Monday 4 August 2008

FO: Chinatown String Bag and Baked Goods Galore

Pattern: Such a heavily modified version of The String Bag that I don't think I can say it is the same pattern at all- but definitely inspired. Needles: 3.5 mm and 8 mm circulars Yarn: stash cotton/ramie blend, about 400 yards Modifications: Oh, where to begin. First off, I changed the lace/netting pattern of the body of the bag to the pattern from the Montego Bay scarf. This meant I could happily do a repeat of k2tog, yo round and round and round. I switched to the 3.5 mm and bound off the sides of the bags, and then knitted the handles one at a time, one on each side. The handles are 8 stitches wide, and just plain old stockinette.But how they attached, that's where I wanted things to be flexible. Enter the buttons, one of which is sewn on the inside of the bag at the base of each handle:Since I put in a button hole at the end of each handle, there are two ways to arrange the handles for easier carrying. Doubled up:Or grocery bag style: I can't tell you how pleased I was that the handles worked out. I was a pretty happy bunny about those handles! Notes: I had no idea that the lace would be that stretchy: Which has it's good points and bad points. Good: This thing could hold a full grown cow, it has that much stretch going on. Bad: Who wants to carry the weight of a cow on their shoulder? Not me. Or G, for that matter. Since G ends up carrying all the groceries we get in Chinatown, he mentioned that it could be improved upon by making the lace section shorter, and having the option of a shoulder strap so that it could be worn diagonally across the body.Better to make the trek with a cow's weight worth of veggies. Since it is undyed cotton/ramie blend, I'm going to throw it in the tumble dryer and see if it shrinks up a bit. If that doesn't fix it, I'll probably tack down part of the lace to shorten it a bit. Even though it turned out bigger than expected, I really am pleased. It is my idea of the perfect reusable grocery bag. As it was a long weekend here, I decided it was the perfect time to do a bunch of baking, and invite some friends over to partake in all the goodies.My List of 101 Things included doing a bunch of baking I hadn't done before, like making cinnamon rolls from scratch: These were so popular that once I pulled them out of the oven and put the cream cheese icing on them, they went so fast that I didn't have time to get a picture of a full plate: Thanks to Teresa for the wonderful recipe! Also in keeping with the list- My goal is to try five different cake recipes that I've never made before. Juicy Knits sent me a recipe for a delicious flourless chocolate cake, and Phoe sent me a recipe for an amazing ginger cake. (Sorry for the wonky lighting, not sure what happened there). They were absolutely amazing. People loved the brownie-like texture of the flourless chocolate cake, and were equally enamoured and impressed with the satisfying spicy/sweet ginger cake. So thank you for the recipes! I know I'll be making all three of these again in the future.

8 comments:

juicyknits said...

I like how you decorated the cake & am glad that you liked it

yoel said...

Love the handles/buttons on the market bag! Those market bags do stretch dreadfully and turn into giant hippos. Maybe you can modify the handles so you can wear it backpack style?

Anonymous said...

Great market bag!

And I'm glad the cake went over well.

Hilary said...

What a fantastic bag! Your shoulder strap mods are great, and I bet it wouldn't be difficult to create another, longer one for wearing across the chest as per your fella's request.

The references to carrying a full grown cow made me crack up!!

Rose said...

what a great market bag. I love the mongetgo bay lace pattern-- great mod. gorgeous,droolworthy baked goods, too!

Teresa said...

The bag looks fantabulous. I love the multi-use handle!

Glad you enjoyed the cinnamon buns. Hooray for crossing-things-off-lists!

erngrn said...

that very same thing happened with the second bag that i made. i was so frustrated with myself for making one so small the first time that i made the second one much bigger but when i used it, it stretched out like crazy!

the handles were a great idea!

Delia said...

Awesome bag! I've been looking for a good pattern for a reusable one myself and that just might be it!