Always have a bag

If you're one of those nerds like me who like to use reusable bags at stores yet always seem to forget yours, here's a great little solution. It's called Envirosax. This one is a waterproof, lightweight polyester in a very cute print that rolls up into a tiny little thing that takes up no room in your purse. And when you get to the checkout at Target with three items and think, "Oh crap! I forgot my bag in the trunk," you'll let out a sigh of relief when you remember you've got a bag right there -- and a cute one, to boot!





Best of all, it's just under $10!

New things

I made the most of my one day off yesterday. I made three bags, got my oil changed, got my wheels rotated and balanced at Costco and shopped there, bought an air filter, got my brother to remotely work on my computer, which was acting like a nightmare, opened the computer and blew out a pound of dust, checked paint prices, finished my sock and started a new one. Phew!

This bag is a custom order for my friend's mom. Sorry for the tiny pic:



These two are just for fun. I had only been making custom items lately for sale, so with an upcoming show, I decided to add a few pieces. These are both new styles:





I am working on these socks, just for me, but I'm kind of over the yarn at this point. I'm just trying to get the second sock done so I can move on to a yarn I like. They are wool, yellow and gray. This is my first pair. There are a few itty-bitty mistakes on the first sock, but nothing too noticeable. Mark wonders why I don't just buy socks instead of spending weeks making them. Well, I DO buy socks. But there's just something special about having hand-knit wool socks, and the yarns available are so pretty, you can't buy socks like those. That's why, silly.

Did I mention I was productive this weekend?

I got home from work Saturday night around 11 p.m. and then sat down and made these before bed:

I really love this little purse. I got the fabric from the remnants bin for a great price (remnants means it was the end of the bolt and just little pieces left. They then discount it). These two fabrics were just piled in there, but they looked perfect together!


It's not clickable because it was given as a gift, but I still wanted to share it.

I also made this tote. I love the bamboo handles. It was inspired by my friend David's mom, who I have never met. But he was talking about having me make a bag for her for Christmas and then he pointed out some things she liked and I thought this would be the style.


I would name it after her, but I don't even know her name!

Productive weekend

My latest creations, available on my Web site, or click the pictures.

White cable-knit belt:


White brocade purse with pink flowers and a pink butterfly pin:


Polka-dot tote bag:

Tote yur stuff, look cute

My latest creation is a Burst of Happiness in itself. It's a very summery flowered and striped bag, in coordinating colors. Flowers on the inside, stripes on the inside. Pockets, magnetic snap, fun colors. What else do you need?

This one, I'm keeping

I have been carrying around this quilted bag with cats all over it full of my knitting stuff. It was quite embarrassing. I had bought it a decade ago and found it when I started knitting recently. It's leftover from when I worked at Hobby Lobby a million years ago and tried to crochet for about 2 days.

Sorry it's blurry, but trust me, the less you can see it, the better for you.

I knew I had to get with the program, so I made this tote. Making a lined bag is MUCH harder than you can imagine. It probably took me about 3 and a half hours to make a pattern and then cut all the fabric and assemble it. That's after researching how to make one in the first place. There's lots of weird inside-out stuff to consider when sewing. For instance, you have the outside of the bag right side out but inside of the inside-out lining with the handles turned upside down and sandwiched in the middle. Then you sew them together and turn it through a hole in the lining. If you're lucky, it all comes out the right way and your handles aren't sewn INSIDE the bag or something. Sometimes it's hard to think that way and see that if everything's turned the wrong way, it will come out the right way later.

Anyway, here it is:


I am a terrible photographer, but it's a cute white bag with purple flowers. The lining is lavender, but looks grayish here. Inside, there is a magnetic closure and a velcro pocket on one side that closes. On the other side is a segmented pocket, good for cell phones or what-not.



And there you go. I'm cool again!