Well, here it is, the latest “baby pic” of Miss Z.’s Blankie. I am enjoying making it but I wish it could go faster. Miss Z. starts her chemo very soon and I want it to be done. Now that the holidays have wound down and most folks are back at work, I am getting even more takers on the “many hands” aspect of the project.

I have now used all of the yarn colors that I have for the project, so am starting over, in a slightly different color order. I hope I can keep the variations going. In a recent stripe I added Knit Picks Shine Sport in the colorway, Willow, but I’m not sure I love it being there yet, since it is so much lighter than the other shades. But I was having an interesting dilemma of not having enough yarns for the parts in between the primary shades. I had some Shine on hand, so decided to try it. So, I guess we’ll see how it works out.

Trish’s Got a Brand New Bag

Ok, as much as I absolutely LOVE my Jordana Paige Knitter’s Satchel, I have finally had to admit, it’s really not the most practical solution for me. I’ve managed to bend the metal bar that holds the clicky clasp on both of my bags, and so neither one closes well. Which is causing me problems, because except for the little stuff in the zipper pouch, most of the stuff is rolling around in there and all jumbled up with everything else.

So I bit the bullet and bought a Namaste Executive Bag. I’ve been hearing about these as they seem to be the buzz of all the knitters in the know. But, it’s hard to get. I hear it’s been discontinued, and that a newer, better bag may be coming out soon. But, I gotta admit, this one’s pretty cool! I like that it has separate compartments fort the “purse stuff” and the knitting gear. I also like that it seems to have stronger closures, so I shouldn’t have to worry about the bag tipping over and all of my purse stuff falling out.

It does seem that the material it’s made of is kinda thin. That’s one complaint I’ve been hearing is that the bag isn’t as durable as some folks would like. So I guess we’ll see how I make out with it, given that I do seem to be pretty hard on stuff. Wish me luck…

On a Roll

And now for something completely different…

I heard Kelley Petkun talk about this on her podcast a few weeks ago, and I thought, “Who in their right mind would buy a book about THAT??” But I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then, this week, my copy of Toilet Roll Covers finally found it’s way to my door. I cannot believe I started feeling all nostalgic, as my mom and grandmother used to make cozies for just about everything. But my mom has never seen toilet paper cozies like this! They are fun, funky and adorable. Of course I will have to make a hat for my toilet paper, and maybe even an Aran sweater. The piano keys are also very cute, and someday, I’ll have to make the “Drum Roll” for my brother the drummer.

Sigh. Looks like my Redskins are losing to the Seahawks. It’s been a tough year for them. I was really hoping…

Ciao for now!