Progress of a Sort

Back in April, I posted this picture...

...and I promised to explain when I had more of it finished.

Surprisingly, I've been making quite a bit of progress on it lately. (I thank my little Arctic Air cooler. It keeps me cool enough so that my hands don't sweat which normally at this time of year curtails most of my knitting projects.) I have almost finished three panels...

I'm making a windmill bag.

I saw this image on Instagram almost a year ago. And I was entranced. I could do that. All I needed was four long rectangles.

I started it in November. I got as far as you see in the first picture. I set it aside to work on Christmas and whatever else, not picking it up again until about two weeks ago. And since then, I've finished what you see above. (Well, by the time you read this, three panels will be done, and I will have started on the fourth.)

It's coming along. I may finish this sooner rather than later.

I also got some more pictures of the blue walking purse...

These are more so the scale of it is apparent...

And...

A close up...

What do you think? Do these images give a good idea of the scale?

I was going to model them, but getting someone to photograph me wearing it wasn't working out. And I couldn't find a model. (It'd be easier for me to take the pictures as I know how I want them to look.) So, this was the next best thing.

It's amazing how long it's taking me to do anything with my projects lately. I'll blame the heat.

The Walking Purse, Beta Version

I finally have a finished object to show off.

There's no new news on the bedroom front. We're still waiting on the contractors to fix the hole in the ceiling. I've been in my bedroom for almost two weeks now, although most of my stuff is still sitting in the dining room. Sigh. It's good to be somewhat settled.

I present the walking purse...

In the first blog post where I mentioned it, I was asked "what's a walking purse?", so I felt I should explain.

My father and his wife go for walks pretty much every morning. (Well, barring illness or injury.) They walk for an hour or more.

Several years ago, my father's wife requested a small purse for these excursions. She wanted something big enough to hold her phone and a couple other odds and ends. She wanted it small so she wouldn't be tempted to put anything else in there. And the strap needed to be long enough so that she could wear it across her body.

I made that purse several years ago. It's gotten a lot of wear. Now it's time to replace it. (I know I wrote about it on this blog at the time, but I can't find the post.)

So, I put on my designing hat and got to work. I wanted something a bit more durable. I knew what yarn I wanted to use (and it helpfully went on sale just in time for the project). I ran a few ideas by her. I got most of the pieces done.

And then water poured out of my ceiling, and my projects all kind of stalled.

As things got put back together in my room, I got more work on my projects done. And this week I finished the purse.

It was nice to have three hours to sit in front of the TV and just assemble things. Because I lined the purse (that took a bit of time) as well as attaching the purse strap and button and such.

There are a few changes I'd make to my next attempt. I already outlined those in another post. And the question is whether the phone will go in and out of this purse easily as I stitched up the top just a bit. (There was an issue of stuff slipping out on a previous purse.)

But for now, it's done. That's one more Christmas present finally finished. Only four more to go...

(This is better than last year. I still have two gifts outstanding from 2017. Yup, two gifts over a year late.)

Finishing Up Christmas Knitting

My Christmas knitting is almost at an end. I just finished up the last pair of ugly slippers... 

Since I never showed these off as I was knitting them, these are the pair that I finished before the green... 

And a shot of all four complete... 

Although, not quite. They'll require a bit more finishing before they're ready to be mailed off. I have yet to attach soles to the bottom so that one doesn't slip on slippery floors when one is wearing them. And the twins requested dinosaurs. A little sewing, that's all. 

And I'm doing a little designing. A walking purse... 

I still have a couple pieces to finish, and then assembly. I may write up the pattern eventually. 

And then HapkidoKid's 13th birthday was the day after Christmas. His birthday scarf is in progress... 

So, I have a few projects still. But, I'm closer to the end of them all than the beginning. Not too bad. 

(Ideally I would have had everything finished in time for Christmas. But I'm good with only being a month or so late. I'm better off than last year.)

Victory Lap

The purse, it is finished! Finally.

Instead of gluing the button down (a button that happened to be on clearance), I kind of sewed it on. So, it's not going anywhere.

I was so thrilled to have it finished. I put all my stuff in it... only to discover that I had placed the magnetic clasp a bit too far down. I could get the thing closed, but it made it a very tight fit.

Deep sigh.

But that was an easy fix. I just had to remove the clasp and move it higher up the purse. It didn't take too long to do it, either.

So, now it's done, and I've used it in public. The strap seems to be the right length. The clasp is in the right position. I think I can say it's officially done. (So much so that I've even marked it finished in Ravelry.)

Next I move on to other projects. Halloween. And Christmas. (I actually have a mental list that is huge right now. I won't bog you down with details. I'll just show pics of items in progress once I get to a point where I can show them off.)

What are you working on this week? Finished any troubling projects?

The Purse Is Coming Together

According to my posts counter, this is post #1900. (I'd wait and say something when it hits #2000, but knowing me, I won't even notice until that occasion has passed and I'm on post #2003 or something.)

I had hoped to have a finished purse to show off today. Alas, these finishing bits are taking me longer than anticipated even when they're going fairly smoothly.

Last week, I was here...

I started to add little triangles to the top flap, but that ended up being way more annoying than expected for less than stellar results. So, I frogged that and decided I liked the look of the smaller square flap just fine. 

I decided to line this with bright orange fabric...

...just because. (I like to attach the fabric to the body of the knitting. It makes the finishing a bit more complicated, but I like the finished product better.)

And then it was time to start on the sides. I only had to rip out and recalculate the first side once. It wasn't quite what I had envisioned, but it was going to work. Then I went to work on the second side. Which should have been cake, right? But no, I had to rip it out once as well before I got it to almost, kind of work...

While I was doing that, I also started on the strap. Which I don't have a picture of. But (mostly so I can find it next time), here's the strap I'm making. (It's the technique I used on my last two purses, and I'll probably continue to use it until something better comes along.)

Progress is being made. Hopefully, I'll have finished pics for next week. Just so long as the rest of it comes together...

Purse Progress, Part 2

There's a point in the project when it goes from "just started" to "almost finished". I suppose most people have more of a middle ground, but not me, and not with this project. Last week, I had "just started".

On my birthday, I made quite a lot of progress. (Note: I wrote last week's blog post before my birthday, but it posted after.)

And suddenly, I was "almost finished". By Friday, I had completed the main body piece.

Before the Olympics opening ceremony I sewed those two together. During the opening ceremony I wound in the ends.

And now I have something new to contemplate. I kind of like how this looks...

But I kind of want more of a slant on the purse's flap. Something to play with.

I'd like to say it'll be done by this time next week. It's possible. But I have been known to spend weeks on the finishing up of a project.

My Newest Purse

I'm not sure when I started this purse. But it's been a couple months. At least. I probably started it in March.

I knit my purses. It's a thing. I like them a certain way. I like them to be not too large. I like them to hang across my body. And the best way to ensure I get the fit I want is to make it myself.

I saw this thing on TV about cables. The idea was to knit the cables in one yarn and the background in another. It makes the cables pop. I tried it, but then I remembered that I hate doing color work. After I got about one pattern repeat in. So, that got ripped out.

Then I started again, this time just using the variegated yarn. I made it as long as I thought I needed. It ended up being too long. And too narrow. So, I set that aside and started over.

Finally, I got it about the right size, figured out how to make side panels, and I lined the thing. ("Lining the thing" took me a couple weeks of stitching the lining in the purse.) Then I spent a week crocheting the strap. It was all put together, and I was ready to use it.

I went to the grocery store...

And discovered that the strap was too long. It reached to just slightly below my butt. I prefer it to hit me at my hip. So, I had to take it apart and unravel some of the strap (just one side of the purse--a minor alteration).

It seems to be the right length now. The size seems right. I'll have to use it a bit before I can be certain, but so far so good.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with the too long too narrow piece that is still hanging around...

Purse Preview

I've been working on various projects. One of these is a new purse I hope to have finished soon.

It's made with plain old wool and novelty yarns. I felted the whole thing, so the wool makes the fabric stiff and sturdy, and the novelty yarns add some shimmer.

I still need to line it, add a magnetic clasp, and add a strap. But I rather like how it turned out.

What do you think?