to the Projects Which Languish:

Apricot Jacket from Rebecca 27

I started her in September. I got 500 kinds of insecure about knitting a cotton blend. I put her down.

Heirloom Bag from Rowan 37

This was started over Labor Day when my sister Rae came to visit. She wanted to crochet something (being good at that sort of thing) so I gave her the leftover KnitPicks Shine from the bolero I'd just made her. I had some other colors sitting around (originally for Anouk) and she whipped up all of the crochet motifs in about a half hour. I started the bag part, but once Rae went home I lost steam. Mostly because the colors are, well, a bit vile. But I'm going to finish it. And besides, Rae just asked me about it on the phone last night.

Flower Basket Shawl from Interweave, Fall 2004

The oldest WIP going, I started it last spring when I thought I'd get a jump on the Christmas knitting. It turns out that I hate knitting lace. A lot. I picked it up again this fall and didn't get much more accomplished. It is slow. It is tedious. It makes me want to eat glass. I'd be crazy to rip out all my hard work now, right? The really sad part is that people keep citing this as an easy beginner lace project. Oh the shame.

Regia Socks

Also started last spring…a pair of toe-up magic loop socks. Much to my surprise, I loath the magic loop. I'm going to be a total wimp and finish these on dpns.

So there they are. Hopefully putting them up in the sidebar will motivate me to finish them.

Posted by Elli at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)