it's all about faith.

Quatro (the bag) is knitted.
It's FELTED.
It was 22 longx17 high.
Now: 20x12.
This means I have about 112 inches of strap to knit...

A few minutes into the felting process, I just had to peek.
Oh no.
My lovely quatro yarn was ugly mud. The top of the bag hadn't felted and was a stretchy mess. I KEPT THE FAITH. 2 cycles later....a lovely felted bag emerged! Amazing!
It's still drying, so no 'after' pics yet. Here's a view of its final moments as a knitted bag:



I'm actually pretty excited about it. I've been working on this for several months now. It's a lot larger than I anticipated, but will make a great tote/bookbag...um....yarn bag!?! I'll keep y'all posted for felted pics and the strap.

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Here's a shot of the bookmark before I handed it off at work. It was fun enough to make. I think I'm cured of my itsybitsy toothpick knitting obsession for a while now, tho. (I accepted that my own Potter bookmark on DPNs just wasn't happ'nin. I can live with that.)


pattern: 15 st wide garter, with border that used CROCHET HOOK, Bob.
yarn: #5 DMC floss, colors 312 and 400 (blue and bronze)
needles: boye US 0 circ
dates: 07.17.05-07.24.05

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Thanks to Karen showing off her latest pillow creation, I started another new project this week on a whim. (whimZ has whims? hmmmmm.) She had made a bolster pillow cover that looks like a tootsie roll...long tube, tie up the ends. Hers was CottonEase. Mine...isn't. I was at the LYS and found Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton, color Sand. Soooooo soft. I found a comment by someone using this that compared it to knitting clouds. REALLY soft. I'm using Lorna Lace Grace Mohair/Wool Boucle in pinkish-purple/chocolate/sage for random stripes. Lovin' it, lovin' it, lovin' it. AND...it's the first project I've ever been able to knit without having to watch my hands at all. Perfect for...
knitting while watching movies.
Which I did twice this weekend.

Friday nite, I watched Hotel Rwanda. I don't even know what words to use for it. Intense, horrifying, inspiring? It made me question humanity. My fingers poured that into the yarn, stitch by stitch.
Saturday, Bob, Jeff and I went to Cheesecake Factory for lunch, then saw March of the Penguins. Go See This Movie!! It's everything a film should be...funny, educational, moving, beautiful. Bob and I measured out the penguins' long journey in lengths of yarn in the dark theater. (yeah...mohair boucle is NOT ideal movie yarn. It didn't come out too wonky, tho.) I love that my feelings seem to be pouring into this project. The first few inches were done during a stunning sunset at a park near my house. I wished on the first evening star that day.
I'm gonna love this pillow when it's done for more than just its beauty and softness!

The title of the post is a recurring theme for me...in life, in writing, in blogging.
Must. Have. Faith.
I feel like my world is becoming a continual lesson of that right now.
I'm trying to listen.