It’s time to reveal my secret sewing project! I visited my sister-in-law last weekend, and since we won’t see her again until after Christmas I gave her an early present. The bag is what I made with those red wool skirts. Remember? The pattern is called The Runaround Bag from Noodlehead. It’s a really, really great pattern -  perfectly written and easy to follow, what with all the pictures. The pattern is a steal for $7, considering that I could probably make at least one of these bags a year for the foreseeable future.  In addition, the pattern includes a license so you’re allowed to sell any bags you make on a small scale. How cool is that?

For this red bag, I used two thrift store skirts; one for the lining and one for the exterior. They are different shades of red, and I put the lighter/brighter one on the inside. The red on the outside is a deeper and richer color. One downside of the whole “thrifting for fabric” thing? There is a lot of waste, and it’s a job just figuring out if you have enough pieces with the seams in the right spot, etc. But I’ve saved all the waste to hopefully put into another project someday.

The blue bias tape binding fabric, while not thrifted, came from a yard sale! Other than the interfacing and the thread, this is a very old bag.

Shortly after I gave it to my sister-in-law, I found it hanging from a hook in her house. It was meant to live with her, as you can plainly see.

Roqua! That’s RED+AQUA! They were MFEO (made for each other).

I made a second bag using the gray Pendleton skirt from this post, and without taking a single picture of it gave it to my niece. Sad face (that I didn’t take any pictures) but happy face (because she was so, so happy).

I may or may not be making more bags. They may or may not be for you. I may or may not keep one for myself. NO ONE KNOWS.

I also may or may not have developed a serious addiction to looking for wool at the thrift stores. And then buying it and bringing it home to cut it all to pieces. I have a problem.

As promised, I headed back to the thrift stores on Monday, looking for more wool. This time I had luck at the local Salvation Army. It really is a quick process for me. I start by finding the right aisle, then I quickly flip through the clothes, keeping my eyes peeled and using my hand to feel for wool. When I come across an item that might be wool, I go straight for the tag and hope for the best.

Here’s what I found. And it made me happy.

The skirt is 80% wool and 20% polyester. Normally I wouldn’t be interested in a wool blend, but the quality and condition of this skirt are excellent. The color is just what I want for my project and because of the pleats, there’s a lot of fabric to work with. It cost $3.

Here’s the next one I found, another $3 skirt.

The color is perfect. Just what I wanted. Here’s the tag.

I just googled Pendleton Woolen Mills. The company is still in operation in Portland, Oregon, and still using the tagline “Warranted to be a Pendleton”. I like the blankets they have on their website, especially this 5th Avenue Glacier Park Throw made in the U.S.A. of 100% merino. Yes, please.

Do we have time for an aside? That Glacier Park Throw is 54″x72″ and costs $138 + shipping. It immediately reminded me of a recent Purl Bee post for the Hudson Bay Inspired Crib Blanket. I was tipped off on Twitter about the outrageous project costs of Purl Bee stuff (which I love despite how $$ they are, BTW) so I just did the math. The crib blanket has a finished size of 34″x39″ and the yarn costs $335.00 + shipping. And then you have to knit it.

Anyway. Think on that for a while.

The Pendleton skirt is a size 18, so again, lots of fabric to work with!

Next I went to the aisle that had women’s suits, and I found this beautiful skirt and jacket. And when I say beautiful, you know I mean that I’m going to cut it all up and make it MORE beautiful, right? Although this is a pretty nice suit.

The pattern is a very fine check.

This skirt has a zipper, which I’ll use in my project. Bonus! And here are the tags from this one.

I also googled David Brooks Ltd but mostly it’s just ebay auctions for skirts and stuff like this.

I hope I don’t jinx myself for saying this, but I have all the supplies I need to make some headway with these items tomorrow! I will not have any errands to run – mark my words. Tomorrow is crafting day!

Clockwise from top left (for ease, all fingerless or wrist items are referred to as mittens for now):

A few of my own design samples: 4 pairs (8 mittens)
Failed design that I am still trying to work out: 2 pairs + 1 (5 mittens)
Samples from The Red Collection: 7 pairs (14 mittens)
The Worst Pile – Mittens with no comrades: no pairs (11 mittens)
Bag of pulsewarmers in various stages of completion: 4 pairs (8 mittens/not really but whatevs)
Mittens and gloves that live in the Mitten Bin and get used: 6 pairs (12 mittens)
The Best Pile – Baby Maggie mittens: 3 pairs (6 mittens)
Other people’s patterns that don’t get much wear anymore: 3 pairs (6 mittens)
Gifted mittens (from my sister and from Elinor): 2 pairs (4 mittens)

The math says that’s 31 pairs of mittens and 74 mittens total.

Like yesterday, I can only assume there are some mittens in my house that I cannot locate, and I know of at least one mitten on the pins. There are probably more half-knit mittens that I have hidden in a bag and stashed away somewhere deep.

I took another picture from the side, to show the extreme height of some of these piles.

Here’s a confession: I actually think I need more mittens. But more specifically, I think I need more mittens that fit the kids. Assuming it snows (and some years it doesn’t) the kids go out to play for 20 minutes, come in for hot chocolate, then want to go back out. But their mittens are then WET AND COLD. So they need at least two pairs each, and three would be better!

Okay, writing that last paragraph made me feel slightly insane. But I’ll probably knit more mittens anyway. I HAVE A PROBLEM.

On the other hand, the other categories (sweaters, socks, scarves, shawls) are totally under control. No really.

Today I did get all the knitting out, but it seems reasonable to just blog about hats today. The number of mittens is obscene and they deserve their own day to shine. Here are all the hats that live in my house that I could locate:

From top left, clockwise.

My self-published designs: 9
Self-published in The Red Collection: 13
Elizabeth Zimmermann hats: 5
Hats for which designs should appear eventually: 5
My designs published elsewhere: 4
Hats under surveillance for moths (in the plastic bag): 1
Improvised hats with no patterns: 9
Hats I keep, but were not made by me: 2 (more about these below)
Knit from other people’s patterns: 16

If my math is correct, that’s 64 hats on the table.

According to what’s been recorded in Ravelry, there are 2 hats not pictured that should be (one is in Gerald’s work truck, one is missing). I have knit 15 hats that were given as gifts, donations or samples.

I have at least 3 hats that are currently on the needles.

There’s gotta be plenty more that I don’t have a record of that are hiding in the house, or given away pre-Ravelry, or who knows what.

I like knitting hats.

About the two pictured above that I didn’t knit: The pink one is the one Maggie wore home from the hospital when she was born. It is handknit and had the world’s saddest pompom. The brown and orange one is from J.Crew. I borrowed/stole it from a guy I once knew in college. I’ve lost touch with him, but he was one of the coolest and most fun guys I ever had the pleasure of knowing. I keep the hat to remember him, and because it looks really good on me.

Warning: Tomorrow is mittens, and there are a lot.

After being used frequently last winter, my Fiddlehead Mittens were looking very ragged. They’re knit with Cascade 220 and handspun and they are so pilly! I went through the wool basket this morning and found a few other mittens and mitts that were also in need of some pill maintenance.

My Girdwood Mittens in Cascade Eco:

The Mallory Mitts knit with Nature Spun Sport:

And my Zigzag Study Hall Mitts knit in Reynolds Whiskey:

My method of dealing with pills is to snip them off carefully with scissors. If you have read The Knitter’s Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes, then you know that for many fibers, pulling the pills off will only lead to more pills. By snipping the pills off with scissors (or a sweater shaver if you have one) you leave the surrounding fibers undisturbed. Clara discusses it much more eloquently in the book – it’s on pages 64-65 if you own the book. Read it again, it’s worth it.

After snapping my “before” pictures, I did some careful snipping.

The Fiddlehead Mittens look dramatically different after their haircut!

Nice, right? It just takes a few minutes of attention, plus some vacuuming, and my raggedy mitts and mittens look like new again!

It was 29 degrees out at the bus stop this morning! I brought the wool basket down, gathered some of the recently finished knits and everyone bundled up against the cold. The newest item being worn was the Noro Scarf that I was working on a few days ago. I blocked it yesterday, and because my room gets super warm with the door closed at night, it was dry this morning!

More info about the Scarf for Jerry on Ravelry. When Jerry comes home today I’ll have to weigh the yarn to see how much was used. The yarn was a gift and already wound into balls, so I’m not sure of the exact yardage. If I had to guess it would be maybe 3 skeins?

Jerry is also wearing his new Asheboro Hat.  The mittens are the Girdwood Mittens in Cascade 220 knit in the Big Kid size. Remember the Girdwood Mittens? The pattern comes in all sizes and would be a quick knit for Christmas gifts! Just sayin!

If you’re wondering about the way he’s posing in this picture, he was being a robot. It has something to do with Looney Tunes I think.

And now for Maggie’s ensemble! She beats Jerry by one point because she is wearing a hand knit coat!

The coat is the recently completed Tomten. Yesterday was a cold morning, too, so I put her Tomten out where she could see it and told her it was cold. I don’t want to force her to wear the knitting, but I want to make sure she remembers that it’s an option. And yesterday she chose to wear the knitted coat! I was so happy.

Like Jerry, Maggie (doing robot moves) is also wearing Girdwood Mittens and her Asheboro Hat.  Her mittens are undocumented on the blog and Ravelry because they were a Girdwood prototype. She loves them, but the mittens are…imperfect. Luckily for us Maggie is like the honey badger. She don’t give a shit that her mittens don’t match.

The scarf that Maggie is wearing is a simple lengthwise garter stitch scarf knit with glorious Baby Alpaca Grande. On Raverly, it says I finished this almost exactly 2 years ago! Imagine that.

So maybe Maggie is not technically all wooled up, but partially alpaca-ed up. Even better!

I was reminded this morning that the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid came out today. Every two weeks I get a Photojojo Time Capsule. I don’t even remember when I signed up for that email, but it’s fun to see what I was up to a year ago. Today’s time capsule included a photo of Jerry from November 9th, 2010 with the new book I had bought for him. Below is another shot from that day.

From one year ago.

I made sure he still wanted the book, and went to the store to get the new one today. He’s already finished reading it, of course. They’re simple books and I guess he’s a pretty fast reader. But this series will always have a special place in my heart because it made him a reader. Instead of forcing him to read, now we’ve got to force him to put the book down and go to bed at bedtime.

In my Time Capsule there was also a picture of my purple Fiddlehead Mittens!

I love these so hard! They’re not mine anymore, but they belong to a knitter’s daughter so I can only assume they’re loved and respected.

In terms of current knitting, I’m working on another hat pattern. It requires a needle that I can’t find, so it’s on hold until I can either a) find the needle or b) get myself to the yarn store. How much you wanna bet I’ll end up at the yarn store tomorrow? I also have some background knitting; knitting that requires absolutely no attention whatsoever. Usually my background knitting is socks but I accidentally cast on for a scarf the other day, so I’ll knit on it until it’s done. The yarn is Noro Iro and was a gift from the knitter who’s daughter is the owner of the Fiddleheads.

The scarf has 20 stitches and I’m working in 1×1 ribbing, slipping the first stitch knitwise on every row. I’m technically making it for Jerry, who may or may not wear a scarf, I have no idea. But if it snows we’ll be ready!

I’ve decided to call it the Asheboro Hat, in honor of that city down the road where I’ll be attending school come next year. I’ll be spending a lot of time in Asheboro! I’m so excited.

I know I’ve said it already, but the Asheboro Hat is a great knit. Perfect if you’re just starting with colorwork! And if you’re experienced with two-color knitting, you can knit this hat in a day or two.

We love our new hats! The pattern calls for worsted weight yarn knit at 5.5 sts/inch. I knit ours in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. It’s  a great yarn for colorwork, and when you block the hat it’s softer than you can imagine! The Child size can will use one skein of Shelter, plus about 20 yards of a contrasting color. For the Adult Medium and Adult Large, you’ll need two skeins of Shelter for the main color.

For more pattern details, and to queue, fave or purchase the pattern, please visit the Asheboro Hat page on Ravelry. And because I’m so excited to be releasing a new pattern, through the month of November the pattern will be available for just $3! Woohoo! You’ll see the discount when you add the pattern to your cart. Or if you’re ready to buy it right this instant, use the link below.

Asheboro Hat – $3 for a limited time only

Thanks so much, everyone! First for reading, but also for the support!

Three hats have been knit, and I love each one. When I mowed the lawn today (with the bag on, thereby negating my need to rake, yay!) I wore the dark grey (SHELTER in SOOT), the one at the bottom. The hat is, if you’ll allow me to boast for a minute, the perfect hat. It snugs just so around the ears, making it highly functional for its intended purpose. It is an interesting and quick knit with worsted weight wool, and fun for knitters of all skill levels. The colorwork design is gender neutral and through color choice, the hat is well suited for girls and boys, men and women. And lastly, it’s a great looking hat.

Well, that was enough boasting for one day. I’m working on getting the pattern ready and then you can knit the perfect hat for yourself!

I was able to take the swatch from yesterday and turn it into a hat that is blocking right now on Maggie’s bed. Although I did spend some time searching my notes, I was not able to find out/remember what needle I used for that swatch. Instead of knitting another swatch, I dove right in with the needle that seemed most likely. Not a very scientific way to go about it, but whatever. I’ve got a new hat and it turned out Very Nice. It will be a pattern soon. It feels right for my first pattern after a big break to be a simple but sweet hat. Getting my toes wet, if you will.