Clara's Window

My niece's girly-girl birthday bag is done, wrapped, and on its way to her! The pattern came from Emma King's 25 Bags to Knit. It was a fun distraction from my larger projects—and I especially loved doing the flower details.

My only peeve was that the handle (arching from one end of the top to the other) is totally inappropriate for a bag that has no reinforcement. You lift the bag by the handle and the entire center pooches wide open. I couldn't find any of those cute little sew-on snaps in the house, so I improvised and ran elastic around the top seam. It helped.

I know my niece probably would've preferred something new and store-bought. But, as the only knitter in my family, I've had to abandon Preferred Auntie status in favor of That Aunt Who Always Gives Knitted Gifts. You know, those knitted gifts you joke about now but remember fondly after I'm gone.

Hopefully you remember them fondly.

Or they end up in a landfill somewhere.

Speaking of yarn ending up in landfills, there's an interesting discussion in the forums right now about yarn estate planning. If you're lucky, you passed on the knitting bug to another generation, and they will gratefully accept your cherished belongings. But what if you have no direct heirs who knit? What's the most responsible way to dispose of your stash?