Knitting, what's that?

It's becoming quite clear that my knitting is on a summer hiatus. Finding a spot for my sewing machine has released all this pent up creativity, I suppose.

Today I joined the waiting list for a website that could change my whole crafty world. Spoonflower lets you design and buy your own custom fabric printed on demand. How cool is that? I have no aspirations to become a textile designer. In fact, when I came across the site, I thought "what would I design?" and I'm pretty sure I heard air wooshing around up there. But, sometimes it's hard to find "the perfect" fabric. This might be the answer to getting exactly what you want.

In the FO department, another Birdie Sling compliments of Saturday's severely polluted air. This time I added a magnetic snap. I had a hell of a time getting my lining and exterior to match up as one was much larger than the other. Weird. They fell right into place on the first sling. After a lot of fiddling, the snap halves were off about .5cm from each other. It still works.

Things that make you go hmm

Pattern: Birdie Sling by Amy Butler
Fabric: Some sort of Japanese import, on the exterior, and bunnies on the interior.
Time: One night
Cost: Too much. Since it uses fusible fleece and interfacing and the pattern is pricey, it's not a cheap bag. Definitely get the components when Joann's has a 50% off sale.


This is my first Amy Butler pattern. It's a super easy pattern (although wordy) that makes a cute bag and would be just fine for beginners.

Like most patterns, yardage is grossly overestimated. The weird thing is that they cut the interfacing yardage really close. I found that 1 yard of each fabric was more than enough. The 1/2 yard of fusible fleece was the exact amount but the 3.5 yards of interfacing was a close call.

The bag is BIG, which I love, but a little too stiff for my liking because it's lined with fusible fleece. Next time I'll replace the fleece with interfacing. Also, this bag gapes a lot, do to the gussets, so it could definitely use a magnetic snap or zipper. I would also replace the inner pockets with a zippered pocket.

I've received some nice compliments about the bag, which leads me to believe it would be a nice gift for friends. It would probably make a really great beach tote too. Also, the large inner pocket, with the seam up the middle, makes for somewhat long, thin pockets that are perfect for straight needles. A few tweaks and this could be an awesome knitting bag.

One caution: If you're really tiny, this bag might be a little overwhelming on you.

All in all, I'm very happy with the finished object. Amy's patterns are very appealing, especially the Weekender. But, for such a simplistic pattern, I think that $13 is way too much money. I'll definitely make it again (if anything to get my money's worth out of the pattern :).

Did you notice the cabinet that the bag is hanging on? It's my new yarn holder. Not bad for $30! I love being able to look at all the yarn - it's like having my own yarn shop. fun fun! I'm working on making my craft corner organized enough to use it on a regular basis. Exciting stuff.