Photos!

Ok, I got some good shots of my finished projects. Still no luck on the stitch markers, but I think I know what the problem is now and will tackle them later.

Ok, the bag:


The Stats:
Pattern: Fat Bottom Bag from The Happy Hooker (the gold version)
Yarn: 2.5 hanks of Cascade Fun in color 0280 used with a thread of white, size 30 crochet cotton.
Hook: I
Other bits and pieces: vintage plastic handles, Pin from Claire's Boutiques ICING line, white fabric scraps for lining.

This project worked up fast and was very easy. Lining was the roughest part, but just because I don't do well with gathers. To cut out the lining, before making the tabs to attach the handles to the bag, I put a piece of folded fabric on my cutting mat, folded the bag in half and laid it down on the fabric, and then used my rotary cutter to cut the fabric about 1/2 of an inch away from the bag edges all the way around. I seamed the bottom "curve" of the fabric, then hemmed the sides and top. Then, I tried to do tucks on one side, but got the measurements a bit off, so for the other side, I just did gathers so I could adjust as I go. And I don't stress about it being different on either side of the lining, because it's just for me and how many people are going to see the inside of my bag?

My only beef with this bag is a minor one, and that's that when you set it down, it flops all over the place and comes open. That's an easy thing to fix, though. I'll be sewing a snap into the lining to take care of that.

I am totally smitten with this bag. I wore jeans and a t-shirt to go to the yarn shop yesterday and I took this bag with me even though it was way more glam than I was. I just love it to bits.

The hat:

Pattern: A free one from Jimmy Beans Wool.
Yarn: A strand of Reynolds Lite Lopi in natural, and a strand of some verigated wool that I have forgotten the name of that I got from Ms. Pink sometime last year. It was leftover from the bag she made for her One Skein swap partner. I ran out of it about 10 yards from the end, so the crown is a strand of the lopi and a strand of SWTC's Optimum in Turquoise. It coordinated, and the motteling made it less noticable.
Needles: 10.5 US
Notes: I only knit 4 rows between the first and second decrease rows, because I knew I was going to be close.

This is a great pattern for bulky wool, or if you want to make a scrappy hat with a couple of strands of worsted. It's very thick and warm, and it worked up in about 2 hours. Maybe 3. It's going off to Afghans for Afghans for their Mother's Day drive.