Productivity

The last bit of December, mid January through now has been wrought with so much sickness in our home and now it is making it's way through the ranks.  While everyone has tried to be content and at least comfortable, others have taken on more responsibilities and taken it in stride.

Now it is time for them to be sick and Mom to take care of everyone.

While I was sick, they brought me teas of every flavor with honey or Stevia, along with warm meals or salads.  I talked them through making chicken soup and other dishes while curled up in a ball with a fever myself, sore and achy.

Now it is time for Momma to bless everyone with good hearty soups, wonderful healing teas and clean smelling blankets to curl up in.  

While I'd been sick, when I felt up to it I knitted or crocheted.  In this post you can see the finished afghan I made for a dear friend.  Once I finished that project, I moved on to another UFO [Un-Finished Object] to crochet.

This past week I've finished it, felted it and found wooden buttons for it. 

Knitted pocket.  The felted stitches turn out differently in knitted items than in crocheted.

I'd made a knitted pocket for it, but at this point in time, I'm not sure if I want to put it on the inside or the outside.  I'm also not sure if I'd like to line it or not.  It is a nice sized bag that is very thick.

A closer look at the colors, the simple handles, and the beautiful wood buttons.

Felting crocheted work is different than felting knitted work, I've found.  When putting a knitted piece through the washer the way the knitting is flat and uniform without much texture makes the stitches blend in much easier than with crocheting.  While crocheting felts much the same way with the thickness, it shows much more of the stitches, hence the zig-zag pattern of the white crochet stitches.  This, in my opinion, gives each bag character of it's very own.

Here is the messenger bag that I finished in 2012~

With each felted bag, each pattern is different, with each type of wool, the texture is a little different.  The above bag was made with Icelandic Lopi yarn which is bulky wool.  It's texture is different than any other 100% wool I've used.  This bag will fit a loose leaf notebook/ 3 ring binder easily.  I've also put my laptop in it.  The one I finished above would easily fit both of them in it with room to spare, or it would make a nice diaper bag.

So what is next on my needles?  I have a couple projects that I would  like to begin working on once I get the yarn for Christmas for my mother-in-law and my daughter.  I keep finding these patterns that I'd love to make, but I need to get the materials first.  Go figure!  I need to use up some of my stash at some point, I'm sure.  But, I've come to the realization that it just might be easier to use up the stash simply by sharing the yarn with others who might have a use for it.  

What else am I working on?  Teaching the next generation of young ladies how to make bags too.  What fun!