It lifts my spirit

There’s one blog that I like to visit almost every day. It is not related to knitting, it is about something I like to knit: bags. Why I love these bags? Because they are so pretty, and well finished and Debra ( she’s the “guilty” one for crafting such a gorgeous bags) is so creative in choosing and matching the colors. Her colors combination influences my mood, it makes me smile and feel happier. Debra is a gifted photographer too and her bags, wallets and pouches are very well pictured (good background and positioning of items). My favorite bags are:

yet another knitted bag

It's another knitted bag, a present for my sister-in-law. I was very crafty: I knitted, I cut one big wooden ring, I drilled holes in it, I painted it and finally it became a wooden button (the cerulean blue one with pale green dots)

My bag stitch pattern

So, for Justine, and not only, my bag stitch pattern.
Note: very easy



This stitch pattern requires multiple of 5 stitches + 2 extra stitches (border stitches, i.e. one st for each side). I won't mention the border stitches in the pattern.

Row1 (RS): Knit till end of row
Rows 2-4 : Knit till end of row
Row 5: *[yo twice, K], repeat from * till end of row
Row 6: *[Slip 5 sts purlwise to RH needle, dropping same time the yo's from previous row; slip these 5 sts back to the LH needle and Ktbl, do not drop the stitch from LH needle, (yo, Ktbl) twice in the same stitch. Now pass(dropp) all the 5 sts to the RH needle.] Repeat from * till end of row. Now you should have the same no of sts on yr needle.

Repeat rows 1-6

For the swatch in the above picture, I casted on 32 sts (30 sts + 2 border sts). If you still have questions regarding this stitsch pattern, pls let me know.

My Brea Bag from Berroco

I hope my friend will love it. This bag is her birthday present. It was a total challenge: knit, paint the wooden rings, make the handles somehow, use X-ray films to keep the lining&bag sturdy.

bag knitting stitch

Ta-da! At the end I succeeded! I think I'll use this stitch for a purse, handbag. Do you wanna know how to do this stitch?

She made me knit again!

Of course I enjoyed myself at maximum in Constanta. It was great to see my parents again after so long. But, the best thing during this trip was to find again my best friend from childhood – Florina. We accidentally came across in a bookshop. After 7 years we can keep in touch again. It is wonderful and I am so happy. On 24^th June it’s her birthday and I am planning to mail her a hand knitted purse as a present. My first thought was to use some black color yarn to match almost all of her clothing. Yesterday I visited 2 LYS but couldn’t find something really eye-catcher. I still came back home with a pair of bamboo bag handles and 2 balls of 100% cotton green! yarn. Those shades of green appealed mostly to my eyes. But green is not black! Finally, I decided on some fancy ribbon yarn from my stash. It’s not black. So it wont be a casual purse but a fancy one. I know, I am too undecided; Last evening I had already started this project and now I don’t have any more reasons to think and re-think on this matter. I can’t post pictures of the yarn, I am afraid Florina might read this post and her birthday present won’t be a surprise anymore. But who knows what my itchy hands will do?

I'm back!

I'm back in Istanbul. Istanbul is very hot. I am still trying to accomodate myself to this temperature. I haven't started any knitting project, this hot weather really discourages me. Tomorrow I will re-arrange my yarns on shelves in cabinet. Let's see if my inspiration will come.

Good Bye Istanbul!

I won't be posting for nearly one month. I'll be off, I will visit my parents and sister in Romania. I am very happy because I miss them a lot and spending time with them makes me sooo happy. So, I will resume my knitting experience in May 2007. Of course I will check out the yarn stores in Romania too.

See ya! and Happy Knitting!

My favorite LYS (Local Yarn Store)

I am buying all my yarns from Dikiş Kutusu (The Sewing Box). The main reason is because they are caring ONLY high quality yarns and knitting accessories. The lady owner, Ms. Vildan, is so helpful with lots of recommendations and instructions, you could say she will do the knitting herself for you!

Ms.Vildan, the yarn store owner and the most talkative (in a good way) knitter. If you are short of inspiration, just drop in and you will leave with a bag full of stash and ideas.

don't be too envious please :)

This is my second knitted bag. I used 2 skeins of Lidya from "Himalaya" yarns (Turkish yarn from local small manufacturer) and wooden needles. As a technique: entrelac. I embellished the knit with wooden beads. The handles are made of plastic. The lining is made from 100% cotton fabric.

Knitted Bags

Since one week I have been knitting a lot. I am going to visit my parents in Romania at the end of March. I want to give to my mom and my sister a knitted bag each as a present. I am working (knitting) hard. But I don’t complain. I recently discovered a “magic cabinet” in my LYS. “The magic cabinet” is packed with discontinued yarns, and of course the price is so low. The yarns are beautiful. It takes time and a certain amount of luck to find 2 or 3 skeins of same yarn but it is worth it. It is a real pleasure and joy to knit with high quality yarns. I don’t like anymore 100% acrylic yarns. It is like: "after fresh Danish pastries, dry bread tastes horrible". My favorite LYS owner knows I am knitting to relax so she recommended me good knitting needles too. Knitting with cheap, low quality needles and yarns is so frustrating. You wish every single second to finish the project asap. Grrrrrrrr!

So, here are my projects (finished and unfinished).

First pic is of a small black purse (my “failure” in felting) knitted by request for my mother-in-low. It is embellished with silk ribbon embroidery (my first attempt of silk ribbon embroidery)

And ENTRELAC bag for my mother. I can’t wait to see her face.

1st March - Celebration of Spring in Romania

Romanians have a beautiful ancient tradition on the first day of March : Martisor (The Amulet). Mărţişor is the celebration of the beginning of Spring in Romania and Moldova. Mărţişor consists in small jewel or a small decoration like a flower, an animal, etc., tied up with red and white string. Women wear it pinned to their blouses on this day and up to two weeks after. It is strongly believed that the one who wears the red and white string will be lucky and healthy for the rest of the year. Exchanging them is a gesture of love, friendship, respect and appreciation. Today people wish each other health and happiness.
Today is the first day of 7 days of continuous celebration dedicated to Spring and women. Women are gathering together without men (now it is men's turn to stay home and take care of the kids and household generally) and are having fun in parties.

Amazing! Every knitter should get one!

I have just gotten my amazon.com order. Our new postman is so lazy, this week he needs to rest (I got this shocking information from a “blonde” voice when I called the post office). I had to go myself to a post office in Bağlar Mevki (damn it, this city called Istanbul is sooo big with sooo many intricate streets). It was a real adventure with my poor Turkish to understand the instructions given by the people on the street. Well, I know how to ask “how do I get to….”, but the problem is the answer I get. Turkish people like to help a lot, especially if they see you foreigner, but English language is still an issue here, especially in some neighborhoods. And my issue is Turkish language, the many dialects from different counties (I think even after 10 years of living in Istanbul I won’t be able to understand what my husband’s relatives from Rize are saying).

Anyway, now I the happy owner of a copy of a Vogue Knitting: The Ultimate Knitting Book (Hardcover). My first impression after flipping some pages: I have knitted very amateurishly till today. Reading this book will improve my knitting dramatically. I am very sure about this. This book makes me see knitting in a total different way: a professional way. I especially love the part that teaches you how to design and “think” your knitting. The book is thick indeed and every single page is a source of useful information. I think its price on amazon.com is more than fair. I am very happy because I bought it. Highly recommended to every (English speaker) knitter in the world.

next (project) please

Now, when this bulky yarn project is almost finished, I realized or, better say, I recalled that bulky yarn is not recommended for fitted projects. But, it is too late and the damage doesn't look so bad. There is a bright side too: it is cold outside and I have always wished for a tank. Since it is knitted plain, without any motif (bulky yarn...), I am considering some embellishments. Picture of the FO later... on other post.

My first felting project is a big failure but it has helped me discover the best yarn in the world!

I really love the look and the feel of felted knitting. I had wanted to have a felted small black pouch so I visited my favorite yarn store and got one skein of 100% wool. The lady from yarn store was talking and talking about the high quality of the yarn which made me think this is just an excuse for the high price.So, knitting with this yarn has been very easy and fast. I also have gathered lots of information about felting, how to do it at home, details, techniques, so on, therefore I was very sure this project would be a 100% success….

For two days I tortured this yarn (pouch): spinning it in washing machine many times, keeping it in boiled and soapy water, then using a very hot iron on it. I am pretty sure that even in factory the tests are not so rough. During the felting process I was using some jeans which now are in very bad condition, but the pouch is like new! Like nothing happened to this yarn! I am flabbergasted, I am amazed! I can't understand why this stubborn wool would not felt. I went to the yarn store and the lady owner tells me: “I’ve told you it’s a high quality yarn. Try some other cheap yarn, this brand is too good.” What can I say? This is like the “X-files” mystery.

Here is a picture taken during the felting ("torturing") process. Some other day I will post a picture of the "stubborn" yarn...or, should I say, high quality yarn…

But frankly speaking, there are some yarn brands here which are outstanding. Usually I am very grumpy and very critical in the yarn stores; but I can’t find any small reason to complain about yarns of some local brands. Their quality, the easiness of knitting, the feel and look, the color selection, the resistance of fiber – they are truly amazing. It is pity that Turkish yarns are not popular worldwide. At the beginning of my knitting I was feeling a kind of unlucky because I can’t easily purchase Berroco, Rowan , Debbie Bliss or some other famous brands. Getting in Turkey a VogueKnitting magazine is a miracle. It happens very seldom. But I discovered amazing yarns here. I would highly recommend “Feza” yarns to every knitter in the world.