Brilliant Bags from The World Knits Collection

Available on my website here

and on Ravelry here

Number 9 of The World Knits Collection - Brilliant Bags

This is the beginning entry into Year 3 in the World Knits Collection. Brilliant Bags is a collection of 6 different Fair Isle bags - mostly all knit in the round. I thought it would be fun to have knitted bags for carrying knitting needles and more. 

Let's begin with the classic drawstring shape. My inspiration for this project was the Moroccan Fedora pattern. I stumbled upon the Pillbox shape cap (similar to a Moroccan Fez) and loved how it knit up quickly without much of a chance to get bored. What if I turned it upside down and added an eyelet round to make the hat shape turn into a drawstring bag? So that's what I did. There are 3 sizes of the round drawstring bag with the smallest version perfect for toting circular needles. The largest bag is a backpack and you can see it at the center of the photo. Two versions of the middle size bag are shown on the red chair on the left. 

Here's a drawstring bag I made several years ago for my circular needles. It is the smallest round bag called a Circular Needle Bag.  I drew a Fair Isle Chart for the main part of the bag and knit it in red and purple. 

You can see more photos of this bag at the end of this post. 

Continuing with the knitting needle carry bag, I worked up a long thin bag perfect for straight needles. You can see that bag on the right chair. Notice the pearl buttons and the fringe that the knitter added for fun. 

Years ago, my sister Jenn gave me a handmade cotton bag that was the perfect size for the small amount of cosmetics I use every day. It's hard to believe but I still use that bag -- every day! It has been packed in my carry on bag for my entire adult life. It hangs on a hook in the kitchen holding a mirror, some eyeshadow and mascara. I pull it off the hook and use it every day. Every time it shows up at my mom's house, she and my sisters cannot believe that I still use it. "Don't you think you should throw that thing away?" they say. I have become very attached to its threadbare qualities. Once in a while it gets mended and I have no intention of giving it up. Here it is in all its tattered glory. 

This perfect sized bag was the inspiration for the square bag with the pointed flap shown in 2 versions on the right and left chairs. It too would work for carrying circular needles. 

Lastly, I designed a small pouch that can also be worn as a necklace. In it, you can keep $, coins, a credit card, or a cellphone. Granted - this pattern was designed before everyone had their own cellphone. A perfect thing to be worn at a needlework convention, wouldn't you say? 

Here are some close-ups and descriptions of my Circular Needle Bag. Here is a close-up of the duplicate stitch and French knot embroidery that I added to the red and purple Fair Isle Pattern. 

This is the cast on edge of the bag featuring bobbles and an eyelet round for the drawstrings.

This is the bottom of the bag. I added some embroidery here too. 

The Brilliant Bags PDF Download is now available 

on my website here

and on Ravelry here

Brimfield - May 2018 - Things I Saw and Liked

A couple weeks ago, I took my friend Kay to the Brimfield Flea Market. Actually Kay drove. It was the first show of the season and we had a great day - walking through the aisles, talking to vendors I have purchased from over the years and looking at all the people. I saw lots and lots of lovely and not so lovely things. There really is nothing else like the Brimfield Flea Market. It is a circus and if it is a good day weatherwise - no rain and not too hot which is was the day we went - it makes for a stimulating - if exhausting - day out. 

If you plan to go, I suggest getting there very early to get a decent parking spot and to miss the crowds. We arrived just after 8 a.m. at the J&J Field. Perfect timing as the line was gone but it was still early and there was plenty of STUFF left. We headed home after two and by the time we were leaving, it was a virtual madhouse with so many people and carts and dogs and craziness. 

A special part of my visit was the stop at a favorite textile dealer's booth. I have purchased many of my cherished World Textiles from a woman named Linda. This visit, I brought her a gift of a copy of my new book Crafting A Patterned Home. I wanted to show her how I have used the many World Textiles I purchased from her as decor in my home. She was thrilled to see her textiles in use and to see many of them in the photos in the book. 

Here are some photos of things I found inspiring at Brimfield this May. 

Gorgeous Ikat Textile $350

The back of that textile above

Beautiful colorful tin tray $350

Loved this wacky box

Antique carnival knock down dolls

More carnival knock down dolls - this time cats

Still more - this was a trend

Loved how a vendor covered her metal tent with gorgeous patchwork fabric

Lamb livers anyone? 

This pug has her own Instagram page!

Embroidered throw - I wanted this! Incredible

More embroidered fabrics and clothing

Majolica cat pitcher

Gorgeous ethnic clothing

More embroidery. Love. 

Back Home in A Town of Immigrants

Right now, Julia and I are “stuck” in New Jersey. We came down for a quick visit to stay with my Mom before Julia has to start her second semester of college. Today, there is a snowstorm going on and we are staying for another day. We are trapped in my Mom’s lovely house for the day. It is nice to be here without any holiday hullaboo or reason to travel and leave. 

Yesterday we acted like tourists in my home town. It has been over 30 years since I have lived here in New Jersey. My hometown Dover is a town about 35 miles west of NYC. My Dad’s family were immigrants here in the early 20th century. His Mom Frieda came from Germany in 1911 when she was 10. His Dad Archie was the 9th child of immigrants from England. I spent the first 18 years of my life here and my Mom is still here as is my sister Jenn.

Dover has always been a town of immigrants. When I was young, my Mom would always interview us about our friends and want to know their last name. From a last name, she could surmise an ethnic background. This is just the way it was. I never thought that question was odd. My friends and I frequently talked about our heritages - and they were diverse - Italian, Irish, German, Scottish, English, Jewish, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian, Norwegian - on and on. That was just what we did. We were all proud of our individual ethnic backgrounds and frequently shared the customs with each other. 

As I drove into town the other evening, I stopped at ShopRite to pick up a few things. It is a bit of culture shock coming into Dover from rural western Massachusetts. Dover has always been a welcoming town for immigrants. When I was young, throngs of families moved into town from South America and Puerto Rico. As they moved in, many of the more established immigrant populations — the people I grew up with and went to school with — moved out of town to the suburbs of Dover. They did not want to be in a town that began to be more and more Hispanic. Property values went down. My family stayed and they are still here. ShopRite was filled with families of all different nationalities. The shelves are lined with items I don't see on the shelves of Foster's Market in western Mass. Dover is now a Hispanic majority town with 70% of its residents of Hispanic heritage.

As I drove down the Main Street of Dover the other evening to my childhood home, I could not believe how busy the town was. Every building is occupied with a business of some kind - restaurants, small stores, insurance agencies, banks, doctors, lawyers. There are no empty buildings. The Christmas decorations were still up and the town looked alive. Coming from western Massachusetts where our local towns struggle to keep the young people employed and businesses move in and out at an alarming rate, it made me think. By welcoming immigrants, Dover has remained alive and thriving. Don’t get me wrong - for many years, it was a bit of a ghost town. Strip malls were built outside the town and businesses left.  But Dover has had a reawakening - most likely one of many over its 300 plus year history. It might not be the town I grew up in but it is still here - reimagined and lively and full of community. 

Yesterday we decided to explore a little. Julia, Mom and I went downtown and walked around looking for a place to eat lunch. With so many restaurants to choose from, we chose El Paraiso. The menu was in Spanish, the tv was playing a Spanish "judge judy" type show and the waitress helped us choose a meal called enchiladas. The food was delicious -- but nothing like what I think of as an enchilada. Today as I am writing this post, I discovered the restaurant was Honduran. 

After lunch, we went to The Joe Kubert School of Cartooning and Graphic Arts which is housed in the old Dover High School (later Middle School) building that my sisters and I attended. Joe Kubert was a neighbor of ours. My sisters and I went to school with his children. "Mr. Kubert" was a world famous cartoon artist. In the 70's, he and his wife Muriel started the school. The school began in an old "mansion" and they later purchased the school building and moved it there. There is a fantastic art supply store in the basement with good prices. It was great to see the old school still serving as a center of learning with students coming from all over the world to learn cartooning. The Kubert family still runs the school and his boys Andy and Adam are successful artists and teachers. The school also offers a correspondence course in cartooning and many of their students have become famous in their own right. 

Late in the afternoon, we travelled down to East Hanover. Kam Man Market was the third stop in our cultural discoveries for the day. We had a blast wandering the aisles of the store, looking at the labels, trying to figure out what the different things were. I purchased some noodles, soy sauce and Asian cooking utensils - things that I enjoy cooking but cannot find near where I live. Some photos from the market are at the end of this post. There are other locations of this market in NJ, NYC, and Quincy MA. It is worth a trip. They also have a bakery, noodle shop, and to go food court. 

The storm is over now and we will head back to western Massachusetts tomorrow. It has been fun to discover new things here in Dover and introduce Julia to other cultures that she cannot experience in our rural community. On the next trip, we will explore a little more and learn what more Dover has to offer. 

A Visit to Boscobel + Make Do Collection of Andrew Baseman

Almost twenty years ago, I purchased this pitcher at an antique store. I fell in love with the blue and white color and the incised design. What really caught my eye though was the handle which had been repaired with metal staples painted white to match the ceramic color of the pitcher. 

Every year I have loved using this pitcher for summer flowers.

Fast forward a few years later or so, I read an article in Martha Stewart Living Magazine, where I was introduced to the "Make Do" world of Andrew Baseman. (Gee, I miss the old version of MS Living - do you?) You can see that article from 2001 here. Andrew had collected antiques that were repaired with clever treatments. Wood and metal turned bases that were attached to glass stemware, ceramic pitchers repaired with metal staples, teapots with metal handles and knobs and platters and plates repaired with metal staples. I was intrigued by the clever way that someone had taken the time to repair these pieces so that they could still be used. 

I have been following Andrew's blog Past Imperfect for many years and learned that his collection would be displayed at Boscobel in Garrison, NY. This past August, Julia, Mom and I hopped in the car and visited Bosobel, a historic house built in the late 18th/early 19th century in NY. Boscobel has a fascinating history. The beautiful antique home was actually moved to a site right on the Hudson River in the mid 20th century. You can learn more about Boscobel here. 

Today, I am going to share with you this beautiful home. We had a fantastic tour guide who was funny and smart and let us in on many of the secrets to the home. Throughout the home, Andrew's  Make Do collection was placed on tables, mantles and sideboards. 

I was so happy to get to see this home and collection. In the basement of the home (the former kitchen), there is a second exhibit of more of Andrew Baseman's Make Do collection. I'll share close-ups of many of these soon. 

If you live close to Boscobel or are looking for an adventure, I highly suggest a visit to both the house and the exhibit. It is on until October 1. On September 22, Andrew will be doing a special presentation. More info here.

The view from the entrance to the house of the Hudson

Entrance hall

Wallpaper detail

Parlor

Parlor fireplace detail

Dining Room

Make Dos in the pantry

Upstairs the bedrooms are a little less opulent but just as beautiful. There were many Make Dos scattered throughout.

This candlewicking bedspread was incredible.

Upstairs there was also a gorgeous library with a table loaded with pottery Make Dos.

I'll share more of the exhibit of Make Dos soon.