Revisiting the past (part 2)

In between times of eating at my favorite Davis restaurants and hanging out with old friends, I managed to knit...a lot...for me at least. After finishing the Endpaper Mitts, I got started on my Sunburst Sling Bag from Just One More Row. I'm using recycled silk (no particular brand, just stuff picked up at Stitches West) on size 8US needles and let me tell you something: this stuff isn't the greatest. First off, it can be really rough on the hands, which probably isn't helped by the fact that I keep finding twigs and rocks embedded in it. Also, I don't think I've wound one skein that hasn't either been broken with the ends tied back together or just left loose. Uncontinuous yarn. I hate that. It really bothers me. Just when you are getting into the rhythm of winding, the yarn ends. For each skein I was getting up to three balls. One super small, one small, and one medium. Every skein. Let me tell you, that's the poop. The upside of this stuff is that it is beautiful. So colorful. Here, take a look.





And because it is so unfinished, you really can't tell where one strand ends and the next one is tied on. I am almost finished now, just knitting up the strap. Then all I will have to do is seam it together and add the lining. Does anyone know how I go about adding the lining? The pattern includes instructions, so I guess what I'm really asking is, do you sew it in by hand (which is what I would guess) or use a machine? I'll probably go to the LYS when the time comes and see what they have to say. But that may be a while, because.....

everyone and their mother is getting pregnant. I've got two friends who are due in June and another aquaintance who is a couple months along. So, it's probably time to get started on some baby knitting. One of my best friends from childhood, her sister, is having a girl in June, so I think I'm going to do some Bibs-O-Love from Mason Dixon Knitting. I got the Peaches and Creme in the mail last week. Funny thing is the colors are all pinks, yellows, and greens--all this months colors for Project Spectrum, which I'm not even signed up for. And then I'm going to do a baby hat for another friend of mine and that will be green too. I don't sign up for things like that, because most likely, I won't finish or stick to the rules, but here I am following the April/May colors. Anyway, it might be a while before I finish the bag or get to knitting anything else for myself....

which is a shame because while I was in Davis, I found a new (well, new to me) yarn store that I LOVE. It's the Knitter's Playground. It's my new favorite yarn store in Davis. They have great yarn and, more importantly, a great atmosphere. They have a great big table set up where you can walk in and sit down and knit. Everytime I went in, someone was sitting at that table. And Rebecca (the owner) is very nice and also very helpful if you have any questions. While there, I couldn't resist buying four skeins of Cotton Fleece in Wisteria for this. I can't wait to get started on that...or Flair, or The Somewhat Cowl. But babies come first. So, for the next couple of weeks, it's bibs. Colorful bibs. Be prepared for lots of garter stitch.