Textured Art Yarn Market Bag

Art Yarn Market Bag.

So I just wanted to share with you a project I knit using a textured art yarn that I spun up.  I had wanted to spin something for me so I dove into my personal stash.  I picked an art batt from Spinup Yarns and some locks from Lanitium Ex Machina and spun a lockspun textured art yarn single.  I thought I would make a cowl from a video I recently watched by a fellow fiber artist (Neauveau) that showed how to make a cowl using an elongated stitch.  I started to make the cowl and well, it got really long and stretchy.  So, I thought it would be fun to turn it into a market bag before it got too long.  I knit a bottom on it by decreasing like a hat and knitting regular (no more elongated stitches).  I then picked up stitches on the top and knit a seed stitch handle.

Body of the bag that shows the elongated stitch.

Handle of the bag.

I think I'm going to make another version of an textured art yarn market bag to share with you before farmer's market season begins.  If you want to try and make one like this one here is what I did:

Needles: Size 10
Yarn: 78 yards of bulky textured art yarn
CO 30 stitches
Knit in round on circular needles
Rows 1-18 Knit using and elongated stitch
Row 19 Knit (do not use an elongated stitch)
Row 20 *Knit 5 PM K2tog* repeat until end of row
Row 21 Knit
Row 22 K2tog after every SM
Row Knit
Keep decreasing by K2tog after SM then knit a row then decrease until you have a few stitches left.  Switch to double point needles when it is hard to knit on the circular ones.
Pull the yarn through the remaining stitches to bind off.  Cut yarn then weave it inside and secure it.
Handle: Pick up 7 stitches from the edge
Seed stitch handle (Knit, Purl until end of row) until desired length or until you run out of yarn (like I did) but save enough to BO
BO using the 3 needle bind-off method with 7 stitches on the opposite side of the top of the bag.

There you have it!  So I tried to make this more of an official pattern but I knit without writing anything down so sorry if it is hard to understand.  So are you going to try and knit a market bag with some textured art yarn?  I sure hope so.  (If you are looking for some yarn or a batt to spin to make some check out our shop.) Please share pictures if you do knit a market bag using textured art yarn.

And the Winners are...

Comment # 13: Danielle who said:

"Thank you for the giveaway! I would love some yarn! My favorite in your shop is the Harvest yarn. It's not normally what I go for (normally I like bright, fun stuff), but something about those beautiful greens draws me in."

We reached over 400 fans on Facebook so we have a second winner and that is....

Comment # 2: Monica McDonald who said:

"I love fiber! I've had the bunny hop batt in my cart for a little while - ADORE. I also love the valentine batt."

Congratulations ladies!  Please contact me at Melissa@hellopurl.com so I know where to ship your goodies.

Giveaway Time!

Bunny Hop Fiber Art Batt by Hello Purl

Remember we are celebrating our anniversary and 100 sales on Etsy?  Good, because this means it is giveaway time!  OK lets make this sweet and simple.  We are giving away a surprise fiber package with either yarn or spinning fiber plus other goodies.  All you have to do is comment below with what you would prefer to win yarn or spinning fiber and your favorite thing from our shop (this will help me pick something out that you will love).

Bonus: If we get 400 Facebook fans by Friday morning I will draw a second name so head on over to our page and like it if you haven't already we are only a few fans away!

Extra Bonus:  *We are also giving away a fiber prize pack to an Etsy customer so if you bought something from our online shop you just may be getting a surprise of fiber in the mail.  I will draw a winner tomorrow morning and contact them through Etsy.  If you want to get in on this check out the previous blog post for details there is still time!*

Please let me know if you are having any trouble entering comments and I will enter for you just email me at melissa@hellopurl.com or if you have any questions.

I will draw the winner(s) on Friday April 13th 2012 at 9:00am (CST) and post the winner(s) later that day.  The winner will need to contact me within 24 hours at melissa@hellopurl.com to claim their prize.  Again thank you!

Jasmine Hand-spun Textured Art Yarn by Hello Purl

*Photographs just show what we make you will not be receiving those exact items in your prize pack you may or may not receive something similar.  You will receive a prize pack full of surprises and wonderful fiber because we treat our winners well.*

Anniversary Celebration!

So we are coming up on our 1 year anniversary as a business!  Yay us!  I officially opened the Hello Purl Etsy shop on April 11th 2011 (Jessie joined me in July).  So we are going to going to be celebrating the whole month of April.  Keep and eye out here and on our Facebook page as well.

Faux Cashmere Combed Top in "Bacteria Bloom".

Right now we are having a sale and coupon code: HELLO1Year20 gets you 20% off your total purchase in our shop through April 11th! (Sorry only one coupon code can be used but you can use the coupon code on multiple orders through April 11th 2011).

Fiber Art Batt in "Science Experiment".

Giveaways are coming as well!  Don't you just love giveaways?  I do so check back on this blog on Wednesday April 11th for details on how to win some yummy Hello Purl fiber.  We are going to give away a yarn or batt in honor of our 1 year shop opening anniversary and one to a past customer because we also reached over 100 sale in less then a year and it was a goal of mine to do so.  You can still enter by making a purchase in our Etsy shop (don't forget that coupon code).

Hand-spun Textured Art Yarn in "Purple Lotus".

One more thing if we reach 400 fans on Facebook (only nine more fans needed as I type this post) we will giveaway a 3rd fiber item.  So don't forget to tell your friends about us!

Handmade Yellow Birch Wood Button.

Can you tell we are excited?  I sure hope so because we are.  Let the celebration continue...