In Which the Pirate is Half Done.

I finished knitting the first side of the Napramach bag this afternoon, hooray! The two-color bind-off was not nearly as complicated as I had thought, which was a relief. And while I haven’t mastered the art of knitting with one strand in my left hand and one in my right, I’ve at least gotten to an acceptable skill level with it. I expect the second side to come out better than the first, just by virtue of practice. Unfortunately there’s no obvious front or back to this bag, or I’d be putting this piece in the back. I’m going to start the second side right away, or I know I’ll avoid it for almost as long as I avoided starting the project in the first place. I’m a terrible procrastinator, and I’m working to conquer that trait as it’s something I really don’t like about myself. So, here goes for side two of the bag!

It obviously needs some blocking… and there are just a few ends to weave in. Actually, I don’t think I’m going to weave them in; I think I’m going to tie them to each other. Since the bag will be lined, no one will ever see them. Okay, so I’m not quite half done – I’ve marked the project at 45% complete. I think the knitting will be 90%, the crochet bits 5%, and the lining another 5%. I have no idea what the crochet instructions mean just yet, but I know someone who can help me figure it out (Hi, Sarah!) and I’m eager to learn! There are so many great crochet patterns out there that I’d love to try, mostly amigurumi, but some freeform stuff as well. Aren’t those spiffy?