Before

I finally sprung for a camera. I really was jonesin' to take some pictures of this bag in progress, but no camera, no photo...

I'm happy to say that the purchase of my new gadget coincided quite nicely with the completion of this future-felted bag. So, why not take a few photos before I throw this baby in the wash?

Murphy's not at all pleased that Mama's asked for an impromptu photo shoot. All things considered, it's the least he can do.

Stitches Midwest Is A-Comin

I got my Stitches Midwest brochure a few days ago. Stitches isn't coming til August, but my anticipation is already hard to contain. Last year I didn't attend any classes (no moolah) and I only bought a ticket for one day (big mistake - I'm still regretting it!). So, this year, I promised myself 1 class and a two-day pass. I'm such a nerd: I even put the early bird registration on my calendar so I could register AS SOON as physically possible. BTW, early bird registration starts today.

So, what class did I register for? Pattern Writing 101 with Edie Eckman. Oooooh, I'm SO excited! With this description for the class, how could I possibly pass it up?

"If you have a design you’d like to get published or just want to share your
design with other knitters, you need to be able to write it so others can read
it. Learn how to take your idea from concept to written pattern, avoiding
typical mistakes along the way. Explore the joys and pitfalls of grading
patterns for a number of different sizes, and pick up tips for getting your
designs accepted for publication."

As you may know (or not, considering my blogging has been pretty sporadic), I would love to start designing and submitting patterns for publication. I have all these ideas in my head and have no idea how to go from concept to fruition. So, this class is going to be ultra-helpful, chock-full of information and all that good stuff. Did I mention I'm excited?

BTW, I posted last year after I visited Stitches, and if I remember correctly I had a list of do's and don'ts. Better revisit that list before I go to the Market...

Knit Your Bit

I came across this website, thanks to my SNB daily calendar: American Red Cross Museum. Many of you know that the Red Cross inundated women with huge propaganda campaigns in the hope to mobilize them to do their part and knit. On this site you can find a mini history lesson, check out the vintage propaganda posters (including the one shown above), and even check out 9 vintage patterns available as PDFs.

No New Knitting

I have 2 projects on the needles right now, but unfortunately no pics. My camera is down and out - not sure what's wrong - so until it recovers from whatever is ailing it, I'm pictureless And, no, I don't have one of those cool camera phones! :-(

I can tell you what I'm knitting, though: Project #1 was started 4 weeks ago, although I maybe have 6 inches done. I'm knitting a cabled purse in the round. The cables are intertwining, I think it may be called the "relief" cables or some such name. I found the stitch pattern in The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches. I figured out how many stitches to cast on after I made a swatch (a must!) and went from there. I love this cable pattern because it's so easy, yet looks so difficult (as cable patterns tend to do): it's a 12-row repeat, and you only use the cable needle on the 3rd and 9th rows. Doesn't get much easier than that. I'm knitting it up in a beautiful teal wool yarn, perhaps you may remember it from the turtleneck I *was* knitting. That story will have to wait for another day, as it's still too painful to relive right now.

The other project on my needles is a purse pattern found in the first Stitch 'N Bitch book. I can't recall the exact name, but it's something like Marsupial Bag. Basically, it's a large felted bag. Quite cute, really, and I've been searchin' for something to carry my books/knitting/miscellaneous crap in while commuting. You know, something that will make me look even hipper than I already am (that won't be too hard.) Can't recall the brand of yarn (what's up with my brain today?), but I do remember the colors (senility hasn't hit yet): navy, chartreuse, raspberry, teal, and burnt orange. I can't wait to have it finished and usable.

The only problem is I'm finding less and less time to knit, and blog, for that matter. Between work, my growing list of hobbies (my newest hobby is my journey to spiritual enlightenment, which can take up a good chunk of free time), and so my knitting has taken a spot on the back burner for awhile. If only I could quit my job and pursue all those things I want to do... but alas, I can't. That's what retirement's for, right? Yeah, well, with the way things are going in this country, who knows if our generation will ever be able to retire, at least not the middle and lower classes.

But, I'll save my political rantings for another post. And, trust me, sooner or later I'm going to get to that.

Anywho, hopefully I'll have some pics up as soon as I: a) attempt to fix my camera, although I don't know where to start; or b) bite the bullet and buy a new one. I can definitely justify the latter option considering my tax refund should be here soon and I heard Target's having a sale on digi cameras.