KO Cables

Whoo hoo! Managed to squeeze in one more FO for 2006! And I must say, this adorable little bag may have brought me back around to cables.

Erasing the past
You may remember that my first experience with cables - Fetching - did not leave me all a flutter. When I saw this designer knockoff bag on craftster however, the cuteness called to me and I had to give it another go.

Well color me a convert, 'cause cables are cool! (Ah, alliteration...) Granted, this was due largely in part to the fact that there were only three cables, and only one cable row for every eight worked straight. Doing this on straights as opposed to dpns probably helped, too.

Speaking of the needles, I ended up going with my Crystal Palace sticks on this. These were the pair I'd learned on, which I haven't picked up since I started hoarding circs. But I wanted to use a smaller size to give this a tighter weave and my circ collection skips from 8 to 10.5, so I trotted these ol' gals out they did a fine job. It was a little weird to work on straights again, but they did add a nice little sentimental flavor to the knitting.

Yaaaaarn
I used KnitPicks Bare Peruvian Wool in bulky. Probably not a yarn I'd wear next to the skin, but for a wee little bag, perfectly suitable. Nice and cheap, too! Most people probably stash this for dyeing, but it's a lovely color all its own - creamy natural, not too white and with no musty yellow undertones.

Channeling my inner cheapass
The lining is acutally a shirt that I'd bagged for donation (sorry Goodwill). The color complements the swaths of orange in the ribbon, which is actually a chiffon headband that I never wear because it constantly slides off my head. And those fabulous bamboo handles were from a swap with meganknits.

A fond farewell to 2006
Having first picked up the sticks in May, this FO marks the end of my first year as a knitter. A great project to end the year with - fast, easy, and utterly adorable!

Hubster and I are geeking out by staying in tonight (luckily, we're both far beyond that "must. go. out. on. New. Year's. Eve!" mentality), so I'll be knitting my way into the new year with my second Embossed Leaves sock. When the clock strikes twelve, we'll have a toast to 2007 and mark our seventh year together - we met just after midnight at the turn of the century.

Here's wishing you all a very Happy New Year with much yarny goodness yet to come!

Little Cabled Purse
Pattern: Cabled Hand Bag from the craftster forums
Yarn: KnitPicks Bare Peruvian Wool Bulky
Needles: Crystal Palace size 9
Mods: Used smaller needles, added two repeats
Lesson learned: Cables are cool!