Friday, May 02, 2008

Have pouch will travel...

My 91 year old father has been in need of some sort of carry-all for his walker now that he is using it more often, especially when we go out. I debated with myself as to how I was going to go about creating this walker accessory. I knew I could sew something, but if you know me, sewing is not my forte. Then I thought...why not make a felted bag? I used no pattern and just winged it, keeping in mind that when you carefully felt an item - it shrinks about a third.

This is what I came up with. No straps, but I did make flaps. The idea was to attach this bag to the walker using velcro. Here it is before felting:

and after felting...the felted walker pouch:
Can you see the small rectangle flap at the top? This is the section that I sewed on a strip of velcro to attach it to the walker. I also added velcro to the bigger gray flap to keep it closed.

Here it is attached to the walker:
Dad seems pretty happy with it. I used Paton's Classic merino...which is my favorite yarn for felting. It felted very nicely into a sturdy little pouch.

Here's a couple more pictures of my artisan bread. I made a more elongated loaf:
This time I used an electric knife to slice it. While it was a little easier to slice (the electric really labored hard)...my slices are still very uneven. Doesn't matter though because it tastes so good. We actually had some leftover slices from this loaf and it makes incredible toast.

Another thing I tried was making some hard rolls.
I forgot to slash them before putting them in the oven. They still came out great though. For the rolls I used parchment paper on my peel instead of using corn meal. I slid them easily onto the baking stone and remove the paper after about 10 minutes. The paper slid out like a dream and the rolls still came out crispy. I'm really hooked on this wonderful bread making method. It's so easy and the results are unlike any grocery store bread that you can buy. I'm definitely making my own bread from now on!!

Have a wonderful weekend! happy knitting and baking :)

19 comments:

  1. DH's grandmother is in a nursing home and she uses a walker. I have thought about getting her some sort of bag that attached to the walker. Saw a store-bought type on someone's walker at Starbucks once, but was too shy to ask where she got it. Your knitted walker pouch is perfect! Until I read the part about it being felted. Fear of felting.

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  2. I recognize that walker, it looks just like mine. I hope not for long though, I am ready to be done with the need for one already. I love the bag though much nicer then my plastic Walmart bag I have tied on mine, lol

    But like smariek said I too have a fear of felting, lol.

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  3. GREAT felted carry all! I'm sure he apprecriates it, and I bet it is more sturdy than a sewn on.
    Your bread looks DELICIOUS! '
    have a great weekend!

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  4. The felted bag looks just perfect for that !
    Boy does that bread look great. Yum!

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  5. You're making me hungry again! You are a heck of a bread maker!

    That's an awesome pouch! That will definitely come in handy for Dad. He's 91! WOW! He sure must be doing something right.

    Hugs!

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  6. The walker bag is genious! Your bread looks very delicious! How often do you bake now, that you make your own bread?

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  7. What a great idea with the walker pouch :)

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  8. Great idea for the walker pouch! I bet he really likes it. Your bread looks amazing. Now I'm hungry!

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  9. Awesome walker bag! That is really cool. Felting rocks, I so love it. I was so afraid of felting my hedgehog that it took me a few days to actually do it (my previous felting of potholders went well, I don't know what my problem was) and once I finished it I couldn't figure out what the hell my problem was!

    And you're killing me with the breads. They look divine. I wish I could crawl through my monitor and eat them!

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  10. What a great walker bag! I'm sure your dad is very happy with it, and it seems so useful for him, too. And your breads look absolutely scrumptious! Yum. :)

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  11. Oh I love the idea of that bag. My g-aunt is 92 (hey is your Dad single ;-) ) and starting to use a walker more and more now.
    Oh I made the bread for the first time yesterday. I love it. I love the idea that you can keep the dough in the fridge and use it from there. What a time saver.

    Hugs!!!

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  12. If only every parent had such an industrious child, there would would none lacking! The carryall looks great!

    Your bread is causin' a lot of drooling..I'm gonna hafta ask you to stop! ;)_giggles_ Really those rolls bring back fond memories of ones we bought in Germany; they were hard, too and so very good. We loved them with bratwurst, mettwurst, etc. I can't show dh; he'll be wanting them. ;)

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  13. What a great tote for his walker, it looks fantastic.

    Your bread and rolls look yummy, now I may have to bake some bread.

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  14. I really like your pouch thingie. I'm sure it will come in nice and handy for him.

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  15. wow! that walker pouch is really cool. very impressive! : )

    also, such yummy looking bread!

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  16. that bag looks great, bet your Dad is pleased with it. Doesn't it feel good to make something for your Dad? , they are hard people to make things for! Yum tot he bread, I can smell it from here!

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  17. That's an ingenious pouch and it looks so snazzy!

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  18. What an amazing idea! I'm sure he'll love it. It's perfect.

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  19. Great idea for the walker! You should feature them on etsy.com

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