no knits here.

But I have been doing some other stuff. First you see the Fall Cruise Bag. It is a updated version of the Fall Airport Bag. This bag is for my mom and the cruise she and her mom are leaving for this Friday. Differences: It is a little smaller, mostly because I didn't buy enough fabric. It has a zipper across the opening. This was a request from my mom because she wants a little extra security. Good Idea!! However it was not all that easy to put on the bag. I needed a zipper like a jacket would have (opens on the end) rather then this which is fixed at the end.

The material my mom picked is a glamorous brown with an embroidered paisley type print with flashy sequins all over it. Not my style, but pretty cute. The inside lining is a cream paisley type print. More my style! Here the bag is being modeled on the two digeridoo's Kyle is making right now. He had a request for one from someone at work (I think) and had to buy a 10 foot length of bamboo so he had enough to make two. The bamboo is really nice.

And next, my crafty-ness has taken a turn towards wire. I don't know how much I liked making this. I got a lot of scratches and pokes. And the end result is not as nice as I had hoped for. Being my first attempt, I should not worry as much. This plant was dying which is what inspired the whole idea. There was this little strip of wall in the bathroom in between the window and the corner. There is a big mirror on the adjacent wall (see the reflection). I wanted the plant somewhere we would see it a lot and it would be right by water, so it would get the water it desperately needs.
I came across this wire working book Kyle's Grandma gave me a few weeks ago. There were some good project ideas and I came up with this one. It looks like the green pot the plant is in, is floating inside the wire holder.
That is all my crafty business for now. I start classes tomorrow. I am NOT excited yet. Plus I've been looking over some of the paperwork for the classes, syllabi and stuff. I think one of my classes actually grades on a curve. The bad curve of so many A's, B's, C's and so on. That is bad. I have never actually had any class ever graded in this way. It bothers me because I find it unfair to have scores actually based on what other students are getting in the class. I don't think there should be advantages, but I don't understand what the problem is with not grading based on percentages. If a teacher wants a harder grading schematic, they can just set higher percentages. For example an A can be 95% and higher. Sorry for my school rant, but I am grumpy because I like to get what I earn!!

It shrank!

I love felting. It is kind of amazing stuff. I mean when you learn to do laundry, you learn to be careful with hot water so you don't shrink your stuff. But now, I do it on purpose. Actually I have some clothes that I try to shrink a little bit sometimes. You know, those shirts that get all stretched out. Or jeans that are a little too big, so you wash them in hot water to try to shrink them to fit better so you don't have to buy new ones.

So anyways, I am rambling a bit. But I felted the pink and brown bag. I also ran Kyle's socks through one hot water wash to try to shrink them just a bit. He wanted them to fit a little more snug. I could not go further without him trying them on. I don't think they shrank all that much.

On another felting thought, all the books and info I've ever read on felting says you should check the items every five minutes to make sure it doesn't overfelt. I don't know if I am doing it wrong and that is why it sometimes takes me up to five full cycles through the washing machine. But I have never over-felted or felted in one round. I made my sister a pair of felted mittens with the same yarn as Kyle's socks (Cascade 220) and they took FOREVER to felt. And once felted did not shrink all that much.

Now I just finished this bag, which is made out of the Cascade Bulky and after three cycles, it is very well felted and shrank A LOT! I now wish I would have taken before measurements for comparison. But I know it shrank by probably half in height. It is a good size now. Quite lovely!!

I'm a single Jaywalker!

Well that is I have one single Jaywalker sock. It is soft and comfy. I like it. There was a little pooling, but the yarn did a nice job of striping in alternating colors. So it is pools of similar colored stripes. If that even makes sense. Just a few ends to weave in, a little funky stitch at the very end to check out and fix. And then do it all over again for number two. But school start on Monday so I may have to slow down on the knitting. Oh wait, yeah right. If I am anything like last semester, I will be knitting up a storm.

I did make the decision to put the cabled riding coat on permanent hot weather hold. I am not even trying to work on it. Once it cools down, so I don't mind the ten pound blanket on my lap, I will get right back to work. My ultimate goal is to complete it by the end of the year.
Plus Kyle and I are trying to save money, pay off debt, spend less. So NO MORE YARN. Or fabric. I have loads of both and am restricted to only working with what I have. This is my goal.

Finally, I tore out the bind off edge on the pink and brown bag and re-bound off with looser stitches. It did not really change the small size, but added some stretch to it. I will try to weave in my ends today and felt in the next load of laundry. There was no laundry done over the weekend, we were busy though. On Sunday, Kyle and I had breakfast with his mom, lunch with his whole family (for his sister's b-day), and dinner with my family (for my mom's b-day). We were barely home. Except we made breakfast at home for his mom. Again... trying to save money. It was a good day, but I still feel like I just want to spend some relaxing time at home. We spent a lot of Sat. cleaning the apartment.

Tara motivated me.

Tara left a comment the other day about projects sitting on the needles forever. I wanted a break from the socks. All that little knitting on size two's.


So I picked up this bag I had made the bottom for a few months ago. It had been sitting around waiting for me to finish my bag idea. I initially wanted pink polka-dots, but felt it was too much. So opted for a stripe pattern instead. I may have decreased too much creating a very narrow opening. I am going to felt it, which should take out more of the height then the width, which will be nice, it is VERY tall. Well, by comparison. It was close, I was afraid of not having enough yarn (pink) but just made it. Maybe a little coin purse can be made to accompany the bag. I will try to felt it this weekend, unless I should tear back and make a wider opening??

More pictures...

This is a picture I took from the pier. I only wish it could have been an hour later when the sun had come out and the ocean was bright blue and so nice. But I really shouldn't complain, because it is a really good shot. It is not the only one either. I got another with the dolphin more upright and his tail still in the water.
Here are a few from the coast this past weekend. Kyle and I went with our friend Jessica. The first night (friday) we had to sleep in the car together. We made it there at about midnight. We took the minivan that has seats that turn into a bed. It would be pretty comfy for two people, but we were pretty much sardines. Poor Kyle had part of his bed made up by an ice chest. But we made it and set up a tent in the morning in the overflow camping. The second night, Jessica and I shared the tent and Kyle slept in the car.

There are some cute pictures of Kyle and I (finally, since there is usually no one else around to take them) but they are all on Jessica's camera. So until I borrow her memory card, I will only have the prints she made for me. Which is good for me!!

We spent the day on the beach, we did some tide-pooling, some sun bathing, some fishing, some walking. Kyle and Jessica tried to catch crabs for bait for fishing. I did not really sun bathe, I am kind of a hater of direct sun light. I laid in the shade of the pier while Jessica lay next to me in the sun. I put on SPF 30 while Jessica put on SPF 8. And I STILL got a sunburn. I did spend some time in the sun, obviously too much! It was not a bad burn, my nose is peeling a little, but otherwise it seems to have faded.


On a crafty note...

I made what I have named the "Fall Airport Bag" I meant to post about it before, but found my self not posting about anything. I guess it would be more appropriate on HoBags, but we seem to have abandoned that blog. So, I call it this because it is fall colors and I made it the day before I left for Alaska to use as my carry on bag. It is the same basic pattern I made and have been producing bags from for the past six months with a few modifications. I made it wider and the strap longer for better across the body carrying capabilities. I put two pockets on the outside, mostly because I wanted to show off the great fabric I got to line it. I used a super soft brown corduroy for the outside. I love it and have been using since. This is not the best picture of it, but it shows off my new light from Ikea. I have had it for awhile, maybe two months, but finally got around to hanging it last week. Plus the picture is really dark.

Grumpy due to lost post.

I posted something. All about the Jaywalkers, but somehow it never made it up. Anyways, what are you going to do. Here they are, I opted for a short leg. I really like them so far.
Here is a completed Fetching. It is hard when taking pictures of yourself to get both gloves in the shot. I tried a few self timer shots and was not happy. Mostly I love them, I should have made them a little longer in the finger area, I think my hands are longer than average. Plus they roll quite a bit, I should have done a few decreases before binding off. Other than that, I have not worn them much yet, 100 degrees is not conducive to wool hand mits! But as soon as I can. I should have taken them with me to the coast this weekend.

Here are the pictures...

"Someone" left a comment about how there should be pictures of a particular bride/mom/sister of fantasticness. But first a few more from Kyle and my trip to Arizona. From the grand canyon. Then a few cuties of Teagan in her fancy dance clothes that she always wants to wear. Then the wedding pics.



The two of us at this canal thing off of Montezuma's Well. It was so much fun!

Sorry all the pictures are not grouped together, but this way was faster. I guess it doesn't really matter!

Kyle on the train we took south through Arizona through the Verde Canyon. It was nice, hot, but nice!! 

We waited in a one mile long line of cars to get into the grand canyon. Here is Kyle reminding us of the wait! 

Kyle and I at the grand canyon. We had to be crafty with the self timer. So the pictures with both of us are not the best. Kyle thinks we look fake and not really there, like I photoshopped us in (which I did not do!). 

Teagan all ready for her first dance lessons. She should be starting in the fall. She LOVES to wear this outfit, or anything princess like. 

Trying to fly. 

Teagan eating the ganache (spelling?) for Tara's wedding cake. Mmmmmmm! 

Here is the whole family. Tara, Rich, Teagan, and Austin. The CUTEST!! 

Their vows. 

Tara and Rich after the wedding was over. 

I promise I am still around

I will post stuff soon. I have been busy. 10 days in AZ, 4 days home, then 10 days in AK. I am a jetsetter. Moving all around the country, well sort of. And school starts in a few weeks, so will I drop off completely?? I have been knitting, just not on the cabled beauty... it is just so cumbersome and hot! But fetching is done (with ends in) and I started my very own pair of jaywalkers in smores!!

Pictures and more to come soon!!