books and knitting: Miragamo Bag

Hello September!  In anticipation of Ginnie's yarn-along, I included a picture of my most recent book.  

Just finished reading:  Cassius Marcellus Clay: Firebrand of Freedom, by H. Edward Richardson

In my family history research, I came across a 4th-great-uncle, Cassius Clay Easton, b. 1845.  This uncle could not be named after the famous boxer (b. 1942) and I was curious about the namesake who must have inspired at least two families to name their sons after him.  I dug around a bit and found this book.  Along with being a staunch abolitionist and member of President Lincoln's cabinet, Clay was infamous for some of his fights with a Bowie knife.  

I enjoyed learning more about history and politics, but the author does address some of the more unsavory facets of Cassius Clay.  Written in the 1970s, the author had first-hand acquaintance of some of Clay's ancestors and includes some more personal perspectives.  Clay spent so much time helping to shape politics and government, including years in Russia, that his family life suffered a great deal, and his later years involved some scandals.  

It's a fairly fast-paced read for a history book, but there were some terms that seem like they must have been high-minded or old-fashioned even in the '70s.  I didn't enjoy the later chapters on the scandals as much, but I really enjoyed reading about Clay's passion for freeing slaves and freedom of speech.  It is easy to see why a contemporary would think so highly of him as to name a son after him.  It surprises me that this historical figure was not discussed in classes when I was growing up.  

Just finished knitting:  Miragamo Bag

I found this bag on the internet several years ago.  I knew it would be a great project for a knitting class but there were a couple of difficulties.  For one thing, the pattern has errors and ommissions. Taking careful notes when I knitted the sample (blue), I rewrote the pattern with attribution to the original free pattern.  

Secondly, it's not all knitting.  Because of the holes in the lace and the stretchy nature of knitted fabric, I knew that this bag would get a lot more use if it were lined with something like cotton, but not everyone who knits knows how to sew!  To solve this problem, I offered to sew a lining for any student who finished the bag for a nominal fee, which covered the price of fabric and thread.  

For myself, I wanted a slightly smaller bag and knit a second one in red.  To do this, I simply used  smaller needles.  That was at least five years ago!  I never finished the project for myself, because I kept putting off the sewing.  Go figure.  I was inspired by Anna's recent post to get it done this season, and finally I can cross it off my to-finish list and use it!  I love details - the crisp, turned edge; the fancy handles.  I'm thinking of adding a tassel like this or this - excellent use of a cardboard tube, though not sure where I can find one so small!    

Project details:  

• Original pattern was by Georgie Kajer.  It appears to only be on a website I won't name.  If you would like the pattern and send me a note with your email, I will be happy to send you my version for the class, at no charge.  
• Yarn for both bags - Hempathy from Elsebeth Lavold; 34% hemp, 41% cotton, 25th modal 50g = 153/140 yds/m, 8 skeins.  This yarn is still available, I checked!  Red bag: color 043 Claret.
• Handles from Jul; fabric and matching thread from my local quilt shop.  
• I used a crochet hook for the big decreases, and I used this tutorial to measure and make the bag lining.  Here is another good tutorial on lining bags.  
  
  

The weather has turned; I hope you are having a wonderful start to September.  What are you working on??   

A note on Comments!  My mom wrote to me and said she would have liked to comment on my last post and couldn't figure out how.  I spent an afternoon trying to solve this problem.  Click next to the icon of a silhouette in a circle (below?), and you can leave a comment.  I attempted to change the icon to a picture of my choice, and the font, which I believe says, "Enter your comment", to anything more visible.  In spite of changing every font option I could find on Blogger, I have not yet found a solution.  If you know what I've done wrong, please let me know!