Podium worthy

Everlasting Bagstopper

Yarn: Lily The Original Sugar'n Cream (100% cotton; worsted weight)
Colors: Dark pine and Jute
Needles: US 5 and US 10 1/2 circulars
Stitches: 44 for base, 116 for body

Since I was too late to the Ravelympics party, I'll have to give myself a medal for making this during the Beijing Olympics. I've knit it in the spirit of the Ravelry knit-along. I started during the opening ceremony and have worked on it diligently while watching (or listening, as the case may be) the Summer Games. So cue up my anthem as I take my spot. I believe I've earned it.

The handle gave me all I could, err, handle. I'm not sure how long I worked on it last night--possibly an hour--but it took around three hours this afternoon to finish it off. I wasn't expecting that. Then there was another hour-plus to graft the handle onto the stitches on a holder and weave in the ends. I've done the Kitchener stitch before, but it's been a year. As I was almost done, I saw that I should have been pulling the yarn tighter while grafting. I tried to hide the problem and strengthen the graft when weaving in the end. I think it'll work.

The color change and a couple extra strands, the remnants of a surprise knot in the middle of the ball, gave me plenty of ends to hide. Due to the nature of the bag's body, I was a bit perplexed as to how to sew them in without them showing and keeping them there. Time will tell if they reappear.

Linen stitch made a nice, firm handle that isn't as stretchy as, say, garter stitch. It will loudly announce every mistake you make. I committed a couple but am still pretty pleased with how the handle looks. I regularly debated the final length and decided to go a couple inches longer than the approximate width of the bag, settling on eighteen inches. As I would discover, the handle is stretchier than I expected and could have been shorter, but that's just something for me to note for the next time.

I had put off going to the grocery store for a couple days because I was determined to make my next visit with this bag. I didn't need to get a lot, although I purchased more than one plastic bag would accommodate. The market bag easily held it all. Next time the orange juice will go in its own bag as I sweated carrying this all the way to the car. I had visions of the handle ripping off and the bag's sides splitting. That would not have been cool.

Overall, knitting this bag was a positive experience. I was reminded how to pick up stitches and do the Kitchener stitch. There are some less than beautiful picked up stitches on the base, but they're go virtually unseen. Plus, I know how to do it better in the future. I learned the linen stitch and sewn bind off.

OK, so all of that's basic stuff, but I think it's safe to say I'm more comfortable making incremental advances than enormous leaps in my knitting. This FO may not be worth a gold medal, but like plenty of athletes in the Olympics, I'm thrilled with a bronze. Thanks for being the teammates cheering me on, providing advice, and pushing me to do something I wasn't entirely convinced I could do.