Give me a dime so I can phone my mother

So various things happened in December, and I didn't manage to photograph the Christmas presents I made before they were hastily wrapped and then unwrapped.

This one came back to me for finishing on Boxing Day. It is the Turkish Stitch String Bag, made for my sister. I bought the crochet cotton online earlier this year with the intention of using it for the Sweetheart Dress I made for my niece, but when it arrived it was so bright and shiny, it just wasn't right. I ended up buying a different cotton for the dress, in a similar but softer colour and a slightly softer yarn too.

But little sister loved this apple green, so I put it away with a note on it to consider making a string-style bag for her.

I only added the button and loop today. She took it on a trial run to the pool and concluded that it could do with a closure. It's very wide - I doubled the stitch count because I was using much smaller needles (4mm) than the pattern called for, and I didn't want the holes to be really big. Doubling the stitches might have been a slight overreaction - half as much again might have been enough - though then I might have made it a little deeper. It doesn't really matter as it can stretch in one direction or the other, depending on the weight and shape of what's inside.

This big?

Last time I was at the National Gallery I was happy to see that the pears are back! And the next time, I waited for a group of tourists to finish and then posed for a photo.

undecided

For this one I used a clear sewing thread (like fishing line but finer). I thought this would emphasise the transparent look and help the wool to show through more. But I'm not sure. It looks less sparkly/shiny, but I don't think that could be down to the thread; I think that is just the photography. I don't have one of the first batch here to compare directly.

I'd love to find more clear sequins equal to the quality of the ones I used here (2nd picture). I don't know where they came from, they had been in my bead stash for a while. The clear ones I bought to replace them and have been using for these pears are not as shiny and many have uneven edges or the hole is not in the centre. Of course (once I pick out the rejects), I do still like the overall effect.