Prolific Prolifery

Things I made by candle light while snuggled under 57 blankets during our three day power outage (some of which are now available on my Etsy shop, dontcha know!):

A funky, lacy set of fingerless gloves for one of my Pay It Forward friends:

I kind of wanted to add glittery skulls...

This super cute plarn tote bag, complete with vintage button:

Hi ho, cheery-o!

And this wooly, awesome bag just waiting to be stuffed full of whatever it is we women absolutely *NEED* to carry around with us when we leave the house:

what the heck do we need all that stuff for, anyway?

Yesterday I found a grocery store that was closing, so everything was half off:

store closing = I will buy ALL THE THINGS for 1/2 off, thank you!

Which was good, because I also stopped to buy some yarn, which was *not* half off:

decidedly NOT half off. Good thing I saved on that yeast!

I got enough for three projects:  one custom Etsy order, which you’ll be seeing shots of later in the week, and two mystery projects, which I’ll save for later.  Here’s what the rest of the week looks like in HAPPYlandia:

Wednesday: Custom Order Shots

Thursday: Cupcakes!

Friday: Free Pattern Friday: fingerless gloves of fun

…and that’s what happens when you can’t shower, do laundry, wash dishes, or really do any meaningful chores for three days!…

Free Pattern Friday: Granny 1/2 Square Bag

Remember that Half Granny Square Tutorial I did earlier this month?  Well, I ended up with this:

 

It's a sting ray!

Which, if you fold all three corners in towards the middle and whip stitch them, ends up looking like this:

 

OMG cute, right?

I added a little handle and a velcro closure (which I reinforced by embroidering that little extra bit of light green you see in the middle — velcro needs something to stick to!), and mailed this off to the second official recipient of my 2011 Handmade Pay It Forward Campaign (Want to get involved?  Use some form of electronic communication to contact me & I’ll tell you all the cool details).

Here are the official pattern directions:

1. Make a 1/2 granny square 15 rows big (look HERE for a refresher on how to accomplish this).

2. sc around the entire 1/2 square & FO.

3: Fold any two adjacent corners in toward each other until they are touching and whip stitch them together through the sc’s (The whip stitches are white on my bag).

4. Fold the last corner in & whip stitch it into place. TURN YOUR BAG INSIDE OUT, making the inside the outside. Or, if you like the way the stitches look, just leave the bag the way it is!

(side note: I just realized I was supposed to switch the laundry two hours ago.  Oops).

5. Where the three corners meet, embroider a little oval or rectangle-y bit to even out the top edge and give some support to your velcro, should you decide to add some.

6. Chain a chain about the size of the circumference of your wrist, FO, & sew to the side of the bag.  VOILA!  (did you say “voila”?  Seriously.  It’s ever so much more satisfying if you say “voila”).

 

the back of the bag, which is also totally cute. Maybe it should be the front... Hmm...

Aahhh! The cuteness! It hurts my eyes! It's TOO cute! It's just TOO CUTE!!!

 

Obviously you can make as many rows as you’d like – the bigger the 1/2 square, the bigger the bag.  This size (which I made with a G hook, btw), is the perfect size for make-up.  Or snacks.  Mmmm…snacks.  I love snacks…  })i({

 

 

Free Pattern Friday: Granny Bag

There may or may not have been a post going around Facebook last week wherein people pledged to make hand made items for the first five people to comment on their post.  I may or may not have reposted this, thereby signing myself up for five surprise projects.  I may or may not be listening to NKOTB and wearing a side ponytail right now.  *Ahem.* Anyway.

I’ve had this in my Ravelry queue since, oh, I don’t know, October, and thought now would be the perfect time to give it a whirl:

...hangin' tough...

Isn’t it cute? To make one with a flap like this you’ll need to make:

-4 granny squares

-1 granny half-square

-a strap the length of your choice (I did a chain & then dc’d around both sides)

– a button or some velcro

It goes together quickly –  you can look at the pictures to see how to fold yours, then just start sewing!  I added a button closure to mine, and because Husband was very concerned that whoever gets this bag would need to carry tiny things, an inside pocket:

for to carry your teeny tiny things

The inside pocket is just a rectangular swatch of dc’s sewn in… easy peasy!

I suppose this is less of a pattern and more of a general idea, eh?  If you’re interested in more details, stop by these websites or send me a message!

Vallieskids Granny Bag Blog Post

Granny Square Tutorial

I posted a Granny Half-Square Tutorial here, so you can pop back over to that if you need a refresher!

Happy Hooking!  })i({