Emergency Knitting

Since I finished my June project and there are still 1 1/2 days until I have to chose a July project, I decided to panic and try to work on some emergency prayer shawls. I have just about completed one for a friend who is newly diagnosed with cancer. This is the Waterfall yarn that bowled me over a couple of months ago.
My sister-in-law is being treated for endocarditis and is still not feeling well at all. This next yarn is Homespun Cotton Candy and should fit right in with her love of all things pink. I am adding a special touch (literally) to each of these shawls and will write about that laterBeing a bit paranoid about being stuck somewhere with nothing to knit, I always try to keep a project nearby everyday. The Waterfall shawl is currently at home, the Cotton Candy shawl is in my car (no, I do not knit while driving, but I do knit sometimes after I've been through the drive-thru on a lunch break,) and the Baroque shawl is at the office. This is the non-emergency one that will be donated to the church where the Knitting Guild meets. In reality, the pink one and this one will probably trade places, since I need to finish the one for my SIL asap. As soon as the Waterfall one is complete, I'll work on hers at home, too.

Now there are only 2 more colorways of Homespun left in my stash. Hooray!!! I probably have enough leftovers to make a "Joseph" shawl...

Please accept my excuses for not posting (computer down, I was down,) apologies for photos (camera good, editing not,) and laments for for projects (boring, boring, boring.)

Now that that is out of the way, I am pleased to announce that my June bags are finished! I completed 3 of them, and added those to the 3 I completed last fall.

Since I have already apologized for the photo, I will say only a little more. Believe it or not, there are 3 purple (not 1,) 1 black, 1 brown, and 1 blue (not 3.) Sometimes a picture is worth less than a thousand words...all is not as it appears!!! Suffice it to say that they are all lovely and happy. All were knit with Cascade 220 and bits and pieces of fru-fru.

I left the pattern at home, but it is just a basic bag pattern: garter stitch bottom, pick up stitches in the round, do some increases, add I-cord handles. I doubled the Cascade 220 and used size 11 needles (16 inch.) When I added the fru-fru, I dropped one of the strands of wool. I like the bags to be sturdy, so they stay in the washing machine for a full heavy dirt wash cycle. Also, I add a kettle or two of boiling water.

I found some Lamb's Pride wool in my stash that I may make into a final bag. I am determined to finish projects for which I already have yarn, but I am getting a little bored. I need something new, exciting, and challenging. I think it is time to start a lace shawl...

Weekend wonder

Amazing- I finished the brown purse and started the black one! I do love this pattern, not only for the ease and speed but also for the finished product. I have both before felting and after felting photos: I tend to over-felt my bags on purpose. I know it makes them smaller, but it also makes them sturdier. I haven't decided yet if I will add a magnetic closure to it. I may make the straps a little longer on the black one. I've just about finished the body and should get at least one of the I-cord straps finished tonight.

There is enough non-designated wool for at least one more bag. I already have 2 other finished handbags in the closet, so I should have at least 5 to donate to the Alleluia Sale in the fall.

No June bugs so far...

June's project is making great progress. I have almost finished knitting the brown bag and have found more Cascade 220 in the closet. Working on dark colors is not as bothersome in the spring/summer as it is in the winter. To get joy for my eyes, all I have to do is look outside! So far, I have remembered to water the flowers I planted in the pots on the deck, but the rest of the yard may soon be the color of this pocketbook....

It should be finished, felted, and fabulous by Monday!

Our monthly Sit 'n Knit is tomorrow at Barnes and Noble, so I plan to get started on a black bag. I think there is a little more wool in the closet, so I may be able to finish at least three bags this month. I do have plans for projects that will involve learning new techniques, but my life is so complicated right now that I'm happy just knitting simple projects.

Just Because It's June

Just because it's June and June is a between-the-knuckles short month is no reason to think I can just squeak by and pull a quick project out of the bag to satisfy my monthly goal. June is bustin' out all over, and I'd better get busy!!!!

Speaking of the bag, I think that is what I will do: I will knit as many handbags as I can, using up my stash of Cascade 220 and some fru-fru sparkly yarns. I have made several handbags from a generic pattern and given them to my church for the annual Alleluia Sale. I'm writing this post at the office, and most of my pictures are on the computer at home, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow. I do have a photo of the yarn for the first bag I will start:

I am working a part-time job at the library in the circulation department and will take this project with me to work on during my break times so I won't give in to snacks! The new job is wonderful. At several points in my life I had considered getting an MLS degree, but I never followed through. Now I'm actually working at a library!! I've noticed that many of my knitting friends are also avid readers. I cannot read while I knit (or knit while I read) but when my fingers get achy I read and when my fingers get itchy I knit!!

Now it's time for my fingers to work on a spreadsheet here at job #1, but they're really itchin' to knit......

Eulogy

I think that you will never see

A flower knit by little ole me.

I may try for hours and hours

But only God can make the flowers.

So...

They're out of the stash

Into the trash

And out the door

Forevermore!