Catch-up

I’m so behind.  I’m behind in my blogging.  I’m behind in my blog reading.  I’m behind in my Christmas knitting.  I’m behind with getting things in the mail.  Gah.  I need to catch up with all of you.  If you blogged about anything that I need to read, let me know.  My google reader is about to explode with unread blog posts and I just don’t know when I’m going to be able to catch up!

Okay, so where to begin…?   Lots to share.

Progress has been made on a myriad of things.  Probably the most exciting of which was my swap bag.  I had never made a bag before, and being the overambitious knitster that I am, I decided that I was going to make the brea bag.  And I was going to line it.  It really wasn’t too terribly difficult.  The knitting was a breeze.  

I used Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool, double-stranded.  I loved the natural color of the wool because I knew that it was going to show off the stitch patterns so well (and it did!).  I even decided to knit a strap for it.  The knitting went well.  And then came the lining…

My sewing skills are not the greatest.  Let’s face it… I can’t even thread the sewing machine.  Why I thought that making a bag with a lining was a good idea is beyond me.  However, astonishingly, all went well.  I knew how to put the lining together in theory.  It was the execution that had me a bit miffed.  But thanks to the darling kikibowns, and her bag lining linky goodness, things started to click for me and I got the lining finished.  I even lined the strap for extra support.  I loved it.  It got shipped away to its new home this week and I think that she liked it!  Yay!  I had purchased enough yarn and fabric to make a second bag for my sister for Christmas, but that got nixed due to time constraints.  So after all of the holiday craziness is over, I’m going to tackle the second one for me.  I’m selfish like that.

So, once the bag was done, I moved on to my Navajo Gems spinning project.  This is Spunky Eclectic BFL and was super soft and lovely to spin.

Then it was time to work on the fingerless mitts for my sister’s birthday.  

I made these after the awesome swap gloves that I received from Troismommy, using her Tourniquet pattern.  I didn’t do the color change, as you can see that this yarn needs no additional colors added.  :)  But I really liked the design and fit of the ones that she made for me, so I wanted to make these in the same style.  Hopefully my sister likes them.  I’m going to be shipping them out this week.

Next on the list are 2 neckwarmers that are currently soaking in the sink, awaiting their moment on the blocking pins.

Followed by Macabre #2 which has finished its soak and is currently drying.

So, now that just leaves a few pairs of fingerless mitts, a pair of Bella’s Mittens, and a pair of socks.  I can do this.  Yes, I can.

But, seeing that it’s Sunday, it’s time for soup first.