Purling Oaks

Finished Fuschia Object

The Fuschia Felted Bag (Ravelry link) is finished!  I added a panel to the lining and slip-stitched it into the bag on Sunday.

I started the bag as a save for a failed sweater project in October 2007.  I used US 13 needles both circular and straight.  The yarn is Classic Elite Paintbox and I used a bit over 4 skeins.  It is my pattern by default, heh.  The handles are Grayson Leather handles in Grape.  The lining is a nice color match and it came from my quilting fabric stash.  I added a few pockets to the lining...I'll have to see what finds a home there.

Saturday recap

Saturday was a gorgeous day with the exception of the temperature. I did some cleaning and lopped a few limbs from the Laundry Monster. Don't worry about LM....he hides under a bed and regrows those limbs in a week or less. I even *gasp* exercised with this yoga DVD. I borrowed the DVD from my massage therapist because we were talking about energy levels and intention. This yoga session was good, though different from the more "standard" types of yoga I've practiced before. I'm certainly *feeling* the yoga today. *g*

Before I rolled out my yoga mat, I saw Fuzzle and White Dot observing one of our raiding squirrels. It is funny how they are sharing one seat in the "gallery." The felines are all friendly to each other but they rarely share adjacent space.

Earlier this week, before this ultra-cold weather, the icicles formed on the eaves. They are a pretty display, but I don't want to walk under them anytime!

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I also worked on the Fuschia Felted Bag yesterday and finally attached all the handles in the correct places. Yes, I had to re-position one handle. I inserted the lining and found I'll need to make the lining a bit larger. I think I will just cut the current lining and add a panel or something along that line of thought. My original measurements must have been a bit off. A nice surprise came in the mail at the end of the day. Joan sent a bountiful box of goodies as my prize for being a fortunately selected commenter in a contest she held on her blog. Thank you, Joan, for the t-shirt, yummy lavender-scented bath goodies, gorgeouse sock yarn, and hot cocoa mix. I'm going to have a steaming mug of hot cocoa this afternoon.

Monday masala of the chicken tikka variety

No knitting progress to report. However, the handles for the Fuschia Felted Bag arrived today via the Big Brown Truck! Hurray. Perhaps I'll be posting about a finished object this weekend.

The past few days I have been feeling twinges of the approach of the winter blues. I'm doing my best to ignore those twinges but I'll have to take care to keep those blues at bay. One of the successful techniques is to eat well. Tonight, I made Chicken Tikka Masala.

There are as many versions of this dish as there are cooks. This spice package and recipe are unique in my experience of the dish because of the inclusion of a half-cup of minced fresh ginger. I also like to add green vegetables, sometimes suger snap pea pods or, like tonight, broccoli.
DH made the fragrant rice by including a few whole cloves, a bay leaf, ground cardamom, a few saffron strands, and a cinnamon stick in the rice cooker. To serve, I start with rice on my plate, then the tikka masala, then some chopped cilantro leaves. The flavor in this meal just keeps improving as you eat it. If you enjoy curry, you know what I mean when I say the last bite is the best. My theory is that the spices are mildly addictive.

Tuesday we are expecting another few inches of fresh snow.....maybe four inches by Tuesday evening. I wonder if I might be able to use my snowshoes soon. Red aluminum tubing snowshoes. Very fun.

I'm reading everyone's comments, really. I'm just woefully behind in answering emails. Thanks for commenting!

Food, Felting, and Fur

I hope everyone's Thursday/Thanksgiving was enjoyable. I enjoyed the day. I didn't have to do anything but eat. And take leftovers home. My DMIL made most of the Thanksgiving dinner but my DSIL slipped in a pumpkin pie and apple pie. All the food was delicious and the company was great. Twelve adults, three children, two dogs and two cats, three squirtguns and numerous snowballs made for a fun day besides watching the Packers win.

An almost finished object!

Today I worked on the fuschia bag. I finished the knitting and seaming, wove in all the yarn ends, and hand felted the bag. The bag, pre-felting, is posing over a large Foodsaver box. (The Foodsaver was used to vacuum pack some turkey leftovers.) The unfelted bag measured 14 inches deep with a 21.5 inch by 11 inch bottom.

Post-felting, the bag is approximately 9.5 inches deep with a 15.5 inch by 8.5 inch bottom. Now, I'll have to decide on a lining, a closure (if any) and find some handles. I'm pretty happy with the Fuschia felted bag today.

Since I'm showing knitting today, I thought a cat photo would be a good addition. Here is Black Dot making herself at home on one of the new chairs. /sigh

A nice yarny blob, err, I mean, blog!

Thank you for all the happy birthday messages! It will be a nice extended birthday weekend with another nice meal or two in store and, as DH says, some birthday loot to open. *g* Don't forget to comment on this blog through Sunday at 9 PM Central and you'll be entered into a pool of names for a random selection of two names to win yarny prizes! (Go on, Great Aunt Jane, you should enter, too! Thanks for your encouragement and off-the-blog comments.)

Here's the photo of the fuschia bag in progress I meant to post the other night. I've made a bit more progress but it doesn't really look any different today....still a nice yarny blob. I need to start my research and note-making about how to, um, turn the corner and make the bottom of the bag. Saving my knitting from frogging is one thing, designing is another. Another brand new adventure.

Before I start my laundry, baking, and other tasks, I wanted to share this from the new Garnet Hill catalog that arrived in this week's mail. The catalog was full of knitted, crocheted, or other hand-crafted items. Isn't this scarf cool? And how about this afghan? It reminds me of a cathedral window quilt. Not that I've made one....yet. And really, I don't need to start a crochet project either.

Wednesday musings

I've been able to sneek in some knitting this week and I've been working on the fuschia (to be) felted bag. I'm on ball number 3 and when it is finished, I will start my decreases for the bottom of the bag. I'm leaning toward a rectangular bag, modeled on an old-fashioned doctor's bag. (I was going to thrill you all with a photo of my bag in progress but I can't seem to upload a photo today to TypePad via this hotel Internet connection. *heavy sigh*)

It seems that there are a concentration of birthdays in knitter blogland lately. I doubt there is any statistical significance or that Scorpios are more likely to be knitters but it seems funny. Mostly because I live in my Angie-centric universe. *g*

This evening I'm finishing up the last day of my birthyear and I'll wake up tomorrow with 49 years under my, err, belt skin. I think know I'll be doing some research into behavior modification in the next several months. I know that small incremental changes are often successful for me. I just have to figure out how to work *exercise* into my daily routine. I am very much a pleasure-loving person and exercise just doesn't come easy for me. However, I'm aware that I should incorporate more of the *e* into my life if I want to have a quality life in the second half of my time on the planet. Maybe I'll find a way to knit and walk during this 49th year? Feel free to offer suggestions of what has worked for you or for someone else you know.

Don't forget the contest! If you comment here any time until Sunday 9 PM Central time, you'll be added to a pool where I'll randomly select two yarny prize winners! Hurray!

I'll have birthday festivities during the weekend. My mom will make my "traditional" birthday dinner (I think!) this Saturday and DH and I will have a nice dinner sometime, probably Friday, since Thursday is a travel day for us both.