Publishing schedules can have a way of folding seasons in on each other - especially if seasonal publishing timeframes are tinkered with, as is the case with Crochet! Magazine. They changed their publishing schedule some time ago, although the results are just now being felt - no sooner did their summer issue come out, now they've released their Autumn 2013 issue.Of course, this time compression is great for designers who wait endlessly for designs to be released into the crafty wild. I'm no exception: I'm thrilled to show you, straight on the heels of my summer La Peinture Blanket my latest design - the Tunisian Meets Tartan Bag:
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| Image used with kind permission of Annie's |
I was definitely channeling my inner Celt at the beginning of the year (although I'm convinced if I ever followed my family history back far enough, one side would be Scottish or Irish, even though my roots here in North America are all French Canadian), and this was the result: a great, roomy bag that's still easy to carry, yet allows for all kinds of color creativity (one person on Ravelry commented that it was the "best looking crochet bag ever" - I don't know about that, but I do thank the commenter). I am particularly pleased with the zipper (it's easier than you think, really!) and the wonderful silk-like red paisley lining.This design makes the most of the elements of tunisian simple stitch (the basic tunisian crochet stitch) which, when done, creates vertical "channels" that were the perfect backdrop for some tartan-inspired slip stitch crochet surface work.
While I love this color combo, I also supplied swatches for two different color combinations that I think the magazine may show (at least that was the plan, but I haven't seen my hard copy yet so am uncertain what made it to print). I am planning on creating another of these bags for myself in early fall (and I'll be doing it very publicly so that everyone can see how easy it is to make such a complicated-looking bag), and so I got together all of my balls/skeins of Cascade 220 I had on hand (the yarn used for the sample bag):
I must admit, I didn't quite realize I had so many Cascade 220 colors on hand! Putting that aside, what colors would you use to create your own tartan-inspired bag? I like using three colors for the main fabric, and adding one more color for the slip stitch vertical rows, but that's just me. One can use more or less, depending on preference and/or clan colors. So, channel your inner clan and tell me what colors you'd gravitate toward.
Don't forget to also channel your inner Wonder Why Gal and head on over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see what other fibery time warps people are experiencing this Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday.
