A Knitting Bag For Phyllis

 I made it through Christmas! Hurray! It was actually quite pleasant. On Christmas Eve I cooked a dinner of boneless leg of Lamb with side dishes. It was delicious. We love lamb, but it's horribly expensive. When I splurge for it, I get it at Costco. Their lamb is excellent.

On Christmas morning I found a small flashlight in my stocking, and a few chocolate kisses I'd put there. Sweet Hubby and I failed each other in the stocking department. Our daughter, Ruth, had a properly filled stocking. I don't know. The last couple months have been so incredibly stressful, and sad, and depressing. It was very hard for me to get excited for Christmas. I didn't put the tree up until 2 weeks before. I did get some nice presents. Chocolates (Yum!) and some Television series DVD sets- The Closer and Major Crimes. Those should get me through the rest of winter knitting.

I got my sweet hubby a flannel shirt. Originally I was going to make him one, but I couldn't find a fabric I liked so I shopped at my favorite internet tall mens shop. Maybe I'll sew one next year, for our anniversary, or something. I also got him a folding level. Great for using in corners. It's kind of cool, and very well made. I'd never seen one before, so I got excited when I stumbled across it.

Later in the day we went to my best friends house for dinner and cards. I had such a wonderful time. I think it's the first time I've really relaxed since Sue got sick. The meal was excellent. I made dessert, which was a Raspberry Victoria cake. 

It's my favorite. I tried stabilizing the whipped cream this time, which worked beautifully. Recipe for the cake and whipped cream are here: Victoria Cake  Stabilized Whipped Cream

Enough about Christmas day. I have some completed projects I couldn't blog about because I didn't want the receivers to see then before Christmas.

I did some sewing for my friend Phyllis. I made her a knitting bag.

I've used this pattern before. It's called Charm Pack Tote Bag. It's fun to sew. It uses a charm pack, or fat quarters that you can cut into 5 inch squares. There's a bit of gathering (red polka dot line) and quilting. It's a good beginners project.

I found a fat quarter bundle on Etsy, or was it Ebay, that had all knitting themed fabric. If you look up close, you will see it. There are knitting chickens and sheep. and 4 of the squares are knitting stitches. 

The bottom fabric is pink sheep knitting on a black background. It's a Timeless Treasures quilting fabric. I love their fabrics.

I used a polka dotted fabric (from Joann's) for the button loop and the ruffled line. I found the button in my stash. It's an old antique one.

This is the back.

I put a pocket inside too, and I used light beige fabric for the lining. I hate black lining in purses and bags. You can't see anything when it's black inside.

Phyllis was very surprised, and pleased. She made me a Christmas present too. She knit me a purple tam. It goes with my purple fur coat perfectly, and fits good. It's so wonderful when someone knits something for me.

Last week the weather was abysmal. We had dangerously cold temperatures for about 3 days. One day the high was 9F, and the low was -13F. Our poor furnace could not keep up so it was cold in the house. Sweaters were worn, and blankets wrapped around us, and a lot more coffee brewed than usual. This week started with a huge change. It's been in the upper 30's and low 40's, and lots of rain. It's a crazy winter!

That's all for today. More later. I've been beading!

Live long and prosper. \\//