New knitting pouch!

I know things have been kind of quiet around the blog this week. The children that me and my mom keep (separately, though some of them are siblings) were all on vacation this week, so we had the week off. I've been doing some sewing and natural dyeing and knitting, so even though I haven't gotten around to writing any posts this week, there are some coming soon. :)

 

One of my new favorite crafty blogs is Hey Porkchop!. Amanda's projects are so awesome and inspiring, and her photos of her projects are gorgeous. Her blog makes me want to knit tons of socks (it seems like I've bought a lot more sock yarn since I started reading her blog :) and sew more quilts and cross stitch more. I'm going to be working on the Autumn Sampler this year and I'm very excited about that (Amanda is the co-owner of The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery).

When I saw the Noodlehead Super Tote that she made recently, I knew that I wanted to make one, too, to use as a knitting bag. It's the best pattern suited for a knitting bag that I've seen so far. But I'm still trying to decide on fabrics for that (and I have to tape the pattern together). Through that post, I also found this free tutorial for a zipper pouch.

 

I've made zipper pouches before, but I've always been disappointed with how they turned out. I feel like the zipper looks sloppy at the top, because I can never get the top corners to look neat. So I decided to give this tutorial a try...

 

It's awesome, you guys! It was quick and easy, and this is by far the most professional looking pouch I've ever made. :)

 

After my recent "What's in my knitting bag?" post, I decided that I need some prettier knitting accessories. :) Maybe it's silly, but I spend a lot of time with these tools so they might as well be pretty, right? So this pouch is replacing my old cheapo Target one, and it holds all of my knitting notions and tools now.

I got these two fabrics from Joann's earlier this week. They're designs and colors that I was drawn to, though they're different from what I would normally use. And they're much more expensive than I would normally pay (though they were 30% off). But I decided to go for it...it's just a little bag. I made the medium size (there are three sizes), and bought 3/8 yard of each. And I probably only used half of that.

The zipper is a gloriously bright and tacky orange that I would also normally stay away from. :) My mom recently bought me a big box full of vintage zippers, buttons, bias tape, seam binding, etc. at a yard sale. Most of the zippers are approx. 22" length, and some of them are garish 70s-ish colors. I likely won't use them in clothes but they're perfect for pouches and bags! :) Also, this was my first time making a little zipper stop...it's such a simple thing but really adds a lot.

Because my old pouch had pockets and this one doesn't, I had some loose tapestry needles, crochet hook, cable needles, etc. that looked messy loose in the bottom of the bag. So I made this little pouch to hold them and keep things neater.

I'm smitten with my new little pouch! And I can't wait to get started on the tote bag. I'm already planning a couple more of these pouches. I think I'll make the smallest version to keep in my purse. :) I've got some Eiffel Tower fabric that's calling my name.

Until next time,