Market Tote Bag

This is my new favorite pattern. I'm making another one in brown and natural combination. Once it's done, both bags will be felted. I can't wait to see how they will turn out.

French Market Bag Redux

I finished knitting these two French Market bags more than a month ago, but since I don't have a washing machine at home, it took a while before they could be felted.

Last week-end, I had a chance to use my sister's washing machine so the two bags were finally felted. In the end, I realized that I used a gray non-felting wool yarn for the bottom of the red-and-blue bag that no matter how long I felted it, the holes on the bottom of the bag would not disappear. I have not figured yet how to remedy the obvious error.

Vietnam Bag

This is one of my favorite bags. My sister bought it when we went to Vietnam a few years ago. The bag's a bit worn out but I like the shape so much that I thought about knitting a similar-shaped bag for quite some time now.

The other week, I set out to make a bag based on a pattern I found on the web, but somewhere along the way, I decided to make my own pattern based on the Vietnam bag. When I finished the bag, the strap was curving inward and was thinking about how to fix it when I remembered the worn-out bag. I decided to take the bag apart and use the materials for the knitted version of it.

This is how the bag looked after I sewed the handle in. The original handle was longer than the knitted version. I think things worked out perfectly - at least when it came to the handles. I still have to figure out how to sew the lining since I haven't done anything like it before. I also have to decide if I should put a zipper or just add a flap or button. The zipper might be too much for me to handle.

Crafts Day

Yesterday was craft's day at home. I just finished - okay, half-finished, knitting another bag the other day. It's half-finished because I plan to put a lining and maybe a zipper to it. It's my first time to do this so I don't know how long it will take.

While waiting at a doctor's office yesterday, I started crocheting a multi-purpose bowl. I could have finished it in one day, but I wanted to work on it while I'm outside the house - in the car while caught in traffic perhaps, or spending my lunch break in the office. This yarn and crochet hook is what I used in learning how to crochet in the round from my son's Handwork teacher and classmate.

I remembered my unfinished Waldorf doll, which I had to stop working on when we moved. I was able to start sewing the arms to the back of its neck while there was natural light. This is how it looked when I did the head, which I found out is too big for its body. Note to self: Next time, work on the body first before the head.

After dinner, while I was waiting for the brownies to bake, my son, his nanny and I started making needle-felted dolls. We first did a couple of these dolls in Chicago which we gave to my nephew and niece. The doll on the left was made my son (a baby with a messenger bag), while the one on the right was made by his nanny.