Knitting Bag

Years ago, my husband's grandmother, Bev, gave me all of her knitting/crochet supplies.  I just started really getting into knitting and she wasn't able to knit or crochet anymore so whalaaa, I had an instant yarn stash!!!  Granted, most of the yarn was itchy acrylic from the 70s in very 70s colors, but I adored it all!!!  I still have a lot from that stash and I have used a bunch too.

As Bev would find more yarn and supplies, she would send them along... even now, when she is no longer with us, her husband still finds things here and there and makes sure they make their way to my house (those are the supplies that I find really special).  In the last group of things I received,  was a fold-able knitting basket.  It's probably not THAT old... maybe purchased in the 70s or 80s?, but it doesn't matter because I was instantly in LOVE!!!!  Not only was it sentimental because it was very well used by my late friend and 'grandmother-in-law', but it is also a functional piece that I will use everyday! 

I knew for sure that I was going to have to replace the lining before I could use it, so it has been sitting in a corner of my craft room waiting until I could make time to work on it. Last week I finally had the time to spend, so I sat down to tackle the project.  As I was removing the lining....

..... I notice that the exterior fabric was shot too!  I know that they have had mold issues and alike in their home and there was evidence on both the interior and exterior fabrics, and I didn't want to take any chances so I had to replace the exterior fabric too.  I failed again to get a 'before' image but here is what the exterior looks like:

I picked out my 2 favorite fabrics from my fabric stash and went to work.  The construction was very interesting and I had to do a lot of hand sewing but I LOVE the final result!  

I absolutely treasure it!  It has been in use since it was completed, filled with various knitting projects and I can honestly say that there probably won't be a day that goes by that it won't be filled with yarn and supplies.  I think that Bev would really like it and I think that she would be tickled to see how much I use and adore it!  I will honestly think of her every time I see it and just in case I forget (won't happen), I found these 2 little safety pins attached to the old fabric that is clear evidence that she used this basket, so I think they will make a permanent home pinned to the new fabric of her basket!

Until next time, Happy Sewing!