Another Easy Triangle Shawl

Yes, I made another one. You might be starting to think that I like the pattern. I made this one for the lady I babysit for. The yarn is Lion Brand's Homespun, and the shade is Fiesta. It's not a self-striping yarn, but it striped beautifully. The front picture wouldn't come out, so I laid it on a towel to show off the stripes.
~Sarah

Knitted Backpacks

I knit these for my cousins in California. It made more sense to knit the same item three times rather than racking my brain for individual gifts. The pattern is from AnnyPurls; the main reason I chose it was the number of ways the bag could be varied. They were very easy to knit. I used Vanna's Choice yarn for the bags and a combination of Vanna's Choice and Wool-Ease for the pockets and puppets. Overall it was a very easy pattern to follow, and I would definitely knit it again. I saw an idea on Ravelry to needle felt an initial instead of making the pockets, so I might wind up making one for myself. For some reason my bags turned out larger than they were supposed to, so if you make the pattern, measure your bag before you cut the lining fabric!

This was the first one I made, and I misread the pattern, making the stripes wider than called for. I think it makes the bag a little more grown-up.

The pocket on this one was the most difficult part of the pattern. It was a cabled piece and it took me a few tries to get it right.









The only trouble I had with this was that the sails seemed out of proportion with the boat, but it turned out just fine.








Here's a closeup of the finger puppets. They were easy enough to knit, but embroidering the features nearly drove me batty. If I made the pattern again, I would either substitute something for the puppets, or find an easier puppet pattern.

~Sarah

New Year's Resolutions

*Image borrowed from ehow.com*
Last year's resolutions didn't go very well. Maybe I'll do better this year.

1. Last year I resolved to lose the Last Five Pounds and wound up gaining nine. At the beginning of December I started doing weight watchers and lost seven pounds. This year I resolve to keep up with weight watchers achieve my goal weight.
2. Start Christmas presents earlier. I did get them started early last year, just not early enough.
   
3. Write blog posts twice a week.
   
4. Make a scrapbook of FO's

Sarah