The Sweatshop of Lovers Blog

I couldn’t be more excited to share this pattern with everyone! I’m quite proud of it, and the finished product couldn’t be cuter, if I say so myself.

If you have any questions feel free to email me at allyson@thesweatshopoflove.com and I’ll be happy to help. Trouble with the pattern all around? Sign up for a group class and knit it with my help!

The Sweatshop of Love

Cabled Change Purse Pattern

Finished Measurements: Length 4 inches, width 6 ½ inches

Materials:

• Any worsted weight yarn; I used Vanna’s Choice
• Size 10 straight needles
• Six inch zipper in matching color
• 8×10 inch piece of fabric, for lining
• Needle and thread, for sewing lining
• Fabric pins

Stitch Patterns:

Seed Stitch

RS: K1, P1 across

WS: K the Ps, P the Ks across

Cable 1: SL4 sts to cable needle and hold to front, K3, K4 sts from cable needle, SL3 sts to cable needle and hold to back, K4, K3 sts from cable needle.

Cable 2: SL3 sts to cable needle and hold to back, K4, K3 sts from cable needle, SL4 sts to cable needle and hold to front, K3, K4 sts from cable needle.

Directions:

Cast On 30 sts. P1 row (ws).

Purse Pattern Rows:

Row 1 (RS): K1, work 7 sts in seed st, K14, work 7 sts in seed st, K1

Row 2 (WS): P1, work 7 sts in seed st, P14, work 7 sts in seed st, P1

Repeat these 2 rows 2 times more.

Cable Row 1 (RS): K1, work 7 sts in seed st, work Cable 1, work 7 sts in seed sts, K1

Work 3 Purse Pattern Rows, starting with a WS row.

Cable Row 2 (RS): K1, work 7 sts in seed st, work Cable 2, work 7 sts in seed sts, K1

Work Purse Pattern Rows, starting with a WS row, until purse measures 6 inches from beginning, ending with a WS row.

Repeat Cable Row 1.

Work 3 Purse Pattern Rows, starting with a WS row.

Repeat Cable Row 2.

Work 5 Purse Pattern Rows, starting with a WS row.

K 1 row (RS). Bind off.

Finishing:

Seam sides of purse.

Pin Zipper in Place

Fold material in half with right sides together and pin side seams together. Fold the top of the material on one side down about ½ an inch. With the right side of the zipper facing up, pin zipper to folded edge of material. Repeat for second side of bag. With a sewing machine or by hand, sew up side seams, then sew zipper in place.

Yay Cute Bag!

With bag lining unzipped, push lining into bag and pin in place. Sew in lining, being careful not to get the lining or knit portion of the bag too close to the zipper. I think it is easier to hand sew lining into place, but if you prefer machine sewing go ahead!

Cut strings! Love forever.

Everyone is Ready!

Last night, despite the clouds and threat of rain (hardcore movies in the parkers are not discouraged by the threat of rain), we made it down to Grant Park to watch the Billy Wilder classic Sunset Boulevard. I’ve seen and loved Sunset Boulevard in the past so I knew it was going to be a great night. Everyone else? They were in for a treat.

PT and I got down to Grant Park right around 6pm to scope out a spot. There were already a ton of people parked out near the screen, so we found a fairly big spot, threw our things around to make it look like we were more than two, and settled in. I made lentil salad, with onion, rice, lentils, carrots, and garlic, and it was delicious! PT brought Chex Mix, which gave us a tummy ache.

I pulled out my knitting (toe up sock #2) and more and more people made their way to the park. Lucinda and Mike came out, then Gil and Martin joined us. Brijeet and Paul were late arrivals, but we had enough room for them.

Skins the Color Mocha?

All types come to the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival! The couple sitting next to us were so moved by Ricky Martin’s Livin’ la Vita Loca, that they had to get up and start dancing. I took this picture over my shoulder while Lucinda directed my aim; excuse my hair. It kinda looks like they are fighting, but they were making out like crazy and rubbing all up against each other, again, to Ricky Martin. They left 10 minutes into the movie.

Then, of course, a whole family came with huge chairs and sat right in front of us. They would not be deterred by our loud conversation:

‘Oh, seriously? Chairs? This close to the screen?’
‘That woman is too big for that chair, anyway.’
‘Well hopefully it will just sink into the ground so we can see over her head.’

We talked about how hot Mr Knightly is, how well Colin Firth is aging. We ate Gil and Martin’s delicious pasta salad! Then the movie started and everyone psychotically loved it. It is hard not to love a movie watched sitting outside, the Chicago skyline at your back.

Knitting and Eating (hhm, Martin!) Away

Sounds nice, right? Next Tuesday is Duck Soup! They made an announcement that during Duck Soup they will be trying to break the Guinness Book of World Record for most people with Groucho Marx glasses on, so it kinda goes without saying it will be a great time. Want up-to-the-minute Movies in the Park updates? Email me at allyson@thesweatshopoflove.com and I’ll put you on the list!

And thanks to Lucinda and Mike, Gil and Martin, Brijeet and Paul, and PT for making it a super fun night!

Stupid Tote

I have been working on this mesh bag for a couple days now and I feel like now I can safely say I hate it. Not the bag, the pattern. The bag is cute, so I’ll give it to Elisa; she wrote a cute pattern. But GOD I had to rip this thing out twice. Granted, one of the times was because I was too stubborn to look at the pattern once I got going, but still. The numbers never worked out, I was constantly counting and you know how much I hate that. Granted, I added like 20 stitches to the pattern because I wanted a wider bag, but still! It is supposed to be a 2 stitch pattern over four rows. That should still work with 20 extra stitches!

SOO Messed Up!

So, close up you can see how messed up this pattern is. It should be in nice little rows, all the mesh working out and being stripey and cute. Not. Gonna. Happen. I don’t mind, of course, it is just a bag I’m going to have over my shoulder when biking, it is the principle of the matter.

So you are supposed to knit a big rectangle, fold it in half, and crochet-seam the sides, which ended up looking crappy and I wish I would have just stuck to my gut and knit this thing in the round from the top down, ending with the three needle bind off. Am I right?!

The handles are amazing, though. Along the top of the bag you work the i-cord while picking up stitches along the top, so no handle seaming. And I love the i-cord!

Beet, Carrot, Diakon Salad with Pecan/Garlic/Grapefruit Dressing

Almost as much as I loved this salad from last night. Yes, you read that right. This was a beet, carrot, and diakon salad with a pecan, garlic, and grapefruit dressing. Sprinkled on top? Some fancy Irish cheese. Serious love.

It made up for the bag it was so good. Stupid bag.

I’ve taken a couple anti-technology days this week. It is nice out, I’ve had this eye strain related head ache for a few days, and some boy issues. I added all that up and it equalled outdoor trash reading. I finished I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci in three days, which helped. It was silly and all about how retarded boys are, with recipes, which helped. But now I’m back and I’ve got a plethora of food pictures.

So we are going to do this quick and dirty:

Homemade Personal Pizza

Earlier in the week PT and I made homemade pizzas. We haven’t done that in a really long time and I have no idea why. We should be eating pizza every day, these pizzas are so good.

Seriously? Seriously.

Mine was pineapple, caramelized onion, and roasted red pepper with fresh parmesan. PT’s was the same, plus olives, of course.

Pumpkin Cookies

I’ve been craving cookies but didn’t feel like making any, so I made cake cookies and mini cupcakes using a pumpkin cake mix. I spiced them up a little and baked them up, but I  need some big chocolate chip cookies something fierce. I’ll have to take care of that, and soon.

Grapefruit, Shrimp, and Avocado Salad

We have been looking for ways to eat everything in our produce box, so PT found a recipe that used the greens and grapefruit in this amazing salad. It had a light citrus/mustard vinaigrette on top! Very good. And the grapefruit was outstanding.

The Diakon

And speaking of the produce box, I tackled the diakon Friday. It looks a lot like a huge white carrot and tastes really peppery, slightly milder than a regular red radish, but, obviously, much larger.

Potato Stir Fry

I thought I would potato stir fry it up, with potatoes, carrots, and onions.

Outdoor Stir Fry

I finished it with broccoli, snap peas (from the produce box), and corn. Throw a little ketchup on that and eat it outside? The perfect summer meal.

Drool

And then there was the banana. I knew exactly what to do with this beauty. But not before I peeled it slowly, smelling it, caressing it. Loving it like my own child I was about to eat.

Oats and Toast, Banana Style

The exaggeration thing I do is going to get in the way again from expressing how I actually feel, but this was the best breakfast I’ve had in a really, really long time. I chopped up half that banana and put it in my oats with a nectarine from the produce box. Also in the mix? Honey nut Scooters (Malt-O-Meal Cheerios), raisins, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. The rest of that banana went with peanut butter on my toast.

If for some reason I wanted my final meal to be nutritional (I always answer that question with a very particular brownie sundae I’ll most likely describe to you in full someday), it would be this meal. Banana? Let me count the ways.

French Toast with Raspberries

This morning I cooked up some french toast, and sprinkled some raspberries on top. Simple and delicious and the perfect Sunday morning breakfast.

So, technology, thanks for the break. I appreciated it. Now to get to my inbox.

I like food.

I haven’t always had the greatest relationship with the stuff, though. When I was younger I was not a healthy eater by any means. I grew up in a pretty typical meat and potatoes environment until I was in 5th grade and decided to be a vegetarian to piss my dad off. I’ve been pretty good about not eating red meat ever since. I’ve had the occasional What-Does-It-All-Mean? moments; namely when I moved to Chicago and thought summer sausage would be a good idea. It wasn’t. It really, really wasn’t.

But I wasn’t a healthy vegetarian. My first year of college I spent in Adrian, Michigan eating cookies and coffee for dinner, and Frosted Flakes for lunch. I was 50 pounds heavier than I am now and wouldn’t have been able to run around the block.

Two years ago I figured it out, though. I started working out, cooking for myself, and eating real food. I try to fuel instead of consume. I try to eat mindfully. I love my body and try to take care of it as much as I can.

Produce Box

Enter Newleaf Natural Grocery! This is the first produce box PT and I ordered from them and I couldn’t be more excited. Look at that bounty of organic produce! Delivered right to my door!

What is fun about this is some of that stuff I don’t even know what to do with, so it has forced us to look at recipes we would never have tried, like what PT whipped up last night.

Kale Spaghetti! Who Knew?

Kale spaghetti with onions, tomatoes, and garlic, sprinkled with parmesan. It was great! And I’ve certainly never had kale in spaghetti before. It was hearty and kinda beet-y. It was fun, and I would have never bought it myself.

The part of the box I’m really excited about? Those bananas! I haven’t had a banana in almost a year when I stopped eating them because of the banana coups and wasted fuel for shipping (blah blah). My last banana was on August 5th! And PT hates bananas so they are both mine. I’m going to eat them with peanut butter! I’m going to eat them in my oat bowl!

I just wish they would rippen up so I can stop carrying them around with me in a baby bjorn.

Love

Cute Sleeves!

Yes, we finished on a rough note, but yesterday afternoon I finished the twelve rows of my left sleeve. I don’t want to toot my own horn here, but seriously? Seriously. Could this sweater be any cuter? I love the two different stripe colors. I love the collar. I love the sleeves! I love how it makes me look really skinny. I’ll be working on translating my notes to actual pattern form very soon so it’s fresh in my memory, in case, horror of all horrors, I have no idea what my notes mean. There are a lot of arrows on that sheet of notebook paper and it might kill me to have to deconstruct to figure out exactly what I did.

Next up? Using this basic pattern to write a cardigan pattern. Same needles, same yarn, just long sleeved cardie.

(Glances up at pictures) I’m feeling pretty confident that I can do it!

Body Finished!

Between all the pie and traveling this weekend, I got a ton done on my sweater! I just kept it in my bag the whole time and pulled it out whenever I had a spare minute. Once I got past the shaping it was just knitting for many many inches, and that we can all do in our sleep.

I was feeling good about it, and knitting away, and in Sweater Club Sunday I picked up the sleeve stitches and was knitting away, and finished one sleeve! Then I picked up stitches on the second sleeve and was knitting away, knitting away, la la de da!

When I ran out of yarn.

Within 12 rounds of finishing the sleeve. I was so close I was looking at how much yarn was left hanging off the sweater at color changes. I was so close I knit myself right up to the end of the skein in disbelief. If I would have knit two fewer rounds of total sweater I would have had enough yarn to finish.

Can You Believe It?

It is ridiculously infuriating! I need like 4 yards! Gah! I looked all over my house for a leftover ball of it and of course found nothing. So, this afternoon I made my way over to Joann.

Stupid Skein

I know these Carron Simply Softs are only like $3, but it is the principle of the thing. I know I’ll use it, I use this yarn all the time.

Yeah, ok, I should stop complaining.

Velma is obviously not worried about it.

I’m still kind of irritated with it, though! I haven’t even finished the sweater yet. It will take me 10 minutes at most, I know it will. But I’ve got my sock in my lap (for picture uploading time). It can wait. It can wait until I’m not angry with it anymore.

Sock #1 Done

I finished sock one somewhere this weekend, too. I ended up cutting it off mid-calf, as you can see, and I’m happy with it. I want to start knitting socks with my new stripping yarn! I’m over this yarn.

Detox: Asparagus Pasta

After this weekend I’ve needed to chill in the eating department. I’ve been trying to stick to veggies, fruit, and wheat. Like this beautiful asparagus pasta with carrots and my tomato sauce.

Detox: Caramelized Onion Quesadillas

And these caramelized onion quesadillas with pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, and romaine.

Detox: Lots of Oats

And, of course, lots of oat bowls. This one has raspberries, apples, nutties, milk and cinnamon. With peanut butter toast. The tummy is slowly recovering.

A Little Bonus Shopping

So I’m almost finished with my sweater pattern, I’m on my second sock, and I’ve really had nothing else lined up! I recently had this tote pattern, the Elisa Nest Tote, sent to me, and since I have never knit a market bag, and since I’ve been complaining that I don’t have a summer shoulder bag good for biking, I thought, what the heck? I picked up this ball of Lion Brand cotton yarn with a 40% off coupon. The pattern says it should only take one ball, and in that case this is one economical project. And it’s cute, right?

I’ll keep you posted.

Hyde Park OHMYGOD!OHMYGOD!

I love Harry Potter. I have ever since the 5th book came out and my friend Jeff lost his shit about it, lining up at Barnes and Noble to pick his copy up at midnight, then reading the whole thing by 6pm the next day.

I kept saying that there was no way Harry Potter was that good. Jeff told me to shut up and just read the first book, it was short, and if I didn’t like it then he would still love me, though he doubted it was possible.

So I read it in two shifts at the valet parking booth I worked at the Gerald R Ford International Airport; yet another job where I was employed to do nothing. I loved it despite myself. Jeff lent me the next four and I read them in about two weeks. Then I went through the movies, only two were made at the time, and it was over. It WAS as good as everyone said it was!

PT has not read the books and before dating me hadn’t seen any of the movies, so needless to say I was a little surprised when he said he bought tickets to THE HARRY POTTER EXIBIT AT THE MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY OHMYGODOHMYGOD!

Ron's Car OHMYGOD!

We trekked down to Hyde Park (one train, one bus) Saturday for our 5pm tour. Upon entering the museum we were met by Ron’s flying car! It was so tiny! It would be really easy to parallel park, so I’m going to keep the Ford Anglia on my list of cars to steal someday.

Baby Chickens OHMYGODOHMYGOD!

We got there a little early so we had a chance to take a quick gander around the museum. I made a beeline to the chickens, my favorite part of the museum. I love chickens. We had chickens growing up and I even love them when they are big and smelly and pooping on everything and making eggs. Our chickens would beat the hell out of  Batly, my mom’s chihuahua! They would peck him right on the forehead until he ran away and left them alone.

PT Being an 8 Year Old

PT got excited whenever he saw a toy with a steering wheel.

Unfortunately you couldn’t take pictures in the exhibit, but it was pretty amazing. TONS of costumes and set pieces from the movies! The costumes were breathtakingly detailed. I have never seen anything like it. From Dolores Umbridge’s little pink suite to the fur lined cape Lucius Malfoy is wearing the first time you see him, it was all perfect. There were complete sets as backdrops for the costumes full of props, like the time turner Hermione uses in The Prizoner of Azkaban.

Ok, I geeked myself out a little there. Harry Potter exhibit? Cool. Promise.

Long Awaited Coconut Shrimp

Since neither PT or I ever go down to Hyde Park, we thought we would make an afternoon of it and find a place around the museum to eat. We had a restaurant all picked out! The Nile, a Middle Eastern restaurant recommended to us. Alas, The Nile was closed for the holiday, but right next door was Thai 55, which just happens to be the first restaurant PT ever went to in Chicago! He had actually been talking about the coconut shrimp there just this week, and we magically end up going on complete accident.

I was still full from Pieapalooza!, but I sucked it up like a champ and prepared myself for yet another holiday weekend stuff-fest. I was trying to add up all the miles I would have to run this week to make up for the pie and the Thai when in came the coconut shrimp.

PT was pumped. And for good reason! Anything deep fried and served in a glass is cool with me.

Pad Thai and Yellow Curry

I ordered the sea food Pad Thai, which was amazing! I usually don’t order Pad Thai because I don’t like when it is too peanuty, but this seafood version spoke to me from the menu. I’m so glad it did! It was full of shrimp and scallops and the whole thing tasted really fresh.

PT ordered yellow curry which was excellent, too. SO rich, though, I got full as soon as I started eating it. But I took a break, drank some water, and went back to my Pad Thai before I fooled around some more with the curry.

PT and I waddled back to the bus, then waddled from the bus to the train, then waddled from the train back home.

My tummy needs a break from the eating! And I need to get to the gym.

Coconut Cream Pie

Once upon a time I was eating pie and I thought, ‘You really don’t need to eat anything but pie.’ It’s true. Everything is better in pie form. Everything is better with pie. Somehow that thought turned into Pieapalooza! The date: July 3rd, a Friday that pretty much everyone had off because of the holiday. The request? Bring a pie paired with a cocktail! I cooked up this coconut cream pie (who knew it was so easy to make coconut cream pie? It is no bake, you just throw some stuff together in a saucepan, heat, make up a pie crust, pour the coconut mixture in the crust and cool it in the fridge. Spread whip cream, sprinkle with toasted coconut, serve) to be served with coconut rum and cokes. Cute, right?

PT and Brat

Kasia and Anders thought we should eat real food first, so we met a few hours before Pieapalooza! was scheduled to start and grilled.

Tofurkey Brat

Kasia picked up these toferkey brats, which I’ve never had before but really enjoyed! I never really liked those Bocca brats, I don’t think they make them anymore. They were always really dry. But this was great! I topped it with sauerkraut, mustard, and ketchup, like pretty much everyone else did.

Chris and Anne, and Brats

I, of course, had my brain on pie. My coconut cream pie and Chris and Anne’s Jewel strawberry rhubarb pie (don’t judge; Emeril’s strawberry pie recipe was total crap so this was a last minute grab) were just sitting on the blanket, screaming at me, ‘Eat! Eat! I’m so good!’

Three Pies to Start

Kasia and Anders, and Pie

Kasia and Anders made the most amazing cherry pie I have ever eaten. And that is saying a lot considering I’m from Michigan and we take our cherries very serious. This was a sweet cherry pie in the same amazing crust her strawberry rhubarb was in last week.

Love

Tally:

1 piece strawberry rhubarb/champagne
1 piece cherry/cherry lemonade
1 piece coconut cream pie/coconut rum and coke

Lemon Pie, Peach Pie

We were barely recovered from the first round when in came more!

1 piece lemon pie/summer shandy
1 piece peach pie

Getting Messy

A couple pieces pi(e) – neapple (clever, and a welcomed break).

Shepard's Pie

I couldn’t eat this one, but it’s so pretty! And patriotic. And this was the only pie that was eaten completely so it must have been great. Or people just felt they needed some protein.

Drag Queen Pie

This beauty is a drag queen pie, or raspberry lemonade pie, frozen and like sherbet! It was fun and pretty and tart as hell!

1 piece drag queen pie/2 vodka tonics (… they were good)

Gil (and Martin)'s Fabric Bag

Between the eating and the drinking and the frisbee-ing, there was a lot of knitting going on. I was a proud mama! Gil finished up her fabric knit bag which turned out so cute! Her bf Martin picked up some knitting skills with this bag, so he gets credit, too.

Bound Off Bottom!

Tara bound off the bottom of her sweater! It looks so cute. See the admirers behind her? Today in Sweater Club she finished a sleeve, so this sweater is really close to being done.

Oh god

We made a mess. There were tiny plates and tiny cups everywhere, people had their hands and forks in pie remnants between laying down quiet time. We would play a little frisbee to make room for more pie.

Pieapalooza!

I was trying not to keep track of the pie I ate on Friday, and I was trying not to add it up afterward. There is nothing I can do about it, all that pie was eaten, there is no use worrying about calories. Thanks to this post, though, I know I ate six pieces of pie and had six drinks. How I’m still alive I’m not quite sure, but we all made it through Pieapalooza! with tales to tell. Pieapalooza! is totally going to be a thing now! Because who wouldn’t want to sit around eating pie and drinking all afternoon?

However, it is not going to happen again any time soon. The party wrapped up around 7 and if the Tigers wouldn’t have gone into extra innings I would have been asleep by 9:30. The Tigers kept me up with a sad, bloaty tummy till after midnight. The whole time I was thinking about how pissed I’d be if they ended up losing and I could have been sleeping it off instead of awake and in pain. It was totally worth it! But seriously I don’t want to be in that kind of pain again for a long time.

Like, a week at least.