And Yet Another Felted Bag

It's finished. Noro, despite its uneven texture, felts up quite nicely. I had to run it through the hot wash twice, and it's still bigger than the bags I've knit with Patons Classic. This one is mine, unlike most of the felted bags I've knit lately.

Natural light

With flash

My first attempt at an original pattern

I don't think it turned out that bad, either. It's for my SO's niece, whose 6th birthday party is Saturday. I'm going to fill it with girly stuff (hair ties, lip gloss, etc.) before we give it to her.

Before felting

After felting and blocking

This is what is on my needles currently.



A booga made with Noro Kureyon Color 166. Since I took this picture, I've finished the bag and have about a foot of the i-cord completed. I don't really care for the texture of this yarn. It's rough and the thickness varies throughout the skein. Also, the colors (even though all three skeins are from the same dye lot) are different. The green on the bottom of the bag never showed up in the other two skeins of yarn. But, I just had to have a bag made from Noro Kureyon. For my defense, it was on sale - 45% off! I think that from now on, I will stick with Patons Classic wool for felted bags.

I also started the kittyville hat from Stitch n Bitch. I will post a pic when it's finished; it's going very quickly.

I Love Small Projects!

I finished quite a few of them this week. First up is the umbilical cord hat from SnB. I also knit two more cell phone cozies. My neighbor now owns the lavender and yellow one.

And now for a random cat picture. Merlin thinks he belongs on the table.

A Rant, My First Trip to My LYS, and an FO

The Joanne’s by my house is the worst place to shop for sewing supplies. The last time I went there, I tried to get help with finding material for a pattern. (I am a novice when it comes to my sewing machine, and I need more help than the average person.) I wandered around aimlessly for a little while, and then found an employee and asked her for assistance. She was less than helpful; in fact, she basically stared at me, blinked a couple of times, then said, “I don’t know; I don’t sew.” Well, then, why the hell are you working in a FABRIC STORE??? From now on, I will drive 20 minutes to Field’s for any fabric/sewing crap that I need. Most of the people who work there wear the clothes they’ve sewn, so I know they aren't fabric-impaired.

AND:

Until yesterday, I had never actually been inside a yarn store. I had no idea what I was missing. I thought that the yarn selection at my local Meijer was impressive. Then I found the Knitting Shack. While it’s a somewhat small store, it is packed full of yarn, needles, and other knitting supplies. And, most importantly, the people working there (I assume they owned it) are very friendly and incredibly helpful.

Finally:
I finished the felted bag I was making for my mom.

Before felting

After felting with camera flash on

In natural light/no flash

My Weekend Project

I actually started it last night. I was finished with it around 6:30pm. I used variegated Sugar and Cream (I don't remember the colorway and accidentally threw out the label).

A custom fit cozy for my cell phone. I sort of used the pattern from SnB.

Detail of the button

The Baby Blanket is Finished!

I was getting worried because the baby it's for is due August 4th. I think I started it at the end of April. Granted, I knit several felted bags and a dishcloth while working on it. I will never again knit a sport weight yarn on size 7 circs.

Yes, that's my knitting chair under it.

My kids never miss a chance to pose for a picture. :-)

The Tote is Finished

Finally. I finished it this morning. Now, I am not sure what to do with it. It's supposed to be a knitting tote, but it's way too big. I could probably fit my entire yarn stash in this bag. Maybe I will use it as a bookbag when I go back to class in September.

Roomy enough for one cat to play in.

Roomy enough for two cats to hang out in.

A Boy and His Cats

This has nothing to do with crafts, but I couldn't resist posting this pic of my adorable boy hanging out with his kittens. Aren't they cute?

My First Completed Sewing Project

A knitting needle case! The funny part is, I started this yesterday around 5pm. I was finished with it by 10:45. My first sewing project, a huge yarn tote that I started sewing a couple weeks ago, is still sitting unfinished on a shelf in the kitchen. Eventually I will break down and slipstitch the liner and press it.

My needles are really liking their new home; don't they look happy?

And, the cloth I started more than 6 months ago. I finished it and gave it to my darling son, who wanted me to knit him a blanket. He settled for his own washcloth, for now.

WIPs for July

I have 3 WIPs on the needle. I refuse to post another pic of the baby blanket until it's finished. That is, if I ever do finish it. I have 24 inches completed; it doesn't seem like I've made much progress since my last post mentioning it (only 7 inches *sigh*).




Here is the booga I just started for my mom out of the peacock yarn I bought for half price. I am finishing up the purple yarn from my first two booga bags (pre-blog). Hopefully I don't run out of the purple before I run out of bag.




I’m not sure why I started a scarf in July, but the yarn is pretty when it’s all knit up. This colorway is also called peacock.

Yay! Finally a Couple of FOs!

This is the booga, before felting, that I made for my nine year old daughter. She saved her chore money to pay for the yarn. Hopefully that is enough incentive for her to take care of it and not lose it. :-)

After being felted

Another view of it after felting. It's kind of dark because the room was too bright for my flash to work.

Cricket's Technicolor Techno-Cozy from Stitch 'n Bitch. It only took a couple hours to knit up, but it took what seemed like forever to weave in the ends.

My Yarn Stash

I have no yarn. Or rather, I have no yarn that I want to start a new project with.


First up is my collection of novelty yarns. Bernat Boa was on sale a few weeks ago for $1.60 with an additional 20% off at the register. So, I ended up paying less than $10 for 8! One of these days, I will make some scarves out of them. Right now, it’s too warm out for me to even think about knitting scarves.


This pic shows what happens when Sugar 'n Cream goes on sale for $1 a ball at my local super center. In addition to the 11 full balls featured in the picture (yes, three of them are knockoffs that I bought at Hell-Mart), I somehow ended up with 15 partial balls. One would think that I love making dishcloths.



This is a pic of some yarn my mom bought me for my birthday. Or maybe it was for Valentine’s Day. Lol. I’m not really sure, because ever since I started knitting, she’s been giving me yarn, even if it’s not a holiday. That’s how I ended up with so much Lion Fun Fur.