Short Rows are not my enemy

At least, not anymore … I found the Tutorial over at knit picks with some awesome photos, and my funky looking purl wrap pick-ups are gone! Hooray!  I’m too lazy to rip back and fix the belly pick-ups, so I’ll just have to be a good girl from here forward.

Alas, I forgot to bring fiberfill to work today, so once I finish the top of my pooferfish, I’ll have to wait until I get home to start grafting.

And now, back to my regularly scheduled lunch hour…

Praying Mantis

Praying Mantis
Originally uploaded by hansigurumi

If somehow she hasn’t landed on your radar yet, you positively must stop by and drool at the stunning creations of Hansi. This particular beauty popped on on my bloglines this morning. I mean, this woman’s mind is amazing! I can barely imagine how short row shaping creates a sock heel, and she manages to do this? Just.. incredible! I look forward to adding this pattern to the collection soon. I bow before her greatness.

Finito: Square Cake!

It needs a lining, but it’s done!  I have used it a few times already, so I definitely want to line it.  The bag itself: bad for large numbers of things, great for just my phone, wallet and keys, with room to spare for roughly a pack of smokes or comparable amount of things.

I am really happy with the way this turned out.  So much so that I’m making one for my mom and one for my sister … out of better yarn than I made this one for myself, though.

This pattern has really inspired me.  I’ve got ideas for bag patterns rolling through my head… designs, not just making things that other people have created.  Providing I can fight this wage garnishment thing (my fault; student loans) down to a more reasonable monthly payment, I’m going to trek to the Goodwill to look for nifty handles I can reuse.  I’m trying really hard to reduce our eco footprint; with a baby still in diapers, I’m maybe cutting even right now.  But, every bit helps. I’m leaning more towards repurposing things instead of buying new ones, and using organic or repurposed yarn where I can… and where I can help myself.  The yarn is the hard one, as there are some things that can’t be traded.  Still, no more plastic grocery bags at our house and I’ve sold the Man on washing in cold to reduce water heating and thus energy usage… It’s a solid start.