Unbiased... the bag

I managed to finish up my Unbiased bag from Knitty.com yesterday. Over at Knit the Classics we were challenged to knit something that tied into the current book selection, Woman at the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy. Our project could tie into any character, theme, or tone of the novel. After reviewing the stash, I decided to work with several skeins of recycled sari silk yarn. Some of it I had received in swaps, and some was part of a gift I had received from another Knit the Classics member, Stephanie, as part of a Knit the Classics swap. As the book is about a woman who has a connection to a future utopia that included a very "earth friendly" ethic, I thought using recycled material would fit in. This future utopia also is a model of acceptance of the "other" and a place where prejudice and bias have no home, so I saw a connection with the name of the bag on Knitty.com that used recycled sari silk, "Unbiased." There are more connections with the book that I go into on my post over at Knit the Classics. Now the making of the bag was rather quick, but I've found recycled sari silk as not the easiest yarn to use. It sheds quite a bit. I'm finding bits of the stuff even upstairs even though I knit the bag in my downstairs living room. It's not that easy on the hands either. I developed a rather sore spot on my fingers of my right hand. There are some twigs and things I found in some of the skeins that I pulled out along the way. The finished product though is worth it. I like how the colors come together, and I like the scrappy look of the final bag. Since I used sari silk from two totally different sources, one half of the bag has more of a magenta hue, and the other half is more of a brick red, but I think that just adds to the overall look. After working with this yarn, I'm not sure that I'd make a garment or something that will be worn with it. It is perfect for a bag though! I also received a prize that I won over at Jess's blog for her one year blogiversary. She sent me some lovely sock yarn in her signature colors, and some cute magnets and notepapaer. I'm getting to be quite the sock yarn addict, so the prize is perfect! Thanks Jess! Next up for me is working on my Project Spectrum/Angelica KAL. I've started it last night and have already had to go up several needle sizes to get gauge. I also have plans to start my sockpal's socks. I was very pleased to see that the pattern I've chosen uses size 3 needles! Yay! No toothpicks for these socks!