Purses as Gifts!

Purses as Gifts!

The girls! From left to right, Angie, Myself, Niki and Michelle. Angie and I visited Niki and Michelle. Up here I got to see the purse complety done (I was unable to sew up the seams so I gave it to her to do)

Purses as gifts is one of the greatest ideas around. Today pureses are so...well...they change quicker than the colors of a camalion. We all have our own perferences for purses, and we don't always have that option to purchase that perfect purse...so in my mind...make one. That way you can have excatly what you want for a purse.

A good friend of mine is in LOVE with Fall Out Boy, just adores the music, especially Pete Wenzel, the bassist. So, my best friend Jennifer and I decided to make a purse with Pete on it for her for her b-day. Using inspiration from Debbie Stollers' Pattern "Poster Boy" we were able to complete a very beautiful purse. In order to avoid sevearl problems that were comming up in our orgional purse we recemmend the following for any purse making experience that includes using pics on front!

The Pete Purse!

How to make a great purse! TIPS!

1/wrap your yarn every few stiches if you use intarisa! Otherwise it will be too tight!
2/use singlar needles instead of double pointed...at first that seems crazy but then u are only dealing with one side.
3/FELT this! Sew it all together and then put it in the washing machine. Becuase u are using felting, use a size biggar needle to get a bigger purse...:)
4/make the straps thicker than you would origionaly think. These straps were only 13 stiches long...make them like 20. That way they are extra strong.
5/use the photoshop recemendations, but if you can't get a hold of them, use graph paper to do the dirty work

I am looking for photos of William Beckett to put on my purse:) I am hoping to make it large enough so I can felt it and create a beautiful creation...again! In the meantime I am working on several other projects, including a cami for myself! I wish everybody the best of luck on their projects! Please let me know if you come up with anymore purse suggestions.

Emmy

Charity & Group Knitting [Both Very Fun Yet Can Make You Sleepy]

Charity & Group Knitting


From Left to Right: Vanessa, Julia and I in December. We are missing four members Alyssa, Jean-Marie Tanya and Jennifer Together the seven of us make up the Stich'n'Bitch Green Bay Chapter


My prayer shawl! I was told that I
made it too small when I showed the group my final piece. I told them that my shawel was intended for a young person who has a form of cancer.

Groups are fun! We have a local chapter of our Stich'n'bitch. We hold it at Barnes and Noble every Tuesday. Here we not only learn about each other's lives but we also learn about new techniques and we are there to help each other out...even if one of us decides to go crochet on us! We welcome them with open arms!

I think the kindest thing to do is to do some charity. Everybody needs charity in their life...otherwise the world would indeed be very greedy. All across our Nation there are Paryer Shawel Miniseteries. These types of groups work for those who are sick. There are also Chemo Caps for those who have Cancer and etc. I think that these are great programs!

Well being the advicate knitter I am, I went to our chruch's prayer shawel ministery (I also work here as an organist) I was inspired to try a knack at knitting...I was pretty excited to do it! Well...I got there and there were two crocheters--they were not found that I, Emmy, queen of knitting (they knew I adore knitting) was crocheting! God forbid! They had the nerve to tell me that a knitter should not corchet and therefore my prayer shawel would never be helpful for anybody!

I laugh at these people!

Then there was this lady at the LYS (local yarn store) who's granddaughter was only 1 years old and had cancer! How horrible!!! Here was this girl who was only a year old living with cancer while two ladies over at my church told me that my prayer shawel isn't "holy"!

So, when you are at those knitting groups here are some tips to keep in mind:

1/If anybody be littles you for your expertise (or lack of b/c u are just a beginner) gently remind them that they were once new themselves.
2/If anybody says "knitters can't corchet and crocheters can't knit" ask them how do they know!?! (and if they ever met Debbie Stroller, who has done both?)
3/If you are ridiculed for having cheap aryclic yarn, tell them that it isn't the dollar amount it is the time and effort put into the piece.
4/If somebody who has more expertise points out a mistake tell them this: "It's not a mistkate it,s the character of the shawel! My Shawel/chemocap (etc) has attitude just like you!"
5/You can always change groups...there are a lot of groups out there!
6/Start your own! Get your friends into knitting! College Campus have knitting clubs everywhere! Look at the LYS, even if it s a Hobby Lobby
7/If anybody calls you "unholy" or "unworthy" for talking back/defending yourself at one of these Shawl Places, tell them that only God can make that call.
8/Even if it isnt your best work, the Church will not make fun of the shawl, they will appreciate your help. The sick person will appreciate the shawl (and if you are really self-consious you can either frog it or give 2 a blind person)
9/Only help when you are asked at these places...unless you see somebody heading down the path to hell! (this is true in your LYS, chances are if you look like a knitter they will ask you for help anyways. And then u feel good!:))

NOBODY deserves to live with the snobbery of the knitting world. I can't tell you how many times I have been to Hobby Lobby (not to pick on Hobby Lobby, it's a great place) and somebody will smerk and go "oh look college kid trying knitting" when I have been knitting for three years (and probably am just as good as them!) I have had a lady apprach me telling me I shouldn't be purchasing a bunch of needles and random balls of yarn...that's just wasting money...esp since I was a beginner and I was a college student. Truth was, I was actually teaching a knitting class that night (and I got reinversted too so I wasn't wasting my money HA!)

Truth is, it doesn't matter what level you are at...the most important part of knitting is the spirit of it! Keep it alive! Don't let others bring you down, those haters are everywhere, from the asiles of Hobby Lobby to the local Prayer Shawel Group.

Emmy