Step Away from the Knitting!

The knitting for Outfit 3 is going pretty well. It's nice to have a contrast between the plain stockinette of my sleeve and the lace of my Firefly bag and I'm enjoying getting them done. Sewing, on the other hand, has not yet begun. I've figured out how I want my top and skirt to look but as yet, it's all still in my head. I can't quite start and I'm not sure why.

It might be the weather. It's cold again here in the UK. It seems that spring is reluctant to start no matter how much we want it to. Outside the sky is grey and this definitely makes me feel a bit lacklustre. Sunshine is like my battery. Just the tiniest glimmer and I'm energised.

It might also be day to day family life that is stopping me from getting going. With three kids at school, each also doing a bunch of activities and a pre-schooler under my feet all day, it's a bit of a whirlwind at times. This week I waited in for the groceries on Wednesday morning, only to discover that I'd booked them for Thursday. I forgot to get the money in for school photos on time and I've still not paid the library fines or re-enrolled the kids for swimming... it just might be time for a holiday!

So, until I get cracking with any sewing we'll have to keep looking at knitting... I'm sure you won't mind :)

The top photo is the underside of my Firefly bag. It starts with a Turkish cast on, which I hadn't tried before, and I loved it. You hold two needles together and wind yarn around both, before knitting into one side and then the other, creating a double cast on. There are instructions in the pattern but I referred to my copy of Cap Sease's great book Cast On, Bind Off, as well. 

I'm using 3mm needles because I don't have the recommended 2.75mm and gauge isn't crucial. But, I switched one of my needles for a 2.5mm for the winding part so my first row wasn't sloppy. It worked a treat.

The photo above is looking down into my bag. Once you've cast on, joined in the round and increased on either end a wee bit, the bag starts to take shape. 

Here's the gusset at one end. It's all very neat isn't it?

The lace is a geometric pattern and I'm pleased with how it is turning out. It's pretty straightforward, mostly yo's and ssk's at varying widths. So far, I've noticed only one mistake in my lace ... and since it's at the bottom and I'm sure no one else will spot it, I'm not going to rip back and fix it.

Something I haven't come across before is slipping the stitch marker "into" the first stitch rather than next to it on the needle. I'm hoping I've understood correctly, because it means that the stitch marker stays at the bottom of the work. I've overshot it a few times when I've not noticed it coming up in the round. Is this something you've encountered before?

Do you like the pattern on the tray under my bag? I'm looking at it and thinking "necklace". Of course nothing's decided yet ... I have to put my knitting down first.

By the way - I'm officially a Knit Nerd! Check out my interview this week on Of Yarny Notions Thanks for having me Vicki :)