The Big Bag

Big Bag Felted
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ

Well, any family member who reads this will probably know what she's getting for Christmas...

I made this felted bag from a pattern on Ravelry. A friend had made it with reds. Her young son quickly dubbed it the "Elmo bag" because one of the colors matched his hero. I went a different route, but I do love the pattern which is very easy but produces a lovely finished product. I haven't decided if perhaps I should felt it a bit more, but the density of the fabric is very nice as it is.

And don't we all need more bags to take to the supermarket? Those dumb bags they sell at the store are practical, but boring--and they have those store logos on them. This bag makes a statement without any ads.



Nora seemed to like the bag too. So far she hasn't been inside it, but I imagine that's in her future too.

New Kitty

Second Photo
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ

With the passing of dear, sweet Nicholas, Nora and I had a hole in our hearts. I took myself off to Kent Kats whence came both Nick and Nora, and I walked out with this new kitty, a one-year old who we think will be called Abigail. (When I had to select a Hebrew name for my mother Beatrice, I picked Abigail. Hmmm.)

She is what I call a "tabico" because she is part tabby and part calico. She's about Nora's size and very sweet. Nora is not yet reconciled to the idea of another girl in the family, but I think she'll come around. She's hissed at the new kitty and growled, but then she runs away from her. No fighting so far.

Abigail was pretty calm when I brought her home to the house in Kent, but she flipped out this morning and didn't want to get in the carrier even though she'd been in and out of it all day on Monday and Tuesday. She hid all day in the store. When I tried to get her out, she resisted--and boy, is she strong...and fast. Got her home and she is currently hiding under the chest of drawers. It's been a confusing couple of days and I don't blame her for being a little freaked out.

She's slept on the bed with me the last two nights. Very agreeable. And she eats anything that isn't nailed down. Stay tuned.

Latvian Mitten

Latvian Mitten
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ

Started this some time ago, but other projects got in the way. It's really lovely, and not terribly hard to do although the needles are small. It's about to come to the top of the project list since I just invested a huge amount of money in 50% off yarn at Enchanting Yarns which, alas, is going out of business. I bought a lot of yarn to be turned into Latvian Mittens so I'm obliged to finish these soon.

Please note the space where the thumb will go. Not hard to do. Weaving in the ends will be the part that annoys me. For the next mitten I will carry the yarn much more often. I'm still learning the best way to do these. Haven't decided if I want to line these. It will depend on the fit, I think. If there's a lot of room, I'll do a lining, but I suspect these will be a good fit rather than a loose fit.

I Visit Cape May

Paca Dude
Originally uploaded by PhoebeJ

My friend Liz and I went to Cape May, NJ, this weekend. A lovely customer of mine lent us her house. She warned us that we'd probably need to wash sheets when we got there. However, when we got there there were no sheets or towels to be washed. We hightailed it back to Cape May Courthouse which is just north of town and found a Home Goods and got what we needed. (The towels were great--soft and absorbent--and I could use some new towels, but the fitted sheet didn't fit. I improvised.)

The weather was supposed to turn lousy, but it never did. We didn't see a lot of birds--disappointing that. But we saw lots of dolphins and a couple of huge (100+) flights of cormorants.

The trip home was "eventful". We'd gone in Liz's car which is 15 years old but only has 67,000 miles. There was a piece of something loose on the front which broke off on the Garden State Parkway and shredded the rear driver-side tire. Then the donut tire which the service guy put on for us went flat and we got towed to a PepBoys in Hazlet. Much waiting and a trip to an Italian restaurant with patrons from a sociological group with which we were unfamiliar, and a new tire was installed. We made it home without much more ado other than a slow trip through the Lincoln Tunnel.

The cute alpaca shown here was from an alpaca farm in Cape May. They have about 23 boys, girls and babies. Alpacas is adorable! I love this dude's haircut. These people also refer in their literature to the "alpaca lifestyle", something I'm still trying to understand. Their fleece is very soft though. I bought some yarn there. So what else is new?