The Sweatshop of Love 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.