Random #2: Short Needles are Awesome!

Hiya, everyone~  Thank you so much for all the help on the issue I was having on my blog. Extra big thanks to people who also emailed me screenshots!  It was strange that I wasn't seeing the "no entry" symbols on my version of Chrome.  I played around with the code some and found that there was a renegade apostrophe in the code for the sidebar images.  I'm not exactly sure what the issue was for the banner image, but I moved the location of the image source and somehow, that fixed it.  I guess Blogger doesn't like Google's own picture hosting(???). Everything should now show in Windows/Android-based Chrome, IE, and Firefox!  I haven't got any iProducts to test Safari, nor a way to test the Linux versions so hopefully they were fixed as well. :D

image found through Google search

First up, the winner of The Needle and I Seasonal Hearts pattern!  There were three entrants this time for the cute little primitive hearts and the random number generator chose number three -- Clare at Aimetu's Stitching, yay, congrats!  I will need your address, please, and then off it shall go~

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tomatoes!

Now for the crafty bits ~ I've finished that pain in the tuchus of a knit!  It's not a large bag but it's remarkably stretchy.  To finish it, I have discovered the wonderful world of tiny circular knitting needles, the kind that have very short tips and cables.  I LOVE THEM.  [please insert your favorite heart emoji here x20] I finished up the top of the bag using a pair I found in a thrift store and even in that short of time, the ladders decreased significantly.  I am currently on the search for an interchangeable metal set in all sizes, including those larger than a US 5.  I can find several bamboo kinds but I don't much get along with wooden needles with how tightly I knit.  Plastic is a little better, but not by much.

such a heavy load

As marvelous as the shorter needles were, they didn't help the binding off -- I should have used a stretchy bind off instead of a "normal" one.  It's still a great and functional bag (maybe a bit cosmetically challenged) that weighs a whopping 0.4oz (~11 grams).  It now lives with the rest of the shopping bags, ready to do its duty.  I think it will be especially helpful when the local Farmer's Market gets back in swing.  This knit also managed to finish off a ball of vintage cotton thread which is a nice bonus as it clears up space for new stash.

Technical Details

• "Weightless Produce Bag 2.0" freebie pattern by Julie Tarsha can be found here (ravelry).
• My ravelry project page found here.
• Yarn: vintage Knit-Cro-Sheen crochet thread - size 10 in white.
• Needles: best with 10½ (6.5mm) short tips and 16" cable (9" or 12" probably would've been better).
• Started December 6, 2018, finished February 10, 2019; unknown hours.

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cozy comfort

My next project (also using the tiny circulars YAY) is a cover for the hot water bottle.  This is just a plain knit utilizing one of my absolute favorite colorways.  I seriously love the colors of this yarn even if it's "just a cheap acrylic"!  I'm not sure acrylic is the best choice for a cover though, or maybe it's actually perfect because it will never need blocking if it gets wet.  Did I mention I love the colors (it's Banana Berry, if you're curious about the color name)~~~

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gotta love the vintage

Lastly, I said I would try to inventory my craft books this year -- Project Successful!  I even went wild and logged all of my needles, hooks, sewing patterns, and magazines.  Whew.  They got their own spreadsheet instead of tacking them onto the owned media!  There is an option to log the needles and hooks in ravelry, but I do not find that easy to deal with while on mobile devices.  Plus, I think I'm more apt to keep the spreadsheets updated.  You know, since I seem obsessed with them.  :)  Since I was conveniently flipping through them, I also made note of "patterns of interest" in the magazines.  This will hopefully help with the "Where was that thing I liked 10 years ago?" problem haha.

I do actually have some stitching going on but it's a bit of a secret so it can't be shown here yet. 

That's all for this ramble so I'll see y'all next time with March's Gifted Gorgeousness post.  I hope that by the time GG comes around, Spring Will Have Sprung (meteorological spring started today, that means it must sprung, must).  Right now, we're set to get more snow and temperatures are going to plummet this weekend.  At least when I checked the mail earlier this week, I saw proof it's not delayed forever -- my daffodils have poked through the ground.  :DDD  Have a wonderful day~