My Boyfriend is such a winner, he even bought me a knitting pattern book. Since when do they sell such things at King Soopers? Could it be he actually want to a bookstore too? Such a keeper...
I get a fair bit of feedback from customers, lookers, and most importantly friends and family who have gotten my bags as gifts. My parents keep asking for a bag with a flat bottom for keeping lunch containers upright and stacking groceries. I'd been considering the problem, and then I received the solution, two pairs of pants which are much wider and shorter then average.
After cutting off the legs I measure the bottom. I'm going to be cutting open the legs so I multiply by two and then cut the legs again at that length. Ex. these pants are 9in. across the bottom so I cut at about 17in.
Set aside the bottoms and take the top strips, you see why this is a good project for stout pants? Dividing the legs in two would make two very short wide totes, not so useful.
These strips needn't be perfect rectangles, but lot's of twist and turns will make a blobby bag.
Take one of your large square leg pieces and decorate as you please.
After appliquing your little heart out, grab the long strip. Fold over one edge and hem. Line up the top edge with an edge of the bag and start sewing. Be sure to backstitch of zig-zag to secure the top, as that part gets lots of stress.
When you get to the corner just bend your strip to make a rounded curve, and continue on the next edge. When
Prepare the other square by sewing on pockets. Yes, I suppose you could make a bag without pockets, but why? I like to make two pockets, one slightly smaller then the other. Then sew the inner pocket on first so that the outer pocket covers the stitches.
Sew the strip onto this square in the same manner as the first, starting with the hemmed edge. Check as you go to make sure the corners of the faces are in about the same spot on the strip. That is, make sure the two big pieces line up. When you get to the end you should have a little hang over, cut it to size and hem it up.
Now just add handles! Sometimes there is enough extra pant to make handles from the denim, but I only had enough from these pants for a button strap to go across the top. These handles are seatbelt webbing, the pick-n-pull auto parts is a good cheap source for seatbelts. Pro-tip : Don't use your good sewing scissors on these, tin snips or heavy duty garden shears are a much better choice!
Yep, just as lovely dry and rolled up. A good knit too! It's chunkier then I thought, it knits somewhat tight on size 8 needles, and appearantly stripes perfectly at 24 stitches...(I hate when it does that!) I think I will keep the sample on the needles and add the sample from my next batch, sooner or later it'll be big enough to make something.
Since my sewing machine's been out at the shop since my return from Japan I've been itching for craft time. So this weekend I spun up the last of my goergous merino roving and put the dye pot on to boil. With Valentine's coming up I figured I'd join the senseless commercial crush and hit the pink and red while I can.
It also prevented the forming of small pink pools on the floor while hung up to dry. Now if I can get Jet to stop whining about the vinegar smell... OK, it smells a little.
Now, many dye instructions say to stir the fiber freely, but I'm lazy. No, actually I like the effect achieved by letting the dye settle. (Alright, I'm lazy too)
The Gate is also larger then most, considered suitably large to match the Great Founders Hall.
It was also undergoing renovations, both temples are preparing for the 750th anniversary of the birth of Shinrin in 2011. 
Luck would have we arrived on a day with a flea market in full swing. People had pulled up cars and set up tents, some had vintage (post-war) everyday stuff, newer used clothes, vintage kimonos, antiques, and somewhat historical debris (sword pommels and statues). 
I picked up an awesome vintage Kimono and Obi for only 25$. There's a slight bias against wearing used kimono, especially for special occasions. Many used kimono shops are offering bargains of only a few hundred dollars for a set, but nothing was quite this good a deal.
I had this idea while wandering around Japan. (No, I have no idea why I was thinking about bottle caps or buttons, but here we are.) And since returning home my sewing machine's been on the fritz. I spent two days cutting and pinning, and most of today spinning, but there's only so many things to entertain me with my Bernina around.
If you'ld like you can take your twist-off cap and gently hammer at the edges to pound out the sharp ones. Or just use a slightly thick fabric and you'll have no troubles.
Now for the next one. You don't want to start out with a totally mangled cap, so look for one that came off easy the first try. Start by going around the edge with pliers and gently folding it in. use a hammer for assist and to keep it round. If you want a really round perfect button go nice and slow coaxing it into shape. Finally squeeze the edges flat with a strong hand on the pliers.
Using a small nail or a b.a. large needle like I have, and a scrap wood block if you don't want to have holes in your table, punch two holes. Always punch with the top up to avoid sharp shards poking upwards. The holes shouldn't be much larger then your wire.
Cut a piece of wire about three inches long and bend it like an L (one side longer). Eyeball the distance between your holes and make another bend on the short side. Slide the two ends (pointing the same direction) into the holes and bend them down across the center. Bend the long one straight up in the center and wrap the short end around it. make a small loop, then follow for a second loop, right up close to the bottle cap. Clip the end and a neaten it up. Like sewing it's better to have extra wire then too little.
Then sew up your circle and finish it just like the last one. Your wire loop should be just peering over the top of the fabric. I also cut a slightly smaller piece of ugly puffy scrap to give it a nice round shape.
Now, we in America love our New Years Eve. The staying up all night, the champagne, the fireworks. But in Japan this is a two week plus affair. The first through third is day to go to the shrine. Though, some people stayed up til midnight at the shrine to eat soba at midnight and hear them ring the bell.
We however went to the shrine on the 2nd, it's appearently less crowded then the first. We still stood in a line around the block, and the police were leading us up the stairs to the shrine. This is the most importent time to visit the shrine and ask for luck in the coming year, so not many miss out on it.
Up top was a particularily fancy New Year's charm (for lack of a better word). For about a week people have been buying these decorative pieces made of twisted straw, pine branches, oranges and other assorted plant materials and decorative paper. They hang them on the doors and gates of homes and bussinesses, and on the 14th bring them to the shrine and make a donation. Then they make a bonfire out of the whole pile. I love religions that involve making noise and burning stuff.
After coming down from the shrine we wade through a street of vendors selling traditional yummies. It is almost required that people buy a box of sweet mochi treats. Mochi is considered lucky to eat for new years, so it is featured in every meal for about a week. Unfortuneately they were not making mochi at that shrine, but it is quite an immpressive show.
