Clutch 95% complete

The Lacy Boucle Clutch is virtually complete. I’m still waiting to hear when my magnetic clips come in. Now I’m starting to doubt whether they’ll be what I want. There were none of any size in the shop, so I couldn’t see how to attach them. Maybe you can’t sew them in. Maybe they need to be glued or some such thing. I suppose I’ll just have to be patient and wait and see. If they’re not suitable, I’ll probably end up using press studs, although I was trying to avoid the tugging on the fabric that they tend to entail.

I won’t publish the knitting pattern until it’s completely finished so I can photograph it in it’s proper state, and maybe have some contents in it without it gaping open.



While waiting, I may as well go on with the next idea.

My thoughts are to do a bag with a lace border at the top.
Yesterday I went in to Morris & Sons with the idea to get some Lana Gatto Super Soft yarn. I’d seen it on their website, but it wasn’t in the store. Probably just as well, as it’s not cheap.

I ended up getting Heirloom Easy Care 12ply, which was what I used for the Chunky Sampler Bag. All of which means, I could’ve quickly gone over to Mooroolbark Wool to get that, rather than going all the way into the city and making a day of it. I haven’t been able to find a 10ply wool yarn available locally, which was why I thought I’d go for the Lana Gatto. It wasn’t to be. So I’ll use 12 ply instead. It certainly worked very well for the Chunky Sampler Bag. It’ll be interesting to see how it knits up in a lace pattern.


I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Thursday, June 25, 2009
A firm figure put in on the first, a Tuesday (6)
The answer must be “statue”. I already had the second t from another word.
first, a Tuesday = statue
This seems to be drawing a long bow, but who’s to say how these clues are constructed.

Clutch under construction

Well I got further than I thought I would. As it’s small and the dimensions don’t matter too much, I’ve used the piece as my tension square, after first knitting a little piece to see whether lace was visible with boucle yarn.

So here’s the back of the bag, with the flap open and the lining just temporarily stuck inside, to hopefully show up the lace, which is in a pattern of squares, if you can’t tell.


The bag has been sewn up, and the lining almost finished. I need to shorten the lining a bit, and then hand sew the final seam and secure the lining into the bag. When I bought the lining fabric (satin) from Spotlight, I looked for some small magnetic clips to close the bag. I think they’ll be easier to open than studs. With the help of a very friendly staff member, I found where they were meant to be, saw their spot empty, and ordered a couple. All things being equal, I’m supposed to get a phone call when they come in (within two weeks).

Look out for the finished product next time.

I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Thursday, June 18, 2009
Holy man grows older in steps (6)
The answer must be “stages”. I already had the g and the last s from other words. I knew the answer must be stages. I thought it was something to do with a sage being a holy man. But as I was sitting down to type this, it came to me.

Holy man = saint = st
Grows older = ages
Therefore – stages!
Sometimes I know what the answer is, but can’t work out how to get it from the whole clue.

First Post

Here goes with my first entry.
I’m going to try to post once a week. I’m sure I’m not the first to say that, and I won’t be the last.
This blog can be my online coach. It’ll be here nudging me to do more. There’s a word floating… accountability … that’s it!

I was waiting to get my last design finished before I started here.
I want to start fresh with a new project, rather than being halfway through one.

Maybe here I can indulge in free association, one thought to the next.
How pretentious!

Well, onto the project of the moment!

Today I made the 45 minute drive to Wondoflex Yarn Craft Centre to buy a skein of Touch Mohair/Merino Boucle.

It's a dark olive green which you may not be able to tell from the photo.
I have thoughts of using it for a clutch purse.

Apart from when I was doing my own spinning, I haven’t had to wind a skein into a ball. Well now I do, and I suppose tonight’s the night.

Hopefully next week I’ll at least have a tension square to show.

I’m mildly interested in cryptic crosswords, so each week I’ll include a clue from our most recent copy of “The Age” cryptic crossword.
If I can work it out, I’ll give what I think the answer is.
If not, I can laugh at the weirdness of the clue.
We never get the paper with the answers, so I’ll never know if I’m right. This may seem like a pointless exercise.
This week’s clue, from “The Age” Thursday, June 11, 2009
Give the right to name following leaderless men (7)
I have no idea!
Leaderless men could be en
Can’t think of anything else.