Bag Lady of Los Altos

My sister, Jane, lives in Los Altos, Ca. She loves to make beautiful bags. I have one that is especially fine ... a red number with yellow trim and beautiful raspberry shaped bead trim. I use it as my at home knitting bag, which means it sits next to my red chair brimming with work in progress. At the moment that includes a blue sock that needs the heel turned, a red sweater for Alyssa that has me hopelessly lost on the bust shaping, a completely finished scarf for Matt that is just waiting for Rob's to be knitted. (Here's a tip: If you've knitted long enough to have six inches of a scarf and you're still asking yourself if this is a cool color -- it's not. Rip it out before it becomes twelve inches of a crappy colored scarf.) And, until recently, my bag contained a knitted bag for Jane.
Like me, Jane loves to start new projects. Also like me, she sometimes loses enthusiasm before finishing them. Such is the case with her knitted bag. Jane mentioned a few weeks ago that she had resurrected a bag that was started some time back. When she pulled it out of her magic knitting stash, however, she did not pull any pattern or directions with it. It was just a nearly completed knitted bag with no clear map to an ending. So, I invited her to send it to me. It arrived with the needles intact, a ball of yard still attached and no note of any kind. After pondering it for a while, consulting a couple of books, knitting and unknitting it, I decided it should be a drawstring bag. Not just because it would be an easy finish, but because it would be cute and achievable with the amount of yarn included. I also decided to line it. That took more pondering and digging and then lo and behold a piece of apron fabric that I love, but never found the perfect mate for, jumped up to lining challenge. Jane may have used a lovely silk for the lining -- there's an amazing silk shop in Los Altos -- but this piece of cotton, I decided, would do just fine. It's bright and cheery -- perfect for a California spring when we're still stuck here in mid-winter dullsville. I was even lucky enough to be using a coordinating Fiesta Ware coffee mug when I found it. Kismet indeed.
After measuring the bag, cutting and sewing the lining, I stitched it in by hand and packed it up to send back to Jane just in time for her birthday. Clever, eh? She is getting the bag she made for her birthday gift. (Actually, I did tuck a little surprise inside the bag before sending it off.) And so, another birthday gift is finished courtesy of my apron obsession. Not only that, the leftover lining will make a perfect piece of patchwork for another little thrill I have in mind. But first, here is Jane's finished bag. It's not often that the bag lady of Los Altos is on the receiving end of one of her own creations. So glad I could be of help!