Recycled Placemat Purse

I was browsing my local thrift shop and came across a lovely placemat-unfortunately there was only one on the shelf. What can you do with just one placemat? Well, I really liked that placemat and I knew I could come up with a project for it, so I bought it.

Here is what I did with it. This bag measures about 9"x 3" x 6" with handles folded down. It was easy and I thought others would like to try making their own recycled placemat bag. Here's what you need:

1 placemat with fringed sides.
2 pieces of lining fabric, one cut to 2"x 10", and another piece cut the same size as the placemat.
1 pair purchased purse handles.

Fold your placemat, right sides and short fringed edges together, and sew the 2 unfringed sides together using 1/2" seam allowance (see photo, left). You now have a flat pouch. Open this pouch up, forming a bag bottom, and sew diagonally across the corner about 1.5" away from the point (see photo, right). Repeat these 2 steps with the larger piece of lining fabric. Fold down 1/2" seam allowance along top edge of lining to the wrong side and press.

Fold 2"x 10" strip of lining fabric in half lengthwise, right sides together, and sew along the length using 1/2" seam allowance (see photo left). Turn the strip right-side-out (use a chopstick or safety pin to help the process along) and press it flat.

Cut the strip into 4 equal pieces. Fold one piece in half over the ring at the end of one of the purse handles and sew in place on the upper edge of the bag, about 1" in from the corner. Repeat with 3 other strips, anchoring the purse handles to the bag (see photo, right). Tuck lining into place inside the bag and either hand whipstitch or machine topstitch around upper edge to finish.

Finished Coat

I have finally finished the little seed-stitch coat. In the end I chose to put a simple collar on it because there wasn't enough yarn left to knit a hood. I think it is probably better this way, we don't have much need for hoods in this warm climate anyway.

After sewing the coat together I looked at it for a while and decided that it needed something. A simple little trim to help define the edges, I thought. I looked through the yarn stash for coordinating colors and previewed their effect by laying a single or double strand of the yarn along the edge of the front band. The one I thought looked best was Lion Brand Homespun color 322 Baroque (that's a lovely shade of purple). One row of single crochet around all the edges did the trick. I even had matching buttons in my button stash.

I think this was a very successful stash-only project.

Too Hot to Knit

It may not technically be summer yet, but the summer weather has certainly arrived. We've had our first triple-digit temperatures of the year during the previous week. Father's day was not quite as hot, but it was hot enough to banish everyone to the swimming pool for the afternoon.

It's too hot to knit. Or, rather, it's too hot to try to figure out solutions to knitterly problems. Swimming in the pool seems like a much more attractive way to spend my time at the moment.

Here is my progress on the seed stitch coat. I've worked matching pieces for the back and sleeves, and sewn the back pieces together and the shoulder seams. Next: Sew on the sleeves, and face the challenge of the hood.

I started with 2 skeins of Lion Brand Homespun for this project, and there is approximately a sleeve's worth of yarn left, with several small scraps in the pink transition color. It simply isn't enough for the hood as written in the pattern, but it may be enough if I work the hood in a different way. I'll knit and reknit and see what I can do. If all else fails, I'll put a simple collar on it and call it good.

Once it cools down a bit, that is.

Sales Everywhere

I have to admit, I couldn't resist the Memorial Day sales. It seemed like every store that carried any kind of crafting supplies was having a big sale last weekend. I took the opportunity to stock up on some novelty yarns. They are so handy for embellishing many types of projects. I plan to use these for trimmimg knitwear, quilts and scrapbook pages.

I resisted the urge to buy staple yarns; that is, the main yarns I use for the body of the garment or other knitted/crocheted objects. I have enough of these to keep me busy for years. And since I have a large stock of yarns just waiting to be used, I decided to start a new project using yarns I have on hand.

I have a little cousin who is just a few months old. The many baby shower gifts our rather large family contributed should keep her well clothed for a while, but she is growing rapidly and will most likely be in need of more goodies come winter. I did some calculations, based on her birth weight and current rate of growth, and made a good estimate of the size she will most likely be wearing by that time. I checked my yarn supply and discovered that I have a limited selection of girly colors. I want the garment to be washable, so Lion Brand Homespun it is. Then I searched through my books for an appropriate pattern.

This little seed-stitch coat is from Bouton d'Or layette book 14, model 72, and it has a gauge very close to what I get with the Homespun on size 10 US needles (6mm, or 4 UK). The book is still available at the Bouton d'Or website.

The yarn that I have chosen is very different from the yarn the pattern calls for. The sample is knit in Laika, a solid colored bulky weight wool that would have nice elasticity for ribbed edges. I am using Lion Brand Homespun, color 315 Tudor, which produces a broad color stripe and doesn't have enough elasticity for a good ribbed front band in my opinion. I will need to make changes to the pattern to allow for these differences. It will require patience and a good amount of unknitting I'm sure.

I have made good progress so far. I started by finding a color change in the yarn that I could easily identify and repeat from piece to piece. I followed the directions and knit the back. I don't like the striping on the back at all, but I wanted to see what the fronts would look like before ripping it out. I then knit the right front, adding extra stitches for the front band to be knit along with the front because I liked the firm edge I was getting in seed stitch. I had to calculate button placement and work buttonholes into the piece as I went along. I knit the left front to match.

I like the patterning on the fronts. I want the back to match the fronts, so I will knit it in 2 pieces and seam it down the center. This should be fairly easy to do since seed stitch can be sewn together in a similar way to garter stitch and leave a smooth seam.

Next I will work out the sleeves and hood. I can tell I will be doing a lot of testing, unknitting and reknitting for these parts of the coat. The width of these pieces are different and therefore make a different color pattern. I have to decide where to start these different yarn color change locations. I also now have less yarn to work with and therefore fewer color ranges to choose from, which will give me fewer options.

After that, I have to decide how I want to finish the coat. The pattern uses some novelty eyelash yarn as trimming around the edges and some little butterflies attached here and there for interest. I know that I will be doing something different because these trims can be hazardous for children under 3, but I don't know what yet. It will be interesting to see how it turns out.

Pattern Book Review

As I have mentioned before, I collect the Bouton d'Or layette pattern books and I was looking forward to seeing this year's new book. Last year's book was absolutely fantastic, with 8 knitted soft toys and a wide variety of great-looking garments to knit and crochet for babies and children up to age 10. I love these books. In my opinion, if you only have one layette book, it should be one of these. So, naturally, I had great expectations.

I was in a very great hurry the day I stopped by my local yarn shop in between errands to see if they had the new book yet. When I found it had finally arrived, I quickly paid for the book, grabbed it up and dashed out the door. I didn't look at it until after I returned home.

The quality of the patterns is all that I have come to expect from Bouton d'Or, wonderful designs with fine details, a mixture of classic styles and fun, trendy pieces. A good variety of items to choose from to suit many tastes, great for gifts. There are some new non-traditional color combinations here as well, some that I like and some that I don't, but they encourage you to try new things.

Here are some of the models that I would like to try:

#39 is such a great looking little dress that I just have to make one.

Sweater #27 has a cute car theme that my little boy would just love, but I am not fond of the color scheme. I'll choose different colors for this one.

Sometimes I find that the yarns I have to work with are too close together in color and don't give enough contrast for some of my favorite designs. #11 is a very attractive way to solve that problem and still end up with a classic garment with wide appeal.

#34 is a little tunic top with puffed sleeves that would be perfect for summer wear. There's even a pattern for matching bloomers.

There's a crocheted afghan that promises to be a quick project for last-minute gifts. The photos of #12 aren't very clear, so the finished look will be something of a surprise.

This cardigan, #19, is gorgeous. I just love working with color patterns. During my first browse through the pages of this book I thought to myself, "Hmm, I may knit this one first." After a more detailed inspection, I have changed my mind. While I would like to knit this design at some point, it will have to wait for a while. This is the most difficult pattern in the book and is worked using more than 2 colors per row, and in some places up to 6 colors are used in a single row. I simply don't have much time or concentration to work on a pattern this complicated right now.

This book has great things in it, but I have to admit to feeling a bit disappointed. The layette books that Bouton d'Or has published the last several years were thicker, each containing between 70 and 80 patterns for children from infancy to age 10 or 12 years. This new version offers about half that number-37 designs for ages 0 to 6 years.

Bouton d'Or has a lower price on the cover for this smaller booklet, 6 Euros compared to last years 9 Euros. It's just too bad that my local yarn shop isn't paying attention to it. They are charging the same $20 price as the previous issues.

Spring Cleaning

I really must apologize to my readers for neglecting my blog. Some think I've abandoned it and moved on to other things. After all, we see it happen so often in blogland. I assure you that isn't the case. The reason I haven't been posting for the last few months is simply that I haven't had the time to do much in the way of knitting or other crafts. The sharing of these creative projects is the sole reason for this blog's existence.

The reason for my lack of free time? My mother was diagnosed with cancer and I have been quite busy helping to care for her during chemotherapy and the other assorted indignities of modern medicine. I won't go into details, that isn't the purpose of this blog, but suffice it to say that it has been a rather life-altering experience.

Now that things are a bit less hectic, I hope to resume my blogging activities.

We seem to have caught the spring cleaning bug at my house. Most of our free time is being spent on sprucing up the exterior of our home. I don't know about you, but I think that nothing improves a home more than a fresh coat of paint and a few pots of flowers.

We are painting the house a bright, clean white. Simple, uncomplicated and always a good choice in a hot climate, it has brightened up the feel of our covered patio already with the reflected light it provides. The trim will be in earthy brown and tan tones to help offset that almost artificial looking appearance of the bright white base color. I must say it's a real improvement over the dull rose pink color chosen by the previous owner.

The one drawback to my paint color choice is that the house no longer provides a contrasting background for some of the flowering plants in the landscape.

The 2 most prevalent flowers in the yard are confederate jasmine and white lantana. I could rip them out and replant, I suppose, but I'd rather not do that; the jasmine perfumes the air all around the house, and the lantana blooms profusely and repeatedly year-round, all without attracting bees or wasps to our yard. That's an important consideration if you have an allergy to stings, or are concerned about africanized bees in your area.

I think I'd rather add more flowers in brighter colors to the existing plantings. I don't think there is such a thing as too many flowers in the yard, do you?

Spring Already

My goodness, how time gets away from one! It's been over a month since my last post. I must apologize to my readers for neglecting the blog. Because, by golly, I do have readers-between 1500 and 2000 a week! I never expected so many people to take an interest in my little website. Since I started this blog in January of 2005 there have been over 100,000 visitors, can you imagine? Boggles the mind, I tell ya.

Every now and then I get an email from a reader asking where they might find one of the pattern books I have used and mentioned on the blog. Several of these pattern books are out of print and no longer available at the local yarn shop (unless the shopowner really stocks up on their favorite brand of books). There are places where one can find these items. Ebay is probably the most well-known place to go to find almost anything you might be looking for. An internet search will reveal many other places to look, depending on what specific item you're looking for. There are businesses that specialize in used knitting and crochet patterns; some of them advertise in magazines and others may be found in the link sections of knitting websites, such as About.com or Knitting Pattern Central. I have spent time looking at the vintage pattern books at some of these sites and been pleasantly surprised to discover several of my mother's really old books listed.

If you aren't looking for a specific book, you can usually find a lot of great patterns at thrift shops, garage sales, library sales and Salvation Army/Goodwill/St Vincent de Paul stores. If you are looking for a particular item, however, you will need to Google it. Many used pattern merchants can be emailed with your wish list and they will do their best to find the items you want-sometimes these merchants are well-connected and know where to find items quickly.

If you're looking for out-of-print Bouton d'Or books, you may find more success if you can speak French and seek out French websites.

The new Bouton d'Or layette book is due to come out this month. I can't wait to see it. I hope it will offer more patterns for boys than the last 2 books did. You can browse the current layette books at the official Bouton d'Or and Anny Blatt websites.