Yes, this great felted Fair-Isle bag’s been traveling the world with me!
Oh… so THAT’s where you’ve been…
Yes- but I’m BACK and it’s going to be nothing but free video techniques and free patterns every week all summer here at KnitFreedom. I’ll tell you all about my adventures, too, but first, the goods:
Why This Fair-Isle Bag Is The Awesomest
If you already know how to knit Fair-Isle (that is, with two colors at once), this bag will be a really quick knit.
It’s knit in bulky yarn and the chart just flies by.
If you are curious about learning to knit Fair-Isle, this is also a good beginner pattern for you.
In this pattern, I link to helpful KnitFreedom videos showing the basics to help you get off to a good start.
This is the pattern that we use to work along together in the Fair-Isle video e-book.
Although it’s been much too long in coming, I’m finally publishing it for all the readers who don’t have the ebook.
A Team of Knitting Geniuses Created This Pattern
A shout-out is imperative. Tracy St. John of Tangled Knitting and Crochet Webzine designed this pattern, which was a perfect project for the Fair-Isle ebook.
Stix Yarn sold me the super-soft Malabrigo for the sample (although I think they did try to talk me out of this color-combination…). Their new online store is growing, but it’s already my favorite place to buy yarn online.
Camilla Emond, photographer, hand-dyer, and yarn-spinner at Free Range Chik, photographed the Fair-Isle bag in the bracing springtime of her Montana home.
Which leaves me… what did I do again? Oh yeah – I knitted the bag and painstakingly filmed every step, thinking up awesome tips and tricks for you along the way.
My favorite tips: how to knit Fair-Isle on Magic Loop and DPNs without making the corners all funky, and how to fix a mistake you made in the chart even if you notice it like six rows later. Learn more about the Fair-Isle Knitting video course here.
The Goods: Download the Fair-Isle Felted Bag Pattern Here
This felted fair-isle bag pattern is FREE to all newsletter subscribers. Download it here or see more photos and check the pattern details here: Easy Fair-Isle Felted Bag.
Please remember to link your project to the pattern page on Ravelry, and share your photos in the KnitFreedom group! This way, other KnitFreedom fans can see all the color combinations and read if you have any tips on knitting the bag or choosing the yarn.
So, Where The Heck Have You Been?
Getting some quality family-time – halfway across the world.
I left on May 1st and headed to Madrid, Spain, where I got to stay for a week and practice my Spanish, meet new friends, and try to sleep in a room full of strangers.
The first order of business was to get to the yoga studio, and stretch and squeeze and twist my body until I felt right back at home (or too tired to tell the difference).
Staying in a big city is such a treat – you can walk anywhere, or take the metro if you get tired.
It’s also easy (and fun) to get lost in the city, which I did a few times.
Each side street is filled with small shops and cafés to look at as you pass by, and of course, if you need to practice your Spanish, you can always ask for directions.
Unfortunately, because there are so many tourists, the average person doesn’t know how to get where you want to go.
Line Break
Some of the main streets in Madrid are breathtaking, like this main avenue below.
A group of friends and I went out for tapas (appetizers) one night, and I learned something new: they’re not called tapas here. They’re called pinchos. Who knew?!
After dinner, we wandered along the streets until we came upon a jazz club with people overflowing out the door. Our curiosity piqued, we squeezed inside and were treated to a small but happening bar with a four-piece jazz-and-blues band playing. A few of us stayed until closing, when I snapped the picture below.
I also met a lovely new friend at the hostel, and we walked and took pictures in the Parque de Retiro, the “Central Park” of Madrid.
Below, on the left, Merryn and I goof off.
On the right, we’re at a trendy tapas “market,” to which she’s brought a menu she’d created with English translations of all the Spanish food-names she could possibly encounter.
The menu was also color-coded to show which of the foods she definitely wanted to try, might want to try, and would under no circumstances be prevailed upon to try.
I’ll leave you with a little video I took in the market, where my friend Jesús tells us, in a beautifully typical Spanish-from-Spain accent, where we are and why.
You’ll see the different tapas counters and, woe betide anyone wearing high heels, the complete absence of seating. I ate my weight in jamón serrano and was in heaven.
Translation:
Liat: You’re on video!
Merryn: (waves)
Jesús: (waves) No tengo ni idea de inglés… (“I have no idea what you just said…”)
Liat: Here, say something, say something in Spanish-Spanish, like really fast.
Jesús: Cómo? (“what?”)
Liat: Say something in Spanish, speak..
Jesús: Ah, que hablo en Castellano.. (“Oh, you want me to speak in Spanish..”)
Liat: Yeah. Like, really fast.
Jesús: Qué que te diga? (“What do you want me to say?”)
Liat: Anything.
Jesús: Estamos en el Mercado de San Miguel, vamos a comer ahora unas tapitas, muy ricas, tipicas españolas, y, bueno, os traje para aquí para que conozcáis este sitio que es un poco… especial. Bastante especial. (“We’re in the San Miguel Market, right now we’re going to eat some little tapas, that are going to be delicious, very typical Spanish food, so, yeah, I brought you guys here so that you could get to know this place, which is a little… special. Really special.”)
And so my whole week in Spain was actually quite special. I then left to stay with my family in Israel, and I’ll tell you more about those adventures in next week’s post, which is on How to Pick Up and Knit Wraps on the Purl Side – a trick for making your short-rows amazing that you won’t want to miss. See you next week!
More Resources:
KnitFreedom is a great place for free, basic patterns that can help you learn new techniques. Once you’re a subscriber, you can download all the patterns whenever you want. Sign up now or check out the Free Patterns page.
Leave a comment below! I love to hear your thoughts.
19 thoughts on “NEW: Easy Felted Fair-Isle Bag Free Pattern… And World Travels”
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Love your blog on your visit with your mom (I’m an old mom too so I appreciate daughter’s who visit their moms) Also so excited to do the mittens….I’m going to try the thumb method on the pair of bulky ones I’m knitting now…(I don’t care if it’s summer) we’ll have winter again soon enough. I enjoy and learn a lot from all your video’s Thanks Liat…..enjoy your travels and thanks for sharing.
Ingrid, I’m glad you don’t care if it’s summer ’cause I’m keeping the patterns coming no matter the weather! I’ve got too much of a backlog to wait until it gets cold. :)
Happy knitting!
Must give a shout-out to this fun pattern. I made it in dark purple and lime green for my daughter with your wonderful e-book. So fun! Anyone can make this with Liat’s ebook, yarn and needles. I am so thankful for your wonderful ebooks and videos. You’re the best! Love hearing about your travels too. Have a great summer.
Thanks Bobbi! It’s really fun sharing my travels when I do blog posts. I’m excited to be back on schedule and to have a plan for all the blog posts for the whole summer. Stay tuned!
Liat, thank you for sharing moments of your vacation with us and for sharing the lovely Fair Isle bag pattern.
Thanks, Marcia!
Very Sweet~
¡La ostia! ¡Pues, mi niña- eres la leche! Liat, you are so fab ewe lusssss. I love you and your emails and ebooks. I wish you many more wonderful travels so I can read all about them while sitting here nursing my bebé and playing with my toddler. Once upon a time…una vez yo vivía en España, y en Argentina…oh where oh where will you go next??
Besos!! From Colorado
Jajajaja che, gracias!! Te quiero a vos tambien!! Yo tambien espero tener mucho mas viajes maravillosas… en una semana voy a B.A. por el verano (invierno)! Y dónde vivís en Colorado? Yo vivo en Aspen. Quizás ya lo sabías. Thanks for making me laugh and for the happy vibes! Besos
I am so happy that I get your little e-mails to such wonderful places and patterns!! I thank you very much for sharing and look forward to your continued travels around the world giving us such interesting things to look at and listen to. LOL The market looked like a wonderful place to get fat!! ;)
Sue, you make me so happy! I’ll make sure to keep on posting free patterns and fun photos all summer long!
LIAT…. You just showed me… EVEN I CAN GIVE THIS A TRY…..
Love what I’ve seen so far. Can’t wait to buy the video. Wish I had an I-pad or ……….
An ipod… or other…. It has to be great to just take it where ever you go… and bingo, HELP IS AT YOUR FINGER TIPS. Have to spread the word to my family.
Now, which would be the best to purchase, …. ????? Let me know your opinion…
please ;) Can’t wait to hear from you as you travel around.
Louise
Hi Louise,
Yes! You can totally do it! The best video for you will be the Fair Isle Video E-Book. You can watch it on your computer, although, I agree, it’s really nice having it on an iPad. But since the course is online, you can watch it from any computer as long as you save the email with the link and password to log in. Here’s where you get the ebook: https://www.knitfreedom.com//classes/fair-isle-knitting Happy knitting!
Thanks for publishing the Fair Isle Beginner Bag on Knitfreedom! We taught this bag as a class last fall and everyone’s bag turned out great!
Thank you for another priceless free knitting pattern . I love the colors of this bag too. I enjoyed your short video clip. Enjoy your trip and time with friends and loved ones.
Thanks Rosie! Have a great summer.
Signed up. No pattern for worsted mitten pattern. Please send