Review: Miles Kimball Knitting Tote Bag

One day in mid September, one of my dear friends posted a link to a fabulous looking knitting bag on my Facebook page. I wasn't looking for yet another bag of any sort to buy, but this knitting bag looked very interesting so I had to check out the link. From the blog site I went to the Amazon store and lo and behold; it was ON SALE for an INSANE savings! I was SOLD, so I ordered it.

I. Love. This. Bag. I was fortunate enough to catch this tote on sale, but it is well worth the regular price! I love that it allows for yarn storage; has the holes on top for keeping working yarn in one place; and has even more space in the back of the tote. The pockets are perfect for storing needles, books, and patterns. I like that one side zips. I keep patterns that are not bound in the zippered pocket. It keeps it away from the elements (weather) when traveling. I can fit multiple projects in the back section and it makes traveling with my knitting a piece of cake! I highly recommend this bag for any knitter/crocheter.

These pictures I took don't do it any justice. Granted, it's not a fancy bag, but it is so very practical and handy! It can hold 6 WIPs in the front clear pockets. There are holes at the top that allow for the working yarn to come though the top of the bag. This is nice if you don't travel with your projects. l like to take it with me and this bag accommodates me well!

Front view: clear pockets can hold 6 skeins of yearn with holes on top for WIPs. Each pocket zips.

Side pocket with zipper. Nice for storing needles and patterns.

Side pocket that doesn't zip. Nice for needle storage. I also have my stitch notebook tucked in here.

View of the top.

Back section that zips. Holds more yarn, notions, pattern books, etc.

My crafty collage to put it all together.

The Traveling Scarf: NC State Fan

Not long after I got home from the hospital another scarf arrived! The owner of this scarf is a big NC State fan. Apparently, their colors are red and white like a candy cane. I am not a big college sports fan so I am in the dark. I'm also still recovering from my C-section so I am not in a position to run out and buy red yarn. I have red yarn at home (I'm recovering at my parents' house so I have help with my son while I get settled with the baby), but I'm not sure my husband would be too keen on digging through my stash to bring it over here. I have burgundy yarn on hand so that is what I've used.

I wasn't sure I'd get it done, but I was able to turn it around pretty quickly. I didn't get a before picture of this one. The pattern of choice for this one was soda pop scarf. It's a fun stitch pattern. I think I could've used needles that were maybe one size larger for a squishier effect, but this is still okay.

My section is pretty dark compared to the rest, but I see I'm not the only one with a dark yarn. The last "red" person also used a burgundy color. I hope the end result is satisfactory.

At Last; Another Scarf!

After waiting for over a month to receive another scarf, the next installment of The Traveling Scarf project finally arrived. The color scheme for this one consists of grey, army green, brown, black, purple, burgundy, or turquoise. I have a lovely burgundy yarn that I would like to have used, however, the section I was adding to was a shade of burgundy already, so I opted for grey.  I really wanted to use my Caron United and since burgundy was out, grey was in!

The pattern instructions were very flexible. We could use any pattern we chose, so I found a stitch pattern I liked called Chain of Hearts. I found it on Pinterest, which is where I've been finding most of my scarf stitch patterns. It's a simple lace rib pattern, but I'm not so sure it looks like hearts. The site where I got the pattern used a much lighter weight yarn than the worsted weight I used. Perhaps it is meant for lighter weight yarns, but I still like the look of it. I guess I can sort of see the hearts in the pattern the more I look at it.

While I had hoped to get this scarf mailed before I went to the hospital, I didn't make it to the post office. Fortunately, I did get it finished before I went to the hospital; which was more important. I needed to get a bigger envelope. The scarves have outgrown the envelope size I've been using up until now.
These scarves are getting so long they don't really fit on my coffee table anymore, either! I have just thrree more scarves to finish and then I will receive my own scarf back. I can't wait to see it!

She's Here!

Our much anticipated arrival date arrived! Our baby girl was born on August 31, and this little munchkin is the smallest baby I've ever seen in person! Her birth weight was a mere 5 lbs. 15 oz. and she was 17 inches long. While we were at the hospital, she lost weight and dropped to 5 lbs. 6 oz. so we are now watching to make sure she maintains and gains. My point here is that she is definitely swimming in her dress, but it still looks good on her! She'll be able to wear it awhile so when it starts getting colder she will have a warm dress she can wear.

All We Need is the Baby

I finally got Baby Girl's dress blocked! I figured it might be a good idea to do it now since I'm scheduled for a C-section in exactly one week! The sleeves don't curl so much now. This pattern has no gauge written for it, so size may not be accurate. It's written as newborn, but we'll see. If she's a small baby, she'll be swimming in it. Regardless of how it fits, I plan to have her wear it anyway. If it's big she will just grow into it and wear it longer. I can't wait!

Knitting at the Crack of Dawn

I've been having trouble sleeping lately, which has resulted in my waking up at 5:00 a.m. or earlier. The other day I took advantage of this time to work on the baby's dress. I've finished one sleeve and just have to finish the other sleeve, sew the Picot edges, and weave in the ends; oh, and of course blocking. The pattern calls for crocheting the sleeves, but since I don't crochet, I have modified the sleeves to match the Picot edge of the skirt.

Here (left) is a closeup of just the bodice and the sleeve that is completed. I think it will work nicely with the Picot edge instead of the crochet. Maybe one day I will master crochet, too; but that day is not today. There are too many knitting projects I want to do! I can't have a distraction like crochet to deter me from knitting all the things!
Below is the entire dress so far. I'm happy with how it is coming along.

The Traveling Scarf: Trial and Error

Well, it took me several trials (I think I started this section over at least 10 times!), but I finally finished this edition of the Traveling Scarf. The criteria were pretty basic: bold colors and lots of texture! No pastels! I chose Plymouth Yarns Encore Colorspun Color #7121. It is greens and purples. The creator of this scarf said she loves bees so I chose the bee stitch!

Try as I might, I was noticing that my pattern was looking nothing like the tutorials I was referencing. I started over so many times and mine was just looking like a weird version of stockinette stitch. There was no texture whatsoever. Each time I started over, I watched the videos over and over and still couldn't figure it out.

Then, finally, I had an epiphany! After ripping it out and starting over for about the tenth time and worrying I wasn't going to get it out in the mail when I wanted to so it wouldn't be late; I realized I had been reading the pattern wrong the entire time! I was adding an extra knit stitch at the beginning of Row 4. Once I figured this out and actually did the pattern correctly, things just fell into place. Funny how that works out!

A Homecoming Dress

In the midst of all the scarves, I have started another project. I got busy on the dress for our daughter. I figure if I start early it will be finished by September. The pattern had me a little confused at first. It doesn't specify which is the right side (RS) or wrong side (WS). The way it is written would have had it switching back and forth. I think there are some errors in the row numbers, however, the errata link no longer works. So, I decided which is RS and WS and worked it accordingly and based on the instructions, I adjusted row numbers for some of the changes because I think they are just miscalculated. This is what I ended up with for the top half of the dress (the bodice). Now I just have to pick up the stitches and start the skirt. I have another scarf to finish in the meantime. I do think the yarn I got looks very nice!

Bodice (front)

Bodice (back)

The Traveling Scarf: How Does Your Garden Grow?

The "How Does Your Garden Grow" scarf is the next scarf in the chain. I love this theme! Of course I looked for a flower knit stitch. I wanted to be different, so I also looked for a butterfly stitch. My original thought was to alternate flowers and butterflies, knitting pink flowers and purple butterflies. As it turned out, however, the butterfly stitch pattern required too many stitches and wouldn't work with the scarf width or the flower pattern. I started knitting the Flowers in a Row stitch that I found doing a Google search for "flower knit stitch patterns."

The yarn I chose to use is Plymouth Encore Colorspun worsted color #7733. It is pink with grey spun into it.  The first row of flowers looked great! It looks like little daisies in a row. So, I continued the pattern...

However, to my dismay, the subsequent rows didn't come out as flowery. They look a bit blobby. I love this yarn, though, so I don't really want to rip it all out. I think it is the texture of the grey yarn intertwined with the pink making the flowers look sloppy in the pink yarn. The purple yarn, which is also Plymouth Encore Colorspun, is a little bit softer than the pink/grey yarn. I've decided to add on three more rows of flowers in the purple and see if that helps the look of the pink flowers. One row of purple flowers already improved the look  of the pink flowers. There is hope!

I also noticed that the purple yarn is striping on its own. This is a nice look for the "flowers in a row" stitch. I decided to keep going and see how it turns out. If I go ahead and make it half pink and half purple, I think it will look alright and I will have the best of both worlds in this scarf!

Here is how it turned out with three rows each of pink and purple. I didn't get a very good picture, but it is late at night and I am finally feeling sleepy. These scarves have been great for my insomnia!
My section is a little bit longer than the 6" length preferred for these scarves, but I am okay with that. I love both of these yarn colors and really wanted to use both for this theme. It's only an inch too long. Overall, I am happy with the end result and it looks good with the rest of the scarf!

Featured Project!

Yesterday when I got home from work, I logged on to Facebook and saw that Craftsy featured my Fisherman's Sweater on their Facebook page! How flattered I am to have my work showcased like this! What's very cool to me is that I ordered the kit one year ago today! I intended it to be sort of a birthday/Father's Day/Christmas gift all rolled into one since I knew it would take quite a bit of time to complete. It was done in time for Valentine's Day, and I can live with that, given the curve balls we were thrown last fall. I am grateful to Craftsy!

The Traveling Scarf: Double Duty

Today the mail came very late (after 4:00!) and it was a little like Christmas! I received not one, but two traveling scarves! I think both a pretty. One has a flower garden theme and the other has a textured theme. I'm already looking for flowery knit stitch patterns!

World Wide Knit in Public Day

Today is World Wide Knit in Public Day. I don't know much about it, other than it became a thing in 2005. On this day, knitters around the world unite and knit in public. I did my part by visiting a LYS I hadn't been to before. How I missed that this shop existed, is beyond me. I can only figure it opened while we were living in central Ohio. It is called RaeMarie Yarns and it is in Vermilion, OH. It's a quaint little shop with a decent yarn selection. What is really cool is that the ladies I learned to knit from both work at this new shop! It was nice to see them again and they remembered me! (I took classes at their shop 15 years ago or so!)


So, I got up early on a Saturday, packed up my son and dropped him off at my parents' house for a few hours so I could knit in solitude in public! Of course I did a little shopping beforehand. I need baby yarn for a dress I want to make to bring our daughter home from the hospital in. I wasn't even sure what exactly I was looking for, but I was leaning toward either light purple (lilac or lavender color) or peach. I saw both colors in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino and was torn. Then it was suggested I try using a sock yarn because it is more washable and dryable (I tend hand wash everything I make anyway, but if it's sturdier, that is good, too). The other plus was that this yarn was a little less expensive and a lot of yardage came in one skein. So, I went with Cascade Yarns Heritage Multis. As you might guess, it's multicolored and includes both light purple shades and some peachy pink colors as well as some lovely shades of green! One of the ladies was working on a pair of socks in this yarn and it looked very pretty. I'm optimistic!

Yarn wasn't all I decided to purchase while I was there. I swear I was like a kid in a candy shop! How I controlled myself is beyond me! Of course I couldn't pass up some notions! You can never have too many needle stoppers (point protectors?). My son lives to take mine and toss them into oblivion, so I bought a 3 pack of those. I also have been wanting locking stitch markers and they had some Knit Picks in purple so I couldn't pass those up either. Finally, it was suggested that I try bent tip tapestry needles. I have never used them. I don't know if I'll love them or hate them, but they weren't expensive so I figured, why not!



So, now for the knitting in public part! I took the scarf I'm currently working on. I told the ladies about the Traveling Scarf project I'm a part of and they were intrigued. I don't think any of them had heard of such a concept before. They thought it was a neat idea! They thought the current scarf was beautiful. I decided to give the Gina Scarf a try. I think it's very pretty! It's not difficult to do, either. I did spend a bit of my time starting it over, though. I missed knitting the first and last stitches on one of the rows and it caused a tangle. So I spent some of my time untangling and unraveling. I managed to get it under control and finished it up tonight! This scarf can be shipped off Monday!

The Traveling Scarf: ANGEL Scarf

  The specifications for the lost scarf were simple: make it blue! So, with these simple instructions, I quickly got to work on the new scarf. I have Caron Simply Soft in Country Blue that I love. In photographs it looks a little purple sometimes, but I assure you, it is blue! This is the yarn I used for the second chemo cap I made over the winter.

Since this is an "Angel" scarf, I decided to try to incorporate that theme into my seed section for this scarf. I did a Google search for "Angel knitting patterns," and "Angel lace knitting patterns." My hope was to find something that resembled angels or, at the very least, wings. Most of the results were angel dolls. One pattern caught my eye. It's called Angel Lace Cardigan. The cardigan itself isn't my style, but I was intrigued by the lace portion. It turns out it is called Trellis Lace. The shape of the lace made me think of angels. Maybe I'm being abstract, but I think it looks like little angels holding hands.

To get this scarf off to its next destination, I needed to shop

for a little notebook like the rest of us have with ours for notes and introductions. I found a pretty floral one to accompany this scarf. In hindsight, I might call this the Phoenix scarf because it's being resurrected from oblivion. However, I didn't think of that sooner so Angel scarf it is! It has been shipped out, Priority Mail! Yes, ever since I learned that filing a claim with the post office is a moot point if the package isn't insured, I am now mailing all the future scarves Priority because it automatically comes with $50 worth of insurance. At least with this provision, should the worst happen again, a file can be claimed.

The Traveling Scarf: Moving Along

In the midst of the post office drama and the lost scarf, I had received the next scarf in line on time. I had started one stitch pattern that wasn't turning out so well so I decided to scrap it and find something different. I opted for this Slip Stitch Lace pattern. This is a fun pattern!

Insomnia has been hitting me hard lately, so I've been doing a lot of knitting in the middle of the night. I think it is due to this, that I actually knitted this pattern incorrectly. I have an extra purl stitch in there in between each repeat. It doesn't look bad and it didn't compromise the appearance of the pattern so I left it as is.

While working on this pattern, I decided to create my own little "stitchionary" book. What's a "stitchionary?" It's quite simple. It's just a book where notes and stitch patterns are kept in one place. Mine is simply a notebook for now, but I am thinking of getting something a little sturdier like a journal to keep them all written in. This way, I won't have to keep doing internet searches to find these patterns again and again. I'll have them written down in my little book.

Here is how my finished section looks with the rest of the scarf. It appears to me that not everyone took heed of the "DK weight" instruction. The section I attached mine to is definitely worsted weight. I can see other fluctuations in yarn weights, so hopefully, the finished project will balance itself out.

The Traveling Scarf: Lost Scarf

After multiple conversations with the post office and dealing with their rudeness, I have reached the sad conclusion that one of the scarves in the chain has been lost. I called at 8:30 Monday morning when it opened like they told me to on Saturday and was told it's highly unlikely the carrier will remember what he/she did with it 10 days ago. Then I was told to file a claim. So, I went online to do that and it said my tracking # isn't eligible for a claim because it's not an insured package. My optimism left me at that point.

After being told I would get a callback, and hearing nothing after more than 2 hours, I went in person and got more runaround. The guy I talked to on the phone copped an attitude so I asked for the postmaster and he didn't get them for me. And the story changed to now the carrier doesn't remember delivering a package. I'd be surprised if he even talked to the right carrier. They have subs all the time in my neighborhood. I hope it still arrives. They told me the sender has to look into it. I told him the sender already had and that they told him that I had to contact my post office...No response to that. The guy was rude and obtuse so I left unhappy.

Once I reported this information to our group, the woman who started this whole traveling scarf chain let me know that in her past experiences, whenever a scarf was lost due to postal error, a new "ANGEL" scarf was created to replace the lost scarf. Of course I am happy to start a new scarf for that person! So, once she lets me know what her original preferences were, I will be starting it right away! I can only hope that the other one turns up and she can maybe graft them together.

The Traveling Scarf: Postal Dramatics

Today I heard from the person who mails the scarves to me and he gave me the tracking number for the lost scarf. Unfortunately, it shows it was delivered to my house on May 21. That was more than a week ago and it is definitely not here. I checked with my husband to be sure, just in case he missed it or put it somewhere and forgot to tell me. He knows the scarves are coming and what the packages generally look like, so it's highly unlikely he overlooked it. Of course, he didn't overlook it. It's not here.

Rather than go into the post office with my 3 year-old in tow, I decided to call instead. I'm glad I did. I called this afternoon and was told to call in the morning when the carriers are still there. They will ask the carrier if they know where they left it. This will be interesting since I am pretty sure we have a different carrier each day. Our mail is never consistent. It has been coming early in the morning lately, but there are days it doesn't arrive until after 4:30 p.m!

In the meantime, I have gotten started on the scarf I did receive. My mom let me have a skein of yarn she won't use. I think it's very pretty. It's Sardir Snuggly Magic. It's DK weight and has green in it. She took knitting classes at the same time I started to learn, but she is more into quilting so she hasn't done much knitting over the years.  She had started what looked like a baby hat with this yarn and I thought the stitch pattern she was following was pretty cool, so I'm trying it. It is pretty simple:


 K1, yo, slip as if to purl, yarn back, repeat.

It creates a different sort of ribbing, but I'm not sure how it's going to work on a straight needle project. She was knitting in the round, so it may have been better suited for that. In any case, I'm going to give it a try and see how it looks and then see if I like it enough to keep it. I posted a picture of each side of the work. It's an interesting pattern.

The Traveling Scarf: MIA

I've been expecting a scarf in the mail. Today, a scarf arrived, however, it is not the scarf I've been waiting for. The ETA of the scarf I'm waiting for was May 21. It is May 28, and the next scarf has arrived. I will work on this scarf while I wait to hear on the status of the other one. This scarf has few rules. She just wants it to be green with DK weight yarn. My son wanted to see what it felt like.

While I wait to see what happened to the other scarf, I can see what yarn I have the meets the criteria. I really hope the other scarf gets here.

The Traveling Scarf: Scarf with a Twist

The latest traveling scarf is a little bit different. Instead of knitting width-wise, this one is started lengthwise. It's a unique approach and a good idea to keep the scarf at a desired length. While most of the scarves are knitted across the width and will be quite long (probably averaging around 5 feet!), this one will be a set length. I like the purple stripe. The specs for this scarf are DK weight yarn in purples or greys. I have some greyish yarn in DK weight I've been using for a camisole top. It's called Cestari and I found it at a little yarn shop called VonStrohm Woolen Mill and Fiber Arts Studio near Circleville, OH. My husband actually discovered it on one of his trips south to visit his family, so the next time I was along and the shop was open, we stopped in to check it out. It's a pretty cool little shop with some different brands. My cami is on hold until I find a

contrast color. I want to get more of the Cestari yarn in a different color. I haven't been back to that shop, but I think I will call them and see if I can order over the phone and have it shipped. But, I digress! The yarn I chose for this scarf is Cestari Island Collection in Sea Spray. It's a blue grey.

While I think this lengthwise approach works well in keeping scarf length under control, I think it's a lot of stitches per row. There are 501 stitches cast on! I was going to do a few rows of seed stitch like the others and then transition to moss stitch, but I was worried I'd use up my skein with so many rows! So, I did about 6 rows of seed stitch. It became rather tedious knitting 500+ stitches per row. So, once my stripe was about an inch wide, I decided to call it quits and pass this one along.

The Traveling Scarf: More Creative Fun!

Scarf #2 arrived and I love the theme! She wants a "hippie" style scarf, but retro hippie from the 60's and 70's; not modern hippie. So, this is how it appeared when I received it in the mail. The seed section is purple chunky yarn done in garter stitch. The second is crocheted star stitch. Some other specifications for this scarf included, "no craft yarn or granny yarn," and "natural fibers."

So, I had to think about what yarns I have that are natural fibers, worsted weight, and will fit into this hippie theme. I remembered I have some skeins of Lamb's Pride which is 85% wool and 15% mohair. It looks nice and it feels nice; not scratchy! Then I decided on a color. I thought orange was fitting. When I think of retro 60's and 70's I think orange, green, red, and yellow. I'm not a fan of yellow, though, (and I don't have yellow in this brand) so orange was perfect! Finally, I had to pick out a pattern. What screams retro in knitting more than anything (at least to me, anyway)? Bobbles, of course!

Now I had to take to Google to get some ideas for retro knits. I did a Google search for just that; "retro knitting patterns," "vintage knitting patterns," "1970's hippie patterns," and "1960's hippie patterns." I found a website, (that of course I can't find now) that had a lot of different stitch patterns. One that caught my eye was blackberry bramble. I decided to give that one a try. Each pattern on this website had a reverse as well (the reverse of blackberry bramble was briarpatch). So, on the right side (RS), you have blackberry bramble and on the wrong side (WS), you have briarpatch. I thought it looked pretty retro and in orange would look fantastic, so that is the pattern I chose.

To my surprise, I enjoyed knitting it and the bobbles don't look as bad as I had feared they would. I have always steered clear of bobbles because I thought a lot of bobble patterns look too "crafty." I guess I go for a more en vogue look for my knitting. I don't like patterns that look homemade, if that makes any sense at all. I want it to look like something you might see at a store. That's just me, though.


I did have to go through some trial and error. When I originally started my section, it was too skinny compared to the rest of the scarf. This is probably because my yarn choice was not as chunky/bulky as the yarn I was picking up and knitting from. It looked a little bit silly...

I ended up ripping it out and starting over...a few times. Finally, I figured out the best solution (besides shopping for chunkier yarn!) which was to increase evenly until it was about as wide as the rest of the scarf. This worked! I also created a small border to prevent curling. It would have looked cool without, the border, but given the shape of the previous sections, it may have still looked too skinny in the end.

I managed to get the edges to match up the the other two sections, but it still looks a little skinnier than the previous sections. I think a lot of that is due to them not being perfectly square. The corner on one side is more rounded and blends into the side on the crocheted piece, from what I can tell. I think it will be okay once the entire scarf is completed. I'm happy with it; and so far, this was my favorite to knit! Bobbles aren't so bad! Best of all, I got it in the mail EARLY!