Pleat purse, post-felt

Less than a week after I declared that I was too scared to felt the bag, I felted the bag. I have to say, this is probably my most successful felt project to date. I let it go through two cycles in the wash and I meant to do 1.5 (got distracted by my DVR) but it's a nice size. It's pretty much the size of all my favorite purses.

I followed the pattern author's advice and set the bag over a large cereal box to dry. I took it to work two days later and it got great reviews. All I need to do is get a magnetic closure and decide on whether I'm going to line the inside. Thoughts on why lining it would be beneficial?

Definitely a favorite pattern. I'd love to make it a few more time to give as gifts. And I kinda want to experiment with the colors next time.




Here's the bag (pre- and post-felt) on the back of the same chair. It shrank. A bunch.

















Thanks to Jose for a wonderful, wonderful Christmas gift!

meowy birthday!

I know, I know...nothing says 'happy birthday' like a dishcloth. But you have to know that Diane loves cats. And I'm not saying that her domesticity defines her, but she is pretty domestic. So when I saw this pattern a week before her birthday, I knew it was meant to be.

I had to tweak the color a bit so that the texture would show - its actually a bright, bold teal. For next time (and with so many cat-loving friends, there WILL be a next time) I'll use a smaller needle.

Happy birthday, from clean kitty and I!

P.S. This is yarn from my yarn swap!

Pleat purse, pre-felt

For Christmas, Jose gave me the yarn needed to make a felted bag that I've been eyeing on KnitPicks. It wasn't cheating, because I didn't buy it. Anyway, I've finally finished knitting it, and I think it's fabulous. It's heavy, but fabulous. Now comes the hard part: felting it. I call it the 'hard part' because I'm scared to put it in the washing machine and relinquish control of it. What if I overfelt it like I did the drink cozies?

If it turns out well, this may a frequent pattern for me. The materials are not terribly expensive and I can knit it while watching TV...perfect! I would like to try some different colors next time. And I've been scheming to reduce the pattern to make a smaller version for my niece. That's a lot of math...

I wish there was a professional felter that you could call to finish big projects like this. Like a base runner. Or a pinch hitter. Ah well, stay tuned for the finished product (for better or worse)!

YARN SWAP!

So I've obviously been looking for ways to get my hands on new yarns without actually buying them. I've done a blind swap with Christy and I've even had yarn donated to me by Kyndle :) Last night, my Meetup group did a huge yarn swap. So. Much. Fun. SO MUCH!

There were two rounds where each person's "name" was drawn from a bag and got to select a yarn and then there was the FREE-FOR-ALL! At one point, my bag overflowed with yarn. I got serious taker's remorse and gave some back.

I definitely took more than I gave, but I know that I'll use what I took much faster than what I gave. And if I don't...I'll save it for the next swap!

The goods...
















and here Berger is examining my haul and judging me...

LOLberg

My (brilliant, hilarious, lovely and creative) friend Mfred was really taken with the Berger photo in my last post. So much so, that this amazing graphic that I am dubbing "LOLberg" resulted:

Happy Valentine's Day, one and all!

Our handmade gift rule for Valentine's Day was a huge success! Jose loved his gift and I love mine! The fun part of the frame is that you can pull the wedding photo out and behind it is a "young Jose and Tif" photo taken in 2003 at the Baseball Hall of Fame.


















Shari's Berries are pretty phenomenal. This particular batch was delivered to us courtesy of my fabulous in-laws.

I know what you're thinking...what about Berger? Jose got socks, Tiffany got a cool frame...we both get delicious strawberries...but what does the poor, sad, brown dog get? The answer: a delicious cupcake-shaped cookie.

Happy Sockentine's Day!

This year, Jose and I agreed to make each other gifts for Valentine's Day. I've had this Flat Feet yarn for 6 months and I've just been waiting for the right time to bring it out. It was tricky to make them without being able to measure Jose's foot or have him try them on as I went, but they actually turned out perfectly. AND, much to my surprise, Jose LOVES them. I always peg the wrong gifts as hits!

I must also mention the "wrapping paper" I used. I put the socks in a cracker box that was going to recycling and I wrapped it in extra copies of a report that I presented this week. The bows? Those are brittle old rubber bands that were on their last leg. I'm pretty much as proud of the wrapping as I am of the socks.

hooray for snail mail!

I got a package in the mail from Kyn today. It was two (luxurious) skeins of yarn...Blue Sky Alpaca...and a really sweet note. I think this just proves that I've always had fabulous taste in friends.



Kyndle, you make my heart happy.

On this day...

Two years ago on this very day, I checked off a bucket list item by going to the Super Bowl. Super Bowl XLIII. It was one of the top 5 days of my whole life.