Felted Bag Swap

A while ago I joined in a felted bag swap on Ravelry. I had just figured out how to felt in my front loading washer and I became obsessed with felting. I thought this swap would be a ton of fun and it has! My partner had a list of felted bag patterns she liked and this was one of them. It is a really pretty bag, plus it's even a free pattern, which makes it even better. It knit up pretty quickly and I like how it turned out. Here's a picture of the finished bag:

I added a lining with a pocket since you can never have too many pockets! My partner really likes the bag. That makes me happy! :o) I'm still waiting to get the bag made for me. It should come within the next week or so. I'm so excited to see what it looks like, especially since I have no idea what pattern or yarn was used. Yay!

Butterfly Hat and Handwarmers

I have been patiently waiting to do this post. I sent out my back tack package last week and my partner Emily received her package. Now I can finally write about a few of the items that I made her. I knit her this hat:
I know, I know, you really can't see the butterfly stitch in this picture, or any picture for that matter. The yarn I used made it difficult to photograph. But believe me, you can definitely see the butterfly stitch in person. I found the pattern here on ravelry. I tried to find a pattern for matching hand warmers using the same stitch. I couldn't find them anywhere! So, I had to come up with my own pattern. Here it is. It knits up really fast and the whole set only took 1 ball of yarn.

Butterfly Hand Warmers

1 skein of Patons Classic Wool Merino, dark gray mix colorway

size US 5 needles and size US 7 needles

Abbreviations:
yif = yarn in front
yib = yarn in back
s = slip (when slipping stitches, make sure to spread them out, so that your floats are even and don’t bunch up)
make butterfly = With your right needle pick up the 4 floats by inserting the needle under the floats from the bottom up, then insert the right needle into the next stitch on the left needle. Knit the stitch and the 4 floats together.

Cast on 40 stitches onto smaller needle. Work 2x2 rib (k2, p2) for 4 rows. Switch to larger sized needles. Knit in stockinette stitch for 2 inches, ending with wrong side row.

Rows 1, 3, 5, 7: [k5, yif, s5, yib] repeat to end.

Rows 2 (and all even rows for pattern sequence): purl.

Row 9: [k7, make butterfly, k2] repeat to end.

Rows 11, 13, 15, 17: [yif, s5, yib, k5] repeat to end.

Row 19: [k2, make butterfly, k7] repeat to end.

Repeat this sequence once more.

Work 2 rows of stockinette stitch (knit 1 row, purl 1 row). Switch to smaller sized needles. Work 2x2 rib (k2, p2) for 4 rows. Cast off, leaving a 8 inch tail. You will use this tail to sew up the sides. Put right sides together and sew about 2 inches down (this will be the top of the warmer). Leave about a 2-3 inch hole for your thumb. You can adjust the size of the hole to fit you. Sew up the rest of the warmer. Taa daa! All done! Now all you have to do is make another one and you are finished!

I hope you like this pattern. Let me know if I left anything out or if anything doesn't make sense. This is the first pattern that I made so I hope it works out well for you!

Secret Pal 13 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I love angora/mohair kinds of yarns. I'm pretty inexperienced with non-acrylic yarns (gasp!!) so I'm sure my secret pal would know better than I would about good yarns that are available. Help me learn about them!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
Nothing. Yep. I'm probably the most unorganized person alive. I would love to change that. I never know what needles I have. I already have a crochet hook keeper that I actually use so I'd love one for my knitting needles.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
My cousin taught me how to crochet when I was 12 and I'm very advanced in crochet. Knitting is a different story. I taught myself how to knit about 4 years ago and I can pretty much figure most things out. I'd say I'm at the intermediate level in knitting.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yes, I have a wish list on Amazon.

5. What's your favorite scent?
I don't like the cookies, vanilla, baked-good scent candles. I like apple, cinnamon, and floral scents.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
I have a MAJOR sweet tooth. I love chocolate and caramel. I don't like any kind of nuts or peanut butter. My favorite candies are mallo cups, cadbury eggs, basically any kind of milk chocolate that doesn't have nuts or peanut butter.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I do not spin. But I basically do any other kind of crafts. I sew, quilt, paint, and cross stitch. Lately I've been into quilting, knitting, and crochet. I also LOVE to bake.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like country and rock. My computer can play mp3s.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I like reds, pink, brown, and purple. There really isn't any color that I don't like. My winter coat is red.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I am married and have an infant daughter. We have no pets.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
I love scarves, hats, and mittens. I'm not really into ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Lately I've been into knitting hats. But I also like to knit stuff for my daughter.

13. What are you knitting right now?
I'm making my mother a hat for Christmas.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
I love it. My 4 sisters and I exchange handmade gifts every year. They always end up being my favorite gifts that I get because I know how much work was put into them.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I prefer any and all needles. I don't have many needles and I'd love to add to them.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I don't even know what those are.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
I started a quilt top about 4 years ago that I still need to put together.

18. What is your favorite holiday? What winter holiday do you observe?
Christmas by far!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
I used to collect bumblebees but not really any more.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I don't have any magazine subscriptions. As for the books, yarns, etc, yes! Everything! I'm very easy to please. I like quick projects because I don't have a very good attention span.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
Right now I'm teaching myself how to make lace. So far, so good.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I've knit myself one pair of socks. I would rather knit something else. It took too long for me! I wear size 10 shoes.

23. When is your birthday?
April 18

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID?
Yes! I just signed up last week! My ID is patchwrkbumblebee.

maybe I'm a little crazy...

...but I've joined a few swaps. Okay, more than a few. I've joined 4. Yep. And they are all pretty much going on at the same time. The first one I joined is:My partner is Emily. This should be pretty interesting because we are pretty different in the crafty stuff we like to do. I think it will be fun to see what we come up with. I'm almost done with making stuff for this swap.

Since that swap was going smoothly, I decided to join Secret Pal 13. This is a swap that I'm very excited about. I love secret pals! We did something similar to this in a hospital that I worked at a while ago. When I got my office job I was really hoping that we would do secret pals but we didn't. I was very disappointed. Oh well. At least now I can do one! Yay!

Then one night I found this swap. I've been trying to figure out what kind of cookies to make this year since my husband's family decided to have a cookie bake-off. I thought that this swap would be fun to see what kind of recipes other people really like.

Today I signed up for the last swap. It's:

I found this swap through homemade by jill. I'm kind of a Christmas decorating freak and I love getting new ornaments for the tree. I have a pretty good idea of what I'll make.

Whew! I have lots of crafting to get done now...not to mention the homemade sister gifts that my four sisters and I exchange every year. I better go get started........