Almost finished!

I'm almost finished with Christmas gifts! YEAH!

Last night, I finished that last of three sets of coasters and felted them. They came out quite nicely, if I say so myself!





While the washing machine was doing it's thing, I grabbed one ball of Noro I had left over and started knitting a small handbag using a pattern from my copy of One Skein Wonders. The Noro I had was a different type than the one specified in the pattern and had slightly less yardage in the skein. Part way through, I thought I would run out of yarn, but figured I could make the flap and strap out of some black Paton's Wool I have on hand, if needed. Well, as it turned out, I didn't need to do that. I finished the strap and had about six inches of yarn left -- just enough to graft the end to the other side of the bag (my first attempt at Kitchener stitch). I popped it into the wash this morning with some jeans and it came out quite nicely. I might run it through one more time, just to see if it tightens up a little more, but I like it just the way it is, too. Fun!


Anway, here's a shot before felting and two afterwards. The ruler lets you get some idea of the size change. Now I just need to get something for the closure (instead of the darning needles).

I visited a favorite little store yesterday afternoon that carries lots and lots of artsy/craftsy stuff made by local folks and some retro things as well. While I was there, some beautiful retro brooches arrived and I snagged two of them. One will go very nicely with the airy scarf I made for a friend. The other is being kept for when I make a lacy scarf for myself. :) I also purchased some handmade soaps to pair with the washcloth sets I made. And I got a great design idea that I will gleefully "steal" from whoever made the ones in the shop. They took some vintage handkerchiefs and made envelope-style pouches of them, then inserted a separate pouch containing lavendar buds. I have a whole drawer full of vintage hankies that belonged to my mother and didn't know what to do with them. Perfect! So I bought some bulk lavendar buds and will make some of my own vintage hanky sachets. I think that will be a great birthday gift for my sister in February. :)

Now all that's left to do is sew on the 'handmade by' labels, block one shawl, and package things up for either sending or giving directly. I think I'm going to make it! Just barely, but . . .

Still plenty of work to do on the job front, too. For casino parties, I have one tonight that's not too far away, then two tomorrow (one in Vancouver, WA and one in Canby, OR -- not close to each other at all!), then another on Saturday. That will pretty much wrap up the pre-Christmas parties except for one short one next week. As for transcribing/editing, well, that's been pretty busy, too, but it's a living!

Right now, the wind is kicking up. We're supposed to get gusts from 15 to 70 mph, depending on location. Hope the power doesn't go out!