My pattern:

Cast on 32 stitches onto size 4 dpn.
Knit 1 inch k1p1 rib.
On next round, *k2tog*.
On next round, *k1 yo*.

Continue for the length of the cell phone in plain knitting.
Decrease for bottom as for sock or mitten toe.

Both the clover that grows in the yard and the bunnies eat, and the Clover company of Japan.

I didn't particularly like the yarn guide for knitting, but I love their bamboo needles, and I recently bought a soft-touch crochet hook, and it is fantastic. I have given away my old hooks (except for the K, which was my first hook and I have had about 20 years). (And I'm keeping my steels. Though they are weird because they come from all sorts of different times, and i don't know what size (in mm) they actually are.)

(I've been working a crochet scarf.)

I've been working on headkerchiefs. And the poppy needlecase. And the purple skirt got started. It's very simple, but I haven't yet sat down and sewed it. And the Kroy socks I said I'd make with the lettuce edge- I changed my mind. They'll be mock-smock socks instead.

And I just started reading Phillip Dick's The Man in the High Castle. I got tempted after knitting guild, and bought two of his books. I find myself reaching for and wanting to own harder books now. I don't want the twinkie books to take up all the shelf space. I've been sorting as I go, unpacking, and it's amazing the number that can be left in boxes under the bed, and the fact that I'm willing to let any books go at all is stupendifying.

So yesterday, I bought this kit. I've wanted to try punchneedle for a while, but could never find the stuff to do it without ordering off the net. Knowing little to nothing about it, I was always put off by the amount of effort it would take to sort out what to order and where, so it was pleasant to be able to pick it up at a local gigantic craft store.

I opted to use a tight hoop I already own, and buy a cheap ($3.00) punchneedle, rather than buy all the goodies I'm interested in from Clover. It seems that their "embroidery tool" can be used to loop stitch, backstitch, and satin stitch. I'm interested in simple embroidery, and if this is easier than using a regular needle, I'll probably start to use it. They offer different needle sizes, extra tight hoops, and a hoop stand which gives depth underneath the work. I have a suspicion I'll be buying all of that...

I'm looking at this as a nice, easy way to decorate some of my clothing.

So, I've been trying to knit/make myself a string bag. This has not been anywhere near as easy as I would like. This entry will be updated as the project evolves.

I'm looking for something that crushes up small and light, so that I can carry one around in my backpack and substitute it for the multitude of plastic bags that everything comes in. It should also be cheap to make, since I want to make several. This also means no special yarns.

String and Air Attempt
Pattern: here
Material: sport weight 100% cotton in beige
Needles: finally settled on 16" size 10 circulars
Problems: It's really hard to do the move from one round to the next with the double yarn over in the one instance. I tried putting a single extra knit at the end of the round, which should leave a "seam" of knits up the side, but I kept losing it! So finally I gave up.

Magknits Attempt
Pattern: here
Material: Worsted wheight 100% cotton in white
Needles: 36" size 15 circulars
Problems: It's really hard to get this stitch to look as nice as the one in the picture in the pattern. I'm not sure I like it very much. I may need a smaller needle, or to pull tighter, but it's hard to work this stitch tightly.

The Sydney bag; or the bag that I ended up making several of
My friend Ursula tried to make this bag. It is an old pattern from Australia, referenced by this link. After the cut at the bottom of the page, Ursula's rewrite and improvement of the pattern is given. She made it in worsted weight cotton, and it is huge. It balls up neatly into its bottom, and makes a nice contained lump, just like in the picture. It is totally cool.
These links are from Ursula:
Ursula's pattern and updates are now here.
Short pattern here
sizing here

My notes on string bag in expensive cotton here.
My preliminary notes on string bag in number 3 crochet cotton here.
More notes on string bag in number 3 crochet cotton here.

Other notes on this bag are below the lj-cut.


Other pattern links
Lily's pattern The problem here is that I'm looking for something I can jam in my backpack and use as needed, and this seems much too bulky.
Frugalhaus pattern I'd forgotten about this one. It looks like a good one to try next!
Fresco yarn But I'm trying not to buy new yarn for this project.
from a Sydney TV station knitted and crocheted. Possibilities!
Two more which are probably a little too thick for what I want, and I'd have to substitute for the acrylic. I prefer not to use acrylic worsted unless I absolutely have to. If you're interested in these, I'd suggest saving/printing the patterns, as they are archived and might not be around later.
This one looks like what I'm looking to make. Again, it's probably harder than it looks. It's Turkish stitch again.
Coats & Clark pattern. Again, this is an archive, so grab it if you want to keep it.
added 5-1-07: Canadian Living String Bag This one looks nice; I am thinking I'll try it.

General bag link collections
http://home.inreach.com/marthac/totes.html
http://www.knittingpatterncentral.com/directory/bags_totes_purses.php
http://knitting.about.com/library/blmiscbags.htm

Other ideas
Make up a pattern with triple crochets and the worsted or sport weight cotton and the size M, N, or P crochet needle.
If I learn to net, I could make this one.



( Ursula's pattern V8-8 )

Good softball game yesterday. One walk, one hit.
Bruised up my wrist. Not awful, but not very good either.

Finished the coton à broder sampler, finally. It looks good. Did a little more work on the poppy scissorskeeper (you'll need to scroll down some.).

Started reading Middlemarch. Kinda boring. I have a feeling there will be some very fleshed-out characters...

Picked up Octavia Butler's Kindred tonight. I do so love her writing. I needed something to take me away, and also to make me think.

Edit: poppy scissorskeeper, not scissorscase

Here!

Hats, socks, and hand-warming items!

Okay, so I've modified the list a bit:
-bear
-coton a broder
-string bag
-3 sets of sock wool
-the thick & quick socks
-black TLC amore for yoga socks for hun & maybe another set for me, but I will have to do them in rib, as it is a cotton yarn, not wool.
-maybe make a doily of the black TLC amore
-maybe crochet a doily of the string bag leftovers
-maybe the regia partial socks from the string bag leftovers. This will also require ribbing, for the same reasons.

I also want to make these this summer:
http://www.cascadeyarn.com/patternsFree/W161_Fixation.pdf

I already bought the yarn; I stayed with red, because I need cheery socks.

It's a very sproingy yarn, and a little bit hard to work because I have to make sure that I don't pull it too tight, and that I leave its sproingyness intact.