Chocolate Mints In a Jar

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It all started when I went to the local yarn stores in Alexandria.  I could have camped there all vacation.  The first time I only bought some so I could try it out and see how it would feel to work with the stuff.  You buy it by weight and it comes in these humongous cones.  No ball band to tell you what hook to use or what weight this yarn is.

So I sat down to test it with different hooks.

I finally settled on a 4 mm hook.

Am I boring you?

At first I started making a market tote.  A simple rectangular shaped bag but it just didn’t feel right.

I ripped it all out although I was almost half way done.

And started making a circle.

I was sitting in my mom’s living room.

Oh my that living room has the most awesome balcony.  The balcony actually sucks, it is so tiny that my mom closed it years ago but if you open the window, the slightest breeze is like a tornado.  There was a cool breeze making the curtain dance.  It’s a white chiffon curtain that just dances wildly when there’s a wind blowing.

My mom’s living room is yellow.

Seriously!

Many many years ago she decided to paint the rooms and the living room is yellow, her room is a palish pink, my sister’s room is pink and my room is baby blue.

Color is nice, but I am painting all the walls in my house off white and if I ever feel the need for color I will use stick on decals or paintings or posters or whatever.

I stopped working and did a bit more the next day at my grandparent’s farm.

Think of a farm.  Whatever you imagined is nothing like my grandparent’s farm.

It’s more like a villa with a huge garden where my grandparents used to play farmers.  They are both too old and not exactly as healthy as they used to be.

It is where the whole family used to go spend Thursday nights and stay till Friday’s lunch.  With a couple of us married and the rest of us grown up and busy with their own lives it is not as lively as it used to be.

I sat for a while thinking about all of the years that went by.  The events and everything else.  Just like the rows working themselves out in the bag, everything worked itself out in our lives.

I am being really sentimental here.

A couple of days later it was finished and the next time we were at the farm my sister took our my grandma’s sewing machine and made the lining.

It stayed unfinished until this morning when I decided it was time to sew the lining to the bag.

Life is a lot like making bags.  It is OK to realize you want to go back and do something else.  It is OK to ask someone to help you.  It is OK to let life take its time and work itself out on its own.  Nothing stays the same.  People move on.  Life goes on.

I read a quote today from the movie The Incredibles “I don’t look back darling, it distracts me from the now”.  So the next time you sit down to do something, focus on that thing but don’t forget to be grateful for that summery breeze coming through the balcony that became a window.

Pattern:

Base:

Round 1 Chain 4 (counts as 1 dc and 1 chain), 11 dc in the 4th chain from the hook. [12 dc]

Slip stitch to the top of the 1st dc (top of chain 3 ), turn and chain 3

Repeat stitches in between ** until the end of each round.

Round 2 1 dc in same stitch as  chain 3 *2 dc in each sc.*  Slip stitch into first dc (top of chain 3 ) , turn and chain 3. [24 dc]

Round 3 1 dc in same stitch as  chain 3, 1 dc in next stitch *2 dc in first stitch, 1 dc in next stitch .* Slip stitch into first dc (top of chain 3 ) , turn and chain 3. [36 dc]

Round 4 1 dc in same stitch as  chain 3, 1 dc in next 2 stitches *2 dcin first stitch, 1 dc in next 2 stitches .* Slip stitch into first dc (top of chain 3 ) , turn and chain 3. [48 dc]

Round 5 1 dc in same stitch as  chain 3, 1 dc in next 3 stitches *2 dc in first stitch, 1 dc in next 3 stitches .* Slip stitch into first dc (top of chain 3 ) , turn and chain 3. [60 dc]

Round 6 1 dc in same stitch as  chain 3, 1 dc in next 4  stitches *2 dc in first stitch, 1 dc in next 4 stitches .* Slip stitch into first dc (top of chain 3 ), turn and chain 3. [72 dc]

Round 7 1 dc in same stitch as  chain 3, 1 dc in next 5  stitches *2 dc in first stitch, 1 dc in next 5 stitches .* Slip stitch into first dc (top of chain 3 ), turn and chain 3. [84 dc]

Round 8 1 dc in same stitch as  chain 3, 1 dc in next 6 stitches  *2 dc in first stitch, 1 dc in next 6 stitches .* Slip stitch into first dc (top of chain 3 ), turn and chain 3. [96 dc]

If you want a bigger base keep working more rounds, adding one stitch between each increase.

Body

Round 9 – 24 1 dc in each stitch.  Slip stitch into first dc (top of chain 3 ) , turn and chain 3 [96 dc]

If you want a taller bag add more rows of even dc stitches before doing round 25.

In the next two rounds you will be decreasing to give close the top opening a bit, I was too lazy to count so just decided on decreasing every 5 stitches then every 4 stitches so the stitches aren’t even.

There decreases aren’t even.

Round 25 1 dc in next 4 stitches, 1 dc decrese *1 dc in next 5  stitches, 1 dc decrease. *  1 dc in last 4 stitches.  Slip stitch into first dc (top of chain 3 ) , turn and chain 3

Round 26 1 dc in next 3 stitches, 1 dc decrese *1 dc in next 4 stitches, 1 dc decrease. * 1  dc in last 4 stitches.  Slip stitch into first dc (top of chain 3 ) , turn and chain 1

Round 27 1 sc in each stitch [70 stitches]

Handles

Round 28 1 sc in next 12  stitches, chain 34, sc in next 24 stitches, chain 34, sc in next 12 stitches. Slip stitch into first sc, not in the slip stitch turn and chain 1.

If you want a longer handle then chain more than 34, a shorter one then chain less than 34.  Simple right?

Round 29 1 sc in all scs and chain.  Slip stitch to first sc, turn and chain 1.  When working in the chains I prefer to flip it over and work in the back ridges, it gives a nicer cleaner finish.

Round 30 – 31 1 sc in next sc.  Slip stitch to first sc turn and chain 1.

Round 32 1 sc in next sc.  Slip stitch to first sc, finish off and weave in ends.

And we’re done here.

If you want to add a rigid base check out this tutorial