A blog about my life, knitting, and other stuff.

March 31, 2004

Where is My Brain?

As impossible as it seems to be, I seem to have made yet another mistake in the armhole decreases for my Shapely Tank. I was so fixated, I'm guessing, last night on not making the same mistake that I made a new one. So now I will spend my night ripping back to where I ripped back to last night. Or maybe I'll work on something else for a while since Shapely and I seem to be having communication issues. I think part of the problem is that the shaping is so simple I don't give it much attention and do other things while I'm knitting like watch tv and read blogs. What I should be doing is watching my knitting and counting stitches to make sure I'm not screwing up.

March 30, 2004

50°

Like some sort of atmospheric practical joke, the temperature dropped down 30° since yesterday and it's raining. Yesterday feels like some strange distant dream.

I was making good progress on the Shapely Tank when I just realized I had misread the pattern. There are so many sizes on there. I did the armhole shaping for the one size smaller than mine. I need to rip out eight rows. A loss of an hour of knitting vs. a week of knitting like last time. I can live with it.

Check out Chris's Shapely Tank progress to see one that moving along without any major mishaps.

I got a package from Ram Wools today. It's my Mission Falls wool that I ordered for Rogue. I don't know when I'll start working on it. It's a very complex pattern (for me) and you all can see how much trouble I seem to be having lately following even a very simple pattern. It's a beautiful color--Thyme.


The Goods


The Close-up


March 29, 2004

80°

Holy cow was it hot today! I heard it was going to be "nice" today. I was not expecting 80+°, clear, sunny and gorgeous! I took my younger son to the beach with some preschool friends. We were completely unprepared, wearing jeans and long sleeves. It was roasting. I got a slight burn. My son had a wonderful time and asked to go again before we got back in the car (by which point he was wearing only Blue's Clues underpants...ah to be 3 again).

I met the Purlygirls tonight and we had 25 (that's twenty-five) knitters tonight. It was wonderful. I worked on my can-knit-without-looking-or-thinking GE Cardi. I'm on one of the front sides now. There were scarves, socks, felted bags, Rowan sweaters, Manos, Baby Cashmerino and ribbon yarn as far as the eye could see.

Now that I'm back home I'm working on my Shapely Tank. I've just started the bust short rows. This means I've almost caught up to where I was before I had to frog the whole flippin' thing. Here's a progress picture.


Here's the cardigan front too.


Word to the wise: Don't order yarn after midnight. I ordered some lovely Noro Lily around 1 am from Patternworks. It arrived today. I ordered less than half of what I needed and the yarn is now gone since it was a sale item. What was I thinking? My only thought was that I saw grams in the pattern suggested yarn and thought it said yards? Ah, who the hell knows. Now I have to come up with a new project for approximately 300 yards of lovely burgundy-red silk/cotton yarn. Any ideas?


The horse is also puzzled.

How the horses ended up living on my desk. They were mine when I was little and I've been letting my boys play with them. My oldest decided he didn't want to play with them anymore and kept handing them to me while I was online. I put them down and they've been here ever since. At least they don't shed or yak on the floor like some of the animals I share my office with

March 28, 2004

There Shouldn't Be News

I should have been home cooking and cleaning all day to get ready for a house-warming party we're having tomorrow. Instead I went out with some s and went yarn shopping. We went to The Yarn Gallery in West Seattle. It was my first visit. They had a very interesting selection. They offer a lot of yarns that the other Seattle stores don't carry. They have some Plassard, Noro yarns I've never seen or heard of, loads of Colinette and tons of other great stuff. Unfortunately the place is terribly organized. In fact, it's not organized at all. There's no rhyme or reason so the only way to find something is to ask someone to show you where it is. And they kept telling me they didn't have the yarns I was looking for. Then twice I found them while looking for other things. I didn't get anything since I have yarn on the way to me from Ram Wools, Patternworks (two orders!) and an eBay seller.

After shopping we stopped for lunch then headed to Acorn Street for more yarn shopping! I picked up three balls of plain cotton yarn from the clearance shelf for afghan squares. They were only $.99 each.

I also thumbed through the most recent Knit 'N Style magazine. Can just ask, "What the hell are they thinking?"

This is "Artful Off Shoulder Elegance." What? And the design from the cover?
What the hell are they thinking?

I was looking at the Grammar Avengers' ring and found Knitting Goddess #9 with a link to this button maker. As Christina said, now I can have buttons just like every other blog out there. What the heck. It was fun.



Oh, go check out the sale at Patternworks. Hello, Koigu at 45% off! Manos at 40% off!

March 26, 2004

More Tank Clarifications

Lisa, a member of the Shapely Tank Knitalong, posted a question in the comments yesterday. She also fired off an email to Joan M-M, the very gracious designer. Once again, Joan came through like a bolt with assistance and clarifications.

Has anyone doing the shapley tank come to the part just after you bind off 4 rows for the armholes? I feel like a moron, but I just do not get the directions "bind off one stitch every other row on both sides"

Every other row? I am confused! If anyone has done this and can explain it to me I would be so grateful!! Just email me, thanks Lisa in Oregon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joan very kindly answered my question. I understood it when she wrote:

"Perhaps it should read,

" Dec 1 st at each end of needle every other row X times.."

What you're doing is with the right side of the work facing you, decrease a stitch at the beginning of the row and then again at the end of the row. Now do your purl row with no decreases. The next right side row, you'll decrease at the beginning and end as before, and so on."


Thank you to Joan and Lisa.

There are some Shapelys shaping up out there. Caryn has made some progress in pink. Kristi has conquered short rows. Chris has cast on. There's more progress out there I'm sure. Let me know how you're doing.

And check me out! A mention on the Interweave site.

March 25, 2004

Shapely, Take Two

I'm back in the swing of things. The bottom short rows look good. The bottom still wants to fold over where the stockinette begins. I'm hoping that will improve. I'm moving along at a good clip and following the pattern. I'm still enjoying this yarn (Classic Elite Premiere). It creates a wonderfully drapey and silky soft fabric. It is letting off lots of little tufts of fuzz as I knit though what with the frogging and all. They come off easily but are easily inhaled. Ick.

I signed up for a class with Nancy Bush at a local yarn shop. I may also sign up for a spinning class! Baby steps...baby steps.

March 24, 2004

The Silver Lining

The Shapely Tank is underway again. It looks so much better now. I was not doing my short rows entirely correctly the first time. I had a better hang of it the second time but the third time I had it down cold. My new tank has a lovely curved front as promised in the pattern.

What went wrong the last time? Well, it almost too embarrassing to say because pretty much everything went wrong. 1) My short rows were kind of sucky. 2) I didn't do enough short rows on the bottom which made it curl. 3) I miss read "work evenly for 11/2 inches" as work evenly for 11 1/2 inches instead of 1 1/2 inches. 4) I jumped forward in the pattern and didn't notice. All in all, the tank was a disaster. It looked okay but it was just wrong on every front. I now think I've read it all correctly and will be making great progress. I had a friend over (she brought me my Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora pattern book!) for a little while this afternoon and we had some tea and did some knitting. It's moving very quickly this time. If I'm feeling frisky I'll post a picture of the tank later tonight.

If you haven't seen it yet go check out Alison's adorable fluffy tank. Not only did she create a great little top but she took the time to write out the pattern and share it with us.

Worse Than I Thought

The Tank was worse than I thought so I ended up frogging the whole damn thing. I stayed up past one casting on again and working up to the end of the second short row. Sigh. That's a whole week of work gone.

March 23, 2004

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid

I was feeling so good, so proud of myself. I completed the bust shaping on the Shapely Tank and kicked short-row butt! That is until I realized that I had accidentally skipped about half the freakin' pattern. What the?? How did I do that? I think I was so worked up and scared about the short rows I just jumped the gun. Damn! Now I have to rip out everything I did today. Grrrrr...

On a more positive note, I finished the back to the GE Cardi. I won't show you a picture because...zzzz.... I started the first front side.

I'm off to start ripping. Stupid!!!

March 21, 2004

Knitting Roundup

I didn't get a lot accomplished today. I was in bed for most of the day with a terrible headache. But before I fell ill I went to two local yarn shops to turn over ideas about patterns and yarn again and again and again. I've been searching for a few yarns to use with the patterns from the new Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora book. I will make Mia in the actual yarn. But for the others that I really want to make (Lottie, Rosy) I wanted to branch out. While visiting Churchmouse I became totally smitten with Mountain Colors. I just want to have all the colorways in all the yarns they make. The 4/8s in Redtail Hawk looks like a good candidate for Lottie. But honestly, I could put on a blindfold and pick one of their colors and would be guaranteed to be happy. They are all so gorgeous. I don't know about Rosy yet. I need to spend less time planning and more time knitting!

I pinned down my Shapely Tank front and GE Cardi back to measure them so I snapped a few pictures.

Just more and more stockinette. Maybe that's why my mind is wondering to new projects. The Classic Elite Premiere I'm using for the tank is just so soft. I really love it.

This makes me want to learn how to spin. I don't know if I actually like these yarns but they are certainly interesting to look at. They would be an adventure to knit with.

I've been watching the first season of The Office the last few nights while knitting. This show is excruciatingly funny. It's so deadpan. It makes me very happy that I don't have a job.

March 20, 2004

Field Trip!

The Purlygirls went to Churchmouse Yarns & Teas today. We got to spend the time on the ferry to Bainbridge Island knitting and catching up. Then we walked over to the shop. They even had "Welcome Purlygirls" on the sign out front. We oohed and ahhed and touched everything and wiped out the sale shelf. We bought lots of yarn. I maintained self-control and just picked up a cable needle and some oddballs of All Season Cotton at 40% off. (I will use it on some more afghan squares for myself. I have one made already so I should have a completed afghan by 2010 at the earliest.) Some of the nicest discoveries were the Mountain Colors (love these colors!) Merino Ribbon. This is the softest and prettiest ribbon yarn I have ever seen. It is just lovely. And the yardage is great too. Just 4 skeins to make a woman's raglan sweater. One of the Purlygirls got some. I looked longingly into her shopping bag for the rest of the afternoon. Another lovely find is Nature Cotton. It's very similar to Manos Del Urguay Stria except with more texture. And it comes in great colors. With our purchases the lovely folks at Churchmouse let us each select a gift. We could choose from point protectors, Earl Gray candies, cedar balls or a Churchmouse tea bag caddy. I picked a caddy.



We grabbed lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant and then went back to Churchmouse to sit around and knit. They have one large worktable in the front of the shop. We all settled in to work and they brought us little cups of tea and cookies! We took the ferry home. Sadly I had to go right home because we were babysitting for friends tonight. Some Purlygirls got to go out to my favorite tea house and knit and talk some more.

My Shapely Tank is progressing nicely. I have about a foot done of the front. Unfortunately I realized that in my whole short row/wrap/frog angst I only did three short row wraps on each side instead of six. Oh well, I'm not frogging this whole thing for a little more shaping along the bottom.

March 18, 2004

More Great Help on the Shapely Tank

We are so lucky. The designer of the Shapely Tank, Joan McGowan-Michael, has graciously answered yet another question from one of our knitters. Caryn asked about adding extra length to the tank. Here is Joan's response.
Divide the extra length you need into three.
Add some in the lower area after the short row shaping but before the side seam decreases. Then add some in the waist, and lastly, some in the area after the side seam increases but before the bust short rows.
I hope this helps,
Joan M-M

I completed about three inches on my tank last night. I need to start another afghan square for the Mason-Dixon Knitting Afghanalong for Afghans. The two projects I'm working on right now--the GE cardi and the Shapely Tank--are both pretty small gauge for me. I need to pull out some big needles! I was thinking about trying some cables.

And in other news...
My inner child is sixteen years old today

My inner child is sixteen years old!


Life's not fair! It's never been fair, but while
adults might just accept that, I know
something's gotta change. And it's gonna
change, just as soon as I become an adult and
get some power of my own.


How Old is Your Inner Child?
brought to you by Quizilla

March 17, 2004

Thank Goodness for Purlwise

It was an ugly scene last night. I had completed my short rows on my Shapely Tank. I was trying to pick up the wraps. Using this fabulous article from Knitty by the fabulous Bonne-Marie I felt like I had a handle on the whole short row thing. I hide the wraps on the knit side. I got to the purl side and could not work it out. I started losing the wraps and trying to pull it back together. I cursed, I frogged, I screamed. I was terribly unkind to my husband and cat. Then I found this. These wonderful illustrations at Purlwise of hiding the wraps on both the purl and knit sides saved me. I hide my wraps. I knit on. All was calm and happy again. Thank you, Purlwise!

Here's the little trouble-maker now.


March 16, 2004

How'd I Do?

The No-Sweats are done.

Wes and I had fun restaging this ridiculous photo. That was the most uncomfortable position to stand in.

So the pants are warm and snuggly. The seams feel a little bulky to me. I'm sure it's partly the yarn and partly my lack of talent in the seaming department. They (*updated* by "they" I meant the pants not the seams. I shouldn't post after midnight) certainly add more bulk in the thigh, tummy, butt area than I'd like but it's not like I'm going to wear them out to dinner. I made them because, like Everest, they were there.

My 5 year old asked me what I was knitting a few days ago.
I said, "I'm making pants."
"Pants? But that will take a hundred and two years!"

Tomorrow I cast on my Shapely Tank. The knitalong keeps growing. I'm very excited.

March 15, 2004

So Close, Yet So Far

I'm about a row and a half from the end of my No-Sweats. I've sewed up all the seams already so all I need to do after I bind off is weave in a few ends and crochet my drawstring. I will post a picture as soon as they get done. I'm currently sitting for three three-year-olds so not much knitting happening. I'm also waiting for the furnace repair guy. The circuit board blew out in ours yesterday afternoon. It's 59 degrees in the living room. Brrr.

I thought I had a really good shot at winning Wendy's limerick contest. Turns out, I didn't! I still like my entry a lot.

The young knitter's wits were unfurling
As her cardigan sweater kept curling.
Her plaintive voice cracked
As her forehead she smacked,
"I'm knitting when I should be purling!"

Wes and I also made up a really bad, goofy one.

While sitting around on my duff-a,
I realized I'd had quite enough-a.
The sweater I knit
Refuses to fit.
I wish I could knit more like Fluffa!

Okay, the furnace guys is here. The kids are building a pillow fort. Back to my pants.

March 13, 2004

Life's a Picknit

I went to a picknit today. Someone in one of my Stitch 'N Bitch groups had the great idea of getting together at the park for some picnicking and knitting. I had errands to run and could only go for an hour or so but it was still a nice break in the day.

The No-Sweats are creeping toward completion. I have stitched up the outside seams and have joined the legs. I'm about 4 inches up the body. Sewing up these seams is so dull. It feels like miles of sewing. The two legs that I knit together were a snap to stitch though. They matched up perfectly and the seam looks great. The other leg...well, it's not as good. I'm going to be out for the entire day and evening tomorrow and this project isn't that portable at this point. I hope I'll finish it tomorrow but there's no guarantee.

Then it's time to cast on for some spring knitting!

March 12, 2004

I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere with the GE Cardi. I started the shaping on the back at last. You can see why I haven't posted a lot of pictures on this one. Nothing but brown stockinette as far as the eye can see.


The No-Sweats are coming along well too. I have just a few more inches left on the second leg.

I thought I would finish it last night but I got caught up with the cardi. And this.

Some friends should be having a new baby any day now. I gave them a hat that I made months ago--it was my first hat--but it kind of sucks. So I decided to make them a new one that would suck less. I hope.

I think Zasu would like a cat bed. By the way, she gives the No-Sweats (pictured here under her butt) a big thumbs up.

March 11, 2004

Shapely Tank Update

The knitalong is growing. I'm so happy to have you all knitting along with me.

Amy had a question for the tank designer, Joan McGowan-Michael. She sent me Joan's response.

"This is from Joan in response to my email asking what size to make if my hips and chest are different sizes."

Amy, the short rows won't add extra width to the hips or to the bust. They add extra length to the interior of a fabric without changing the length of the side seams. That is what gives the U shape to the hem of the Shapely tank, and boob room with the bust short rows.

You must add more stitches if you want more width or the reverse if you want less.

In any event, the tank top won't come down below your high hip, so that is the measurement you need be concerned with. Take a tape measure and measure your hips at a point about 3 1/2-4" below your natural waist. I'm betting that will be smaller than your booty measurement, which most people think of when they think "hip".

Also, please remember that when choosing what size to make, the measurements on the Shapely pattern are the finished bust measurement. For example if your bust is 38" you would not make a 38" top unless you want it to be fairly snug. 40" would still be close fitting, and 42" would be a relaxed fit.

In direct response to your question, if you still find a huge discrepancy in the measurement of your high hip and bust, you'd be better off going with the bust measurement, and casting on more stitches at the bottom, decreasing them away at spaced intervals as you knit up toward the bust.

Please go ahead and share this info with the folks in your Knitalong, as I'm sure this question will show up more than once.

Joan M-M


Thank you so much to Joan and Amy for all this useful information.

A few people have asked if it's okay to make the Shapely Tee instead of the tank. Absolutely! I still might add sleeves to mine. I haven't decided. I can't wait to see all the yarn that you will be using. Keep us posted on your progress.

March 10, 2004

Lighten Up

I decided to lighten things up a bit around the blog. Spring is springing here in Seattle. There's sunshine and flowers.

I'm still working away on my No-Sweats. I have 20 inches done on the front and back of the second leg. I should be joining it all up in a day or two.

I just ordered the new Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora pattern book. I crave this sweater.


"You know you want me."

I had a knitting group on Monday night, last night and another one tonight! I'm a lucky girl. I get to hang out, chat and knit. On Monday I got to see all the cool projects from the Purlygirls. There were Knitty and Stitch 'N Bitch projects galore. There was a Kyoto, Postmodern Legwarmers, Meema's Marsupial Tote, a French Market Tote. At my Tuesday night group I got to see Helen's Lace that my friend got when she visited Threadbear. It's very pretty and she's making a very delicate shawl from it.

I plan on casting on for my Shapely Tank by March 15th. However, the knitalong will not officially begin until Monday, March 22nd. Hopefully everyone will have enough time to get their yarn. We have four whole participants so far. Woohoo!

March 8, 2004

Double Vision


You're not seeing double. After completing the front and back of the first leg of the sweats and spending a lot of time worrying that I was making them the same length, I decided to knit the front and back of the second leg simultaneously. It's going quickly and I've managed not to get too confused. I think I will do this for all sleeves (and possibly socks) from now on. It will help prevent Second Sleeve (or Sock) Syndrome.

I decided to join Alison's . I will cast on for two spring projects, most likely the Shapely Tank and a Bottoms Up! BOC in Mission Falls Cotton, by March 15. That should give me more than enough time to finish my No-Sweats and make some real headway on the GE Cardi.

March 7, 2004

Documentary

Wes and I saw two great documentaries this weekend: The Fog of War and Capturing the Friedmans. Both very fascinating and approached in totally different ways.

I reorganized my stash.
I got some more done on my No-Sweats.
I even got some work done on the GE Cardi. I won't bore you with a photo of a dark brown rectangle.
So all in all, nothing very exciting happening knit-wise. Just chugging along.

March 5, 2004

Evidence

I finally pulled out my camera and can present evidence of actual knitting.
Let's begin with the No-Sweat Pants. I have completed one leg front and have just started a second.



I was going to take a picture of the GE Cardi but I left it in the car. Just close your eyes and picture about 6 inches of dark brown stockinette. Okay, now wake up! Makes you sleepy, huh?

Here is my yarn for the Shapely Tank. I will announce an official knitalong soon.



It is so soft, silky and light. I love it. It does produce a lot of light fluff (from the Tencel?) which wafts around while you knit. I suspect this will grow annoying as I proceed but it's so pretty I don't care right now. I love the little plaits it comes in. I'm sure all the spinners out there know the actual name for it. It just makes it feel so special to me. What can I say, I'm a yarn dork.

Yesterday, my office mate documented my work in Photoshop. He also got a photo of my other office mate.



He also took another 5 or 6 photos of his feet which I won't share with you (unless specifically requested). It reminds me of the line Scarlett Johansson has in Lost in Translation about how every girl goes through a photography phase.
Charlotte: I tried taking pictures, but they were so mediocre. I guess every girl goes through a photography phase. You know, horses... taking pictures of your feet.


Good news for us all and proof that artists can make a difference.
BBC NEWS | UK | McDonald's to scrap 'supersizing'

March 4, 2004

Take Two

So I gave up on Photoshop. I spent several hours this morning trying to get it to work for me and I just don't get it. Then I spent ten minutes in Photodraw and came up with the blog banner and button. The picture isn't edited all that well but what the heck.

Was Photoshop Designed by Mutant Alien Freaks on Crack?

Who came up with this crap? Oh man. I just got Photoshop 5 for Dummies from the library today. I also started contemplating hosting a knitalong for the Shapely Tank today. Seemed like a good time to try out Photoshop to create a simple button. I made a mock-up earlier in the day in Publisher. It took about 5 minutes and looked great. In Photoshop it looked great and I could export it as a .gif file but it took me 90 freakin' minutes! "Want to resize an image? Ah yes! The "transform" command." What the?? Really, does this program make sense intuitively to anyone (possibly excluding the designer)?

Okay, shake it off.

Here is the fruit of my labor (with lots of cursing!).


For a more vintage flair I made this one.


I see now that the font is hard to read and the buttons are two different sizes. Back to the drawing board. Perhaps in a week or year or something I will wring out a banner for my blog. Perhaps not.

I worked a few rows on the GE cardi while waiting for my husband at a restaurant tonight. I drew quite a lot of stares. You'd think I'd pulled out a wheel and started spinning. Sheesh. I did see something a little alarming as I sat, knitting and waiting. My table was next to the window facing Market Street in Ballard (for those of you who have never visited Seattle, please use your imagination). I thought I saw a cat go by which I thought was a little odd on such a busy street. Then I realized that what I saw was a huge raccoon limping down the sidewalk! It paused and considered making a dash across the street but then thought the better of it and continued it's wounded way down the street. I thought that was downright strange.

I worked a tiny bit on the No-Sweats. I've got about 29" done on the first front. I also finally ordered yarn for Rogue. I decided on Mission Falls Wool in Thyme.


Dee Dee is making hers in Pistachio. It looks awesome.

Okay, I'm beat. If this makes absolutely no sense blame Photoshop.

March 2, 2004

Poor Predictable Jessica...

I have just realized that the yarn for my new Shapely Tank is the exact same color as my blog background (and every tube of lipstick I own).

So Much to Do

The last few days I've been feeling a little rudderless. I finished Elle. I didn't know what my next new project was going to be. Then I settled on the Shapely Tank pattern from White Lies Designs. I'm doing it because a) I need a spring/summer project. Making another bulky wool pullover doesn't seem practical right now. b) I want to learn the short row shaping technique for the bust. I'm a D cup and I think understanding this technique will help me with other patterns. c) It's free!

After making my pattern choice I spent two days in net-surfing hell trying to find the perfect yarn for next to nothing. I swear, it's like I think some day I'll find the website where they just give yarn away. Anyway, I was eyeing Classic Elite Miracle. I grope it whenever I see it and just love the colors. But then I saw that Classic Elite Premiere is similarly gropable but a Pima cotton/Tencel blend instead of alpaca/Tencel. It seemed more summery. I went to my LYS tonight and they had it. It feels wonderful. I found my very favorite shade of raspberry (#5299). I bought all I needed for the tank but only wound off one skein at the store. I just swatched it. I washed it and have it pinned to my board. I'll check the gauge again when it's dry but it looks like it should work. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow. It's so pretty and sooooooooooooooooooooft!

The No-Sweats are moving along. I've got about 22 inches done on the first leg. Great TV knitting. I've also managed to squeeze in some rows on the GE cardi--at the book store, on the playground. I'm about 35 rows into it and haven't fallen asleep while knitting it recently. I'm also trying to figure out bpt once again. As much as the pattern frustrated me I feel worse now for having just quit on it. I know I can knit it. I just need to understand it.

So I've gone from feeling like I had nothing to do to feeling like I have to much to do!

March 1, 2004

Straight to Elle

Elle is complete! I was sitting here surfing and working a bit on my sweat pants when I felt a pang of guilt. I said I was going to finish Elle but I just hate sewing. "All right," I thought to myself, "let the cursing commence." (I probably curse more when sewing than anyone else ever.)

Step 1: Locate the sewing machine. I went straight to the closet with the shelf height set specifically to accommodate my sewing machine and stared into it, dazed and bewildered, before I remembered that my sewing machine was still in the attic.

Step 2: Set up the sewing machine.


Step 3: Attach straps. So far, so good.


Step 4: Pin in zipper. Zipper was too big. I trimmed it and tacked the end. Still good.


Step 5: Sew in zipper.
What? No mishaps, no dramas, no horrible mistakes. How can this be?

Step 6: Admire bag in amazement.


Wow.
Thanks so much to Brooks for offering this great pattern!

I've written before that I've been helping a friend out with her first project, a Booga Bag. (Hi Eileen!) Well, we felted together on Friday night, her Booga and my Elle. Today she sent me a picture of her completed Booga. Her first knitting project ever. Ever!

Isn't it adorable? Don't tell her but it looks better than mine. Shhh...

Wes heard this great story on NPR today about a contest to create trailers for classic movies that change the genre. The winning entry was for The Sound of Music as a horror film. It's brilliant. You can listen to it here.