I'm Kooky for Cables!

Ahhhhh! I started my cable knit sweater about 1 week ago and am finding it not too bad. I think I was intimidated by the cable and thought "how the hell do they do that?" Well, now I know and I'm not scared anymore! Anne has taught me how to cable without a needle and at first I was a bit confused. I left my Kooky for Cables class, thinking that there was no way I could work on this by myself. However, I sat down and used a pencil as my cable needle then I figured out what she was trying to teach. So.....I now do not use a cable needle! The women I meet up with on Thursday nights couldn't believe that I didn't use a cable needle, so they sat around and watched me! I was so nervous that I would screw it up.

A couple of things about this sweater.....I'm using Lamb's Pride Bulky (kind of itchy), it's knit in the round (Whoo! Whoo!), and it has seed stitch sides. So far I'm liking it! (let's see what I say when I have to do the sleeves!)

A friend of mine Rose Ann has designed a felted bag pattern and asked me to make one before she tries to publish it. She has a range of knitters trying out the pattern. (I think I fall into the intermediate knitter category) I can't wait to start it, because it has compartments in it!


Here's the purse I made out of the recycled silk yarn. It was a bit tough to work with. The yarn itself varies from skein to skein, so if you wanted to make something (like a sweater), I think it might be kind of difficult. However, the colors are very vibrant and I really liked the way the purse turned out. It stretches a lot, so it would be great to hold paperback books, notebooks etc; I like to describe it as a "grab and go" purse! You grab it, throw your book, wallet, keys, knitting and go! The strap stretched a bit, but you can knot it at the top and adjust as necessary. I handwashed it and the water was brown! Gross! But I rinsed until it came out clear and laid it flat to dry. With the extra yarn, I'm going to make a smaller bag that would hold keys etc; but I'll probably have to line it and I'm not the best seamstress!

Now.....you're probably asking yourself "Hey Tracy! whatever happened to the Zig-Zag felted bag?" My, my my, aren't you knitters curious! Well you see, sometimes Tracy reads too much into a pattern and the result is a "not so good purse"! You see what happened was the pattern said "make your flap slightly longer than the length you want it", well, I thought it meant to make the flap longer than the whole length of the purse! Therefore, when I sewed up the sides I made the flap about 3 inches longer than the purse! The result? A felted purse with a flap that overhangs the purse! I've decided to felt it some more then cut the flap! Can you believe I did that? I'm now in the process of making another one! Phew!