Bags, Tops and Puppy Love

Over the last month, my mission to use as much of my yarn stash as possible has been going well. I have managed to put some really old charity shop yarn to good use. This navy boucle yarn was purchased ages ago - 8 balls for just £2. It is called Calvados by Jaeger and I think it must have been discontinued a long time ago because I can't find out much about it. I found the perfect pattern for it in "The Knitter's Bible, Knitted Bags" which I recently borrowed from the library. This handy bag converts from backpack to shoulder bag with some clever buttons on the back and straps. It took very little time to knit, using 5mm needles and the yarn doubled. The boucle was quite hard on the hands, especially knitting at fairly tight guage, but it was worth the effort.
I like several of the patterns in the book and have started the Buttoned Bag in some Patons Touch of Linen. It is an interesting stitch pattern and should make a very cute little handbag.
I also used up some more very old acrylic charity shop yarn and 2 balls of Patons Cotton Colada to make this rather interesting Mermaid Scarf - a pattern I purchased through Ravelry. There seemed to be some errors in the pattern and it proved very difficult to get the tail fins right. I managed to work it out in the end but it was quite annoying. I am not the only person who has had problems with this pattern. The finished scarf is quite good, it was just a lot more bother than I had anticipated.
6 balls of Phildar Linbel from the bargain bin at Mavis, my LYS, knitted up into the Sassy Tank. This was a very simple in-the-round pattern from Cheri Christian, also purchased through Ravelry. I'm not sure that it was the best choice of yarn for this pattern but I am reasonably happy with the finished tank. It is perhaps a little heavy for the style. I will certainly try it again with something more Summery.
There have been 3 balls of Jaeger Trinity calling out at me from my stash for years. Ever since I picked them up for about 50p a ball in a sale just because they were so cheap. Who could resist yarn that cheap? I thought that it might just be enough to knit "Jordan" by Wendy Bernard. This is a really beautiful top knitted as a tube up to the armholes and then the sleeves are 2 rectangles sewn on to the tube. Really simple, no shaping but it looks amazing. It was also interesting to knit as the lace changes from panel to panel. I absolutely love this top.
The Skinny Dew Drop Belt from Amy Butler's "River Camp Knits" has been on my mind since I first flicked through the book. Using up those 2 balls of Patons 100% Cotton dk from my stash seemed like a good idea. I made up the dew drops first so that I could just keep going on the belt until the yarn ran out. It is almost finished but has got quite boring as it is really just a very long strip of double crochet. So of course, I had to start something else...
Just messing about with scraps and crocheting little purses. I've made a few of these and just need to sew them up - not my strong point!
Meanwhile, little Alfie is getting bigger and more mischievous every day. He is so adorable-apart from when he is running off with my yarn and weaving it around the legs of the dining table and chairs before I can catch him. You can't stay mad for long at a pup this cute...