A bag for a friend...
I haven't really posted much since we went to the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Show. Interesting trip really. I found some amazingly lovely things such as some lovely printed linens from Duckcloth and also some Zpaghetti. Both of these fit my criteria for projects I wanted to get on with, interesting new materials and things we don't get down here in Tassie. I was a bit disappointed with the rest of it mind - there didn't seem to be as much in the way of really nice wool and also the quilts themselves for the most part just didn't really grab me. Perhaps I am a bit more aware of what's out there than I was the last time I went...
Anyway on to the Zpaghetti. This is "yarn" made from the off-cuts of the garment industry. Think t-shirt fabric in a gorgeous array of colours, some with patterns and some plain. They are fabulous. My only concern was needing to get a 0.8kg "ball" of the stuff home on the plane (measures about 21cm high and maybe 18cm around, though I am totally guessing those dimensions from memory so they probably bear no relation to the actual...). I ended up buying a kit for a bag which came with a ball of the yarn, a handle, a closure toggle and a pattern. And this was the result:
All up this thing was sooo quick - with a 12 mm crochet hook it was done in a couple of hours (and that included me faffing about getting used to it and making up etc.). My only complaint would be that the kit came with a hook which was wooden (which I normally prefer) but which seemed to make it harder to work than the plastic one I happened to have from Spotlight. That might be a personal thing though - I tend to err on the side of slippery as possible for crochet hooks but more grippy for knitting needles.
I modified the pattern ever so slightly to include a pocket inside for a phone (just by double crocheting - in UK terms - a square the size I thought it should be a long with a bit of a seam allowance).
I haven't really posted much since we went to the Melbourne Quilt and Craft Show. Interesting trip really. I found some amazingly lovely things such as some lovely printed linens from Duckcloth and also some Zpaghetti. Both of these fit my criteria for projects I wanted to get on with, interesting new materials and things we don't get down here in Tassie. I was a bit disappointed with the rest of it mind - there didn't seem to be as much in the way of really nice wool and also the quilts themselves for the most part just didn't really grab me. Perhaps I am a bit more aware of what's out there than I was the last time I went...
Anyway on to the Zpaghetti. This is "yarn" made from the off-cuts of the garment industry. Think t-shirt fabric in a gorgeous array of colours, some with patterns and some plain. They are fabulous. My only concern was needing to get a 0.8kg "ball" of the stuff home on the plane (measures about 21cm high and maybe 18cm around, though I am totally guessing those dimensions from memory so they probably bear no relation to the actual...). I ended up buying a kit for a bag which came with a ball of the yarn, a handle, a closure toggle and a pattern. And this was the result:
I was pretty pleased with it. Is it lovely to handle - kind of rigid but soft to the touch at the same time. A detailed shot of the toggle closure:
All up this thing was sooo quick - with a 12 mm crochet hook it was done in a couple of hours (and that included me faffing about getting used to it and making up etc.). My only complaint would be that the kit came with a hook which was wooden (which I normally prefer) but which seemed to make it harder to work than the plastic one I happened to have from Spotlight. That might be a personal thing though - I tend to err on the side of slippery as possible for crochet hooks but more grippy for knitting needles.
I modified the pattern ever so slightly to include a pocket inside for a phone (just by double crocheting - in UK terms - a square the size I thought it should be a long with a bit of a seam allowance).
And above is a truly terrible shot of that pocket. I added that because I haven't found a bag which didn't need a pocket. I don't have a phone cover and don't really want my keys and phone screen in close contact. Otherwise the pattern was cute, easy to work and well explained.
So a nice project finished and winging its way off to my friend in the UK. The colour is kind of in here at the moment so am hoping it's the same in the UK. I hope she likes it, we don't have completely the same taste and I worry that this won't be one of the cross over things and she might hate it. Always even more of a worry when I get my act together and make something and especially so when it cost more than the raw materials to send the damn thing!
I am definitely going to order more Zpaghetti soon (when I have finished off enough stuff to not feel indecent doing so) - I saw a lovely pattern on Etsy for a dinosaur shaped bathmat made out of t-shirt yarn / upcycled old sheets or similar which might have to be next for the young man...It also makes great placemat and coasters with the added benefit of being washable (a must in my house).
Now we just need someone down here in Tassie to start stocking it so I don't have to pay postage!
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