Cotton Spiral Bag / Purple Hat / Granite Cowl

I have been knitting like crazy. I just love being able to make things like this. I am completely addicted! Some day I hope to knit some socks and a sweater. :)

This is the Cotton Spiral Bag I made. I really like the finished product. I plan on lining the inside with some blue fabric.

The tabs at the top are a bit odd but I think they are growing on me.

I really like the way the bottom came out. I made my bag bigger than the pattern so I had to make some of it up along the way. I think it ended up looking really interesting.

This hat is so warm and comfy! It is like wearing an eggplant on my head...or a grape.

I really liked this pattern. However, the llama yarn is a bit to scratchy for me. It may not have been the best choice for a cowl. It is very soft and beautiful though.

Blue Glass

I broke another blue glass today. I only have one left. I noticed how cool it looked in front of my monitor tonight. I wonder how much longer this one will last?

Beat up Quarter

I was getting some change back from a cashier when I noticed her giving me an odd look. I glance down at my hand where she had deposited my change and see a very messed up quarter. That explained her "is she going to take it" look. Being the odd ball that I am I did take it. I went to my car and took a picture of it immediately. I knew I would spend it so I wanted to document this.

I did end up spending it. Believe it or not I used it at a self check out machine. I didn't think it would take it but it did. That made me laugh because I remember the days when you couldn't even get a machine to take a relatively new quarter. How times have changed. Haha

Abby and the Cricket

I was working in my studio the other day when I noticed Abby going under my art stand. I was looking around for her and saw the last of her crawling under the furniture. I grabbed my digi cam to document this cuteness.

I had no idea why she was going under there. I got her to come out but she went right back under.

Come to find out there was a cricket under the art stand. She pawed and sniffed it onto the tarp on the other side.

I think it got away...or maybe she ate it. Either way it was gone.

Wire Baby

Abby has been up to no good. She is good right now but the other day she was very bad!

I had put her in her kennel so I could get a few things done. When I got back home I didn't let her out cause I needed a shower...well...she did a horrible thing!

I come into the room and notice that the light is not on. I figure it has blown a bulb yet again. Then I look down and see that Abby is chewing on something. I take a closer look and see that it is the power cord to the lamp! I yell "NO NO NO!!!" Then I see that she has unplugged it first before chewing it up.

I guess she got hold of it with her paw and pulled it into her kennel and out of the wall and lamp. She chewed it in half! Copper wire in half! Bad dog!

Needless to say I have cleared all surrounding areas by the kennel.

A few days later...she was chewing on a piece of wood furniture. Ugh! She is teething like crazy now. She has lost all but one of her double fangs.

Christmas Cactus

My mothers plant. It is in full bloom. The photos were taken with my small point and shoot digital so the quality is not that great. However, you get the idea. :-)

Finished Soft Bag and Cat Ears

I have finished one of my knitting projects woohoo! This is the soft drawstring bag I have been working on for awhile now.

These are Kitty Ears which I decided to make on a whim. I did them in one day and it took me about 4 hours. There are tons of mistakes but they are for fun so who cares!

Eyelet Round Fixed

I have been working on a couple of knitting projects. One is a checkered scarf. I have made some good progress with that.

The other project is a drawstring bag. I have tried this thing half a dozen times. It has made me a bit mad. I have finally figured out the eyelet round. This is the part that has been driving me nuts. Tonight I was able to finally understand what I have been doing wrong and actually get past this point in the project. I am so happy!!!
Now I have a place to weave the drawstring through.

Miss Abby

Abby is hard to photograph. She moves a great deal and she is solid black so she fools the light meter. I have a couple of good pictures of her face though.

Buddies

Jazz and Abby seem to be getting along better. They still play-fight all the time but they do have moments where they calm down. Once they have worked it out they can coexist. Here are some buddy pictures that have been taken over the last month and a half.

They have shared a stick together.

They have sniffed together.

And is seems like they have shared jokes together too!

Double Webs

These are webs that have a web under them. They line the fence and bushes right before fall. I took these at least a month ago if not longer. I call them the double webs.

"You Must Be The Change You Wish To See In The World"

We went down to NC for the weekend and the girls had to come with us. They got along very well after an exhausting trip. They both ate some dinner and passed out.

In this picture Jazz is the lump under the blankets and Abby is the black lump on top of the blankets. Proof that they are opposites!

The original plan for going down to NC was that my dad needed help moving. However, once there he had plenty of help. Woohoo! I can't lift anything anyway so I made other plans to meet up with my (cosmic female other half) friend Chris. We went to The Handmade Market in downtown Raleigh. It was a fun arts and craft show! We also got some coffee and ended up talking for about 4 hours straight. I completely forgot about lunch! It is not good to forget a meal but I have to say it was good to talk! It was a great visit!

While waiting for my ride to show up we walked around. The building which The Handmaidens show was in was called the Marbles Kids Museum. This part of the building was interesting to me because it reminded me of Star Wars battle ships.

In a different area near the building there was a statue of Mohandas K. Gandhi. Under him said "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." I agree completely. :-)

The trip went well overall. If we could just master the beltways in Raleigh we wouldn't be late all the time.

Common Ground

They do have some things in common. :-)

The Difference of Attention

Two dogs with two different approaches on how to get attention. One is a firm believer in jumping up to get it. Push yourself right in the face you want to be seen by and don't take NO for an answer!

The other believes that there is an elegance to things. You must dance for attention. To be graceful and interesting is how to get attention!

Leaf Dog

Abby loves leaves. She watches them fall to the ground or blow along the path. She goes nuts over a pile of them. She will jump in the pile and just do the crazy dog run. She will also eat them if I am not looking. Jazz doesn't seem to care about them. She is not phased by a leaf.
I took some images of the trees around the apartment complex yesterday. They have changed and are just beautiful. After the rain it makes bark nice and dark so that the leaves pop with vibrant colors.

What's Abby? She blends in so well!

Zippered Wristlet and Stitch Markers

To go along with the Bagsket I made a matching zippered wristlet and some stitch markers.

This was my first time making either of these things. Sewing a zipper was a challenge. However, the pouch came out nice and functional.

I had a hard time with the corners looking right when I was done. I am going to have to work on that with the next one I do.

I put the inspirational stitch markers in the wristlet. The markers were easy to make. I just used beads and thread.

This together with the Bagsket will make a lovely gift for a knitter.

Sewing Project: Bagsket

The Bagsket is a great sewing project. I made one and it was a bit floppy. I only had lightweight interfacing. It was also my first sewing project that I started, did, and finished all by myself. :) I decided to keep it for myself and use it for my current knitting project. It works great! I made a second one for a friend. I wanted to give her the first one but I made lots of mistakes and I think the second one is much better looking plus sturdier. Here are some pics of the second bagsket.

Abby

The new addition to the family has taken all of my time. Abby is always by my side. I am use to having a very independent dog like Jazz. There are some attachment issues that need to be dealt with. I think she is getting better though. When I am busy during the day she sleeps on the sofa...by herself...sometimes.

Another thing she really likes to do is sit in front of the open screen door. If the door is open and I can't find her, she is usually there staring out. As you can see we also had to re-lattice the yard so that she can not escape.

She caught me taking her picture!

Having two dogs is a lot to handle especially when one is only 4 months old. I think that Jazz is getting better with having Abby around. She still is not happy about it all the time but I do think she enjoys playing. On her terms of course.