...this would be a bouquet.  I'd even sniff it.  Smells more like a very clean sheep than a rose but we yarnies know what I'm talking about here.  If you've never seen this before, these are some of the new monotone shades of Brown Sheep'sLamb's Pride Worsted.  If it looks familiar, it may be because this is what I used for the Kitka Modular Bag.  I absolutely love this stuff.  Look at it how it works up NOT felted:

Don't ask me what that thing is.  I was just messing around one day and this happened.  There's only 2 colors missing in these photos: One is a deep green and the other is an orange (there may be more than these but I haven't seen them yet).  My LYS just got some of the orange in and I'm itching to go pick some up. 

Speaking of my LYS, its name is Knit Wicks and the owner's name is Elizabeth.  Its a great place and she's a great gal (heh, if you're reading this Elizabeth, I just called you a GAL!)  Here's a pic of last Saturday:

There's a sock class going on the background so everyone is looking down at what they are doing.  In the foreground are the comfy couches.  Delores is blocked by the colorful red feather boa and Leslie is at the lower right side.  Hey, they're great gals too!  (Heh, if you're reading this Delores and Leslie, I called you GALs too!)  I keep meeting some really neat folks at this shop.  If you want to stop in sometime, its located at 103 West Walnut in Rogers, AR (479-899-6442).  Look at who else I caught knitting:

I didn't ask their names but these girls were knitting away in their own little space at the rear of the shop (I Photo-shopped a piece of cotton candy over the girl on the right's face to protect her privacy).  It was great to see the art/craft happening with the youngun's.

My blog posting may be sporadic in the coming months.  I'm getting ready to start a new project at the real job and sometimes those things drain me of creativity and ~Inner Monologues~.  I do have another scarf pattern that I'll post soon so you've been warned.

My mother is an active and avid quilter.  Ever since I was a child she has been doing piecework either by hand or machine and teaching her techniques to others.  As much as she may have wished it, none of her 3 daughters ever picked up the craft to carry it on.  But one of her daughters did deviate on the piecework theme.  That would be me.  I like to think of the modular technique as the knitting equivalent to quilting.  And when a knitted piece is felted, you've got the thick, warm comfort factor added in as well.

This bag is worked one square or triangle at a time.  Stitches for neighboring pieces are picked up in the squares they are adjacent to.  This method can be quite addictive.  The sides of the bag are worked using short rows and the bottom of the bag is worked in simple garter stitch stripes.  Fringe is created when the bottom is attached to the front and back panels.  There is minimal finishing to this bag.  Stitches for the sides are picked up along one edge of the front and back panels and the bottom is picked up at the base of the side panel and worked back and forth.  There are only 3 seams to sew up and the bottom is attached using short pieces of yarn that are double knotted on the outside and create fringe after felting.  The handles are sewn on after the felting process.

The pattern consists of 14 pages (yah, that's a lot to print out).  The first 6 pages are the written out instructions, the next 2 pages are additional photos showing before and after the felting process.  The last 6 pages are diagrams and schematics.  I've included a drawing that you can use with colored pencils to work up your own color schemes.  The last 3 pages of the diagram section show the individual modular square anatomy and how the pieces work up together to form the bag shape.  If you've never worked the Modular technique, there should be sufficient information to get you started right up.  Keep in mind that you are in control of how many sheets you actually print out.  I recommend not printing out the pages with just photos since they can be viewed best when the file is open on the computer monitor (you can zoom in closer if you want).  And you may choose not to print out all of the diagram pages also.

Materials: Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted (2 skeins in the MC and 1 skein of six different colors)   Needles: US #10 (two 24" circulars and 2 dpns if desired)                                  

Finished Bag Size: 13 inches wide by 13 1/2 inches high (size may vary depending on the felting process)

Skill Level:  to Experienced (don't let this scare you though, its easier than it sounds)

This file is available for purchase in PDF format.  Click on the button below and follow the instructions to receive your copy of the pattern.

$6.00

Free pattern: Heart Pendant   Yarn: Alchemy Yarns Bamboo   Needles: US#2

I observance of Valentine's Day, I wanted to show my love to all of you folks who drop by my blog every now and then.  I thank you all for showing interest in my little blog.  If you are so inclined to knit up a little heart, here's my version.  It worked in a modular way with a larger mitered triangle at the bottom and 2 smaller garter stitch triangles worked at the top.  I stuffed mine with yarn scraps but you may want to put something like a scented sachet inside it instead.  You could tuck it into a backpack, lunch box or underwear drawer of someone you love and is dear to you.  Use it to decorate a special gift.  Or you can string up your heart and wear it as a pendant, like I did.  I even added a little charm thingy.

I used a scrap of yarn that I had leftover from a scarf project for my featured heart version.  I didn't measure out exactly how much yarn I used so I estimated that approximately 30 yards would be needed but it could be less.  Using the yarn shown above, the finished size is a little smaller than 2 1/2" all around.  Try something you already have on hand that you've been saving as a "someday, I'll figure out what to do with this stuff" yarn.  I made these two partial hearts with an angora blend and a DK cotton:

Go on, get creative!  Then start sharing your heart with others.

Oh my gosh!  What happened?  I had the best post I'd ever written and I must have hit the delete button.  Here's the second go 'round.  It's probably not as good as the first one, since, like I said, it was the BEST post ever!

Seems I had lost some of my blogging mojo and I've been waiting for something fun to inspire me to write about on this blog.  Its been a while but here it is--Baby Star Crispy Noodle Snacks (chicken flavor).  I found these when I was grabbing a package of dried seaweed sheets (what you use to make sushi, I think), that my son eats like crackers, in the specialty section of the grocery store.  I almost grabbed a tin of wasabi peas (again, for my son--I like them plain) but my hand veered toward this, a crunchy bag of goodness.

If you'd like to know about the nutrition values and ingredients (don't we all?), here you go:

But what you may not already know and what you will probably NEED to know is this:

I'm not going to tell you which method I used.  You get to guess and you can even let me know your opinions if you choose to leave a comment.  Check out the website for this or more kinds of snacks here.  I think there's a dude-in-chicks'-clothes (yes, you know what I'm talking about) in one of the snack ads here (I want hair like that!).  I need to warn you though, you'll need to wear some sunglasses to check it all out.

As for knitting content, here's a preview of some projects/patterns I'll be posting about in the near future:

~Inner Monologue:  I guess I've inserted enough inner monologues throughout this post already (thanks to all the text in parenthesis).~