Beer bag

Shopping bag finally finished! I was so tempted to just do a crocheted border and handle instead of the I-cord specified in the pattern, but I'm really glad I went with the I-cord. Not only was it easy and gave a really neat border, it was actually a lot of fun to knit. The handle has just a little bit of stretch, but is otherwise strong and smooth on the hands. I made the bag a little shorter than prescribed in the pattern - laying flat it's about 10-11inches each side. Here it is hanging off my Miffy teddy (it seemed like a more fun choice than a door handle).

The benefit of knit bags like this is that they can be strong while demonstrating a massive amount of stretch. To put this to the test, I put all of the beer in my fridge in the bag to see how it felt. The bag did indeed stretch to accommodate the load, but at no point did it feel like it would snap under the weight. I'd credit this not only to the knit but also to the choice of yarn, mercerized cotton being particularly resilient. While I didn't particularly enjoy knitting this bag, I'm so satisfied with the finished product I would consider making another one - though not for a while.

As promised, I have indeed made some progress in my chemistry art project. I'll explain myself further next week, but for the piece I need some small mechanical pieces - cogs and the like. I thought some broken clocks would be ideal and the lovely Neen came to my rescue to this end, donating 2 clocks and a watch. I basically took a hammer to them so I could get my greedy mitts on their innards. It felt so forbidden - what fun! 

I've actually been meaning to ask around for broken watches and clocks for some time - the little pieces will be useful in making steampunk-esque trinkets. Hence, these parts wont go to waste, but I decided they might be a little bit small for my chemistry project. I was looking on the best site in the world at cogs from sets of lego - just a bit bigger than those shown above, but light and cheap enough to be attached to my canvas. Then it struck me. Shrinky dink! My old friend! Et voila.

Not perfect, but they should do. I'm definitely going to use the clocks parts though (thanks again Neen), and the watch will be turning up in a jewelery related post in the near future. So if anyone has old clocks or broken watches they want to get rid of (mechanical ones, that is), send them my way. Alternative recycling rocks.

Have a great weekend everyone.