Knitting Injury?

My right wrist is really hurting.  I think too much knitting with the bulky yarn is the culprit.  Thank goodness I'm almost done with the Oregon Tote.  I am ready to start the i-cord bind-off... after I've acquired a pair of size 11 double pointed needles, that is.

Tomorrow afternoon I leave for my guild's spring quilt retreat.  The group does this twice a year and I usually go in the fall but not spring because it almost always coincides with my twins' birthday.  This year the timing was good, though, so my sis-in-law and I are going.

My quilting has really fallen by the wayside since I started knitting a few months ago, so it's been really hard for me to decide which quilt projects to take with me to work on.  I have one set of quilt blocks that just needs to be sewn together, so that quilt is almost done.  That will be my first project.  The second project will be a scrappy quilt made with these fabrics.  And the third project (time permitting) will be one with a variety of Asian print fabrics that I've been collecting.  I'll be sure and post pictures of the quilts when I return.

It'll be a fun 4 days of sewing, laughing, great food, staying up WAY too late, no family responsibilities and good sister-in-law bonding.   I'm taking a couple of boxes of fabric for the "sewing room sale" table.  The past 2 retreats, I've made enough to finance my entire weekend by selling fabrics I've decided I won't ever use.  It's funny how tastes change so much in such a short period of time.  Anyway, if I can make a few bucks selling my fabrics to other stashaholics, so much the better!  I'm hoping I will sell more than I spend... there is always that danger!

All Felting, All the Time

I finally made it to the laundromat on Saturday to try my hand at felting some bags I'd knitted.  I have a fancy-schmancy Whirlpool Duet and it does not felt, even using the superheated water cycle.

The Lily Bag was made with Malabrigo worsted merino from here and came out BEAUTIFULLY with just one hot water wash cycle.  This yarn is by far the nicest wool I've ever had the pleasure to work with.  It is so soft, unbelievably so.  I hope Handpaintedyarn.com restocks it, I would love to buy a truckload!  It felted to a nice firm fabric and I just love the way it turned out!  It looks even better with the straps, which I neglected to add before I took this photo.  I need to buy a cool button for the closure, then I will take another photo with the straps too.   :)

The Booga Bag, knitted with Noro Kureyon came out less than perfect.  After 2 wash cycles, I can still see the stockinette stitches, and the bag is really loose and floppy.  I've since been told it works better to knit with a double strand of Kureyon.  Next time I go to the laundromat, I will take the bag and run it through another cycle or two, see if it felts up any better.

I'm currently working on an Oregon Tote using the Malabrigo bulky yarn in a dusty pink color.  One of the skeins in my order was much lighter than the other 4, so I used that for the bottom and knitted up the sides until I ran out.  Hopefully the color change will look like a design feature.

For some reason, I just love making bags, I really enjoy the construction of them - picking up stitches and knitting in the round.  I have a bajillion more felted projects planned.  Stay tuned!