Pattern: Amy Scarf, by me, download it now!
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Rialto, color Eggplant, 6 skeins
Needles: Addi Turbos, US 6 (4.0mm)

The scarf was designed for and named after my Maid of Honor, a dear friend of…oh gosh…16 years? Something like that. Forever! She still lives in Wisconsin where we grew up, and a big warm scarf like this is very, very useful.

I wanted the pattern to be graceful, but regal. I spent a lot of time staring at stitch patterns before settling on a traditional Saxon braid for the center panel. I can’t remember exactly where I got it from, but it’s either adapted from Knitting on the Edge or the giant 1970s needlecraft book I stole borrowed indefinitely from my mother. The side panels are from Cables Untangled.

That was back in May. Fast forward six months. I finish the scarf, give it away, and promptly lose the pattern notes.

The good news was that six months of scarf knitting had burned the 32-row repeat into my brain. That was easily reconstructed. A little scribbling, calculating, and swatching generated the rest (slightly improved, too).

The pattern is free to download and knit, but I hope that if you like it, you’ll hit the donate button and send me whatever you think the pattern is worth. As always, if you have questions or find an error, just shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment on the blog and I’ll do my best to help you out.

Happy knitting!

Fabric: Two fat quarters
Pattern: Japanese Knot Bag

Success! The finished bag is about 5″ in diameter and 7″ high, excluding the handles. It’s the perfect size for two cakes of Cascade 220.

I chose a couple of basic cotton prints that I like, but didn’t love. This was so I wouldn’t cry if I royally screwed it up.

Cutting and pinning went smoothly.

And then I successfully wound a bobbin in not-quite-matching thread.

As I started sewing for real, two things happened:

1. I got so absorbed in it that I forgot to take more progress photos
2. It seemed…easier…than I remembered

At some point I realized that this was my first time sewing on a machine with modern accoutrements. Quite possibly my first time sewing on a machine not older than me, actually. I don’t know if things like quick-set bobbins and speed control really make that much of a difference in the ease of sewing or if I’m just Older and Wiser, but straight seams came with very little effort. Unlike my previous sewing projects, which all are covered with meandering top-stitching.

I did hit a few snags due to seams that didn’t line up properly, but I made the seam ripper my friend and it all came out ok. It won’t win any construction awards, but it’s presentable on both sides!

I used to sew back in 7th and 8th grade, if “finished all assigned projects in home ec and nothing more” counts as “used to sew”. I made a tote and a duffel with moderately-straight seams and great pride. I used the duffel as a gym bag until the zipper broke a few months ago and still use the tote as a knitting bag. There was also a sweatshirt that disappeared into the sands of time.

I didn’t feel the urge to sit at the sewing machine again for years, until I wanted linings for the Eggplant Bag and Quinn times two. And until Grumperina started showing off her sewing projects. And then I subscribed to the Purl Bee and it was all over. Unless I learned how to sew, really sew, my life would not be complete.

Last Christmas (that would be 2007), I got a copy of Last-Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts and this:

And then both sat idle except for a few longing glances as I planned a wedding, proposed a dissertation, and moved my butt across the country.

When my birthday rolled around a couple weeks ago, my husband asked me what I wanted. Sewing tools! Fabric stash! A rotary cutter, mat, rulers, and assorted other items are winging their way here from Joann.com and Fabric.com, but in the meantime I picked up enough fat quarters to start a stash:

I’m kind of mesmerized by all the pretty colors, almost to the point where I don’t want to use it up.

But I am determined. Today I will sit down and sew the Japanese Knot Bag. Photos of the results (hopefully) tomorrow!