Good intentions.

Ok, so I can't cross everything off the list I promised to finish this weekend, but I did:

1. Finish, seam, and felt the charcoal diagonal stripes bag. Here is a pic before:

And, after:

It was an interesting experience. I was careful at first, washing her on delicate in cold water with a pair of old jeans (thanks to a tip from Vickie Howell). She shrunk up all weird and not at all in some places, and I could still see the stitches throughout. I tried another spin cycle, but there were no changes. Finally, I went all out and threw her in REGULAR cycle in WARM water. That did the trick! You can see it shrunk to about 1/3 its original size, and it needed quite the haircut when it came out (this wool sheds more than my dogs, which is saying a LOT), but it came out quite nicely. I searched high and low for appropriate handles and/or a snap, but have had no luck. This afternoon, I purchased some size 9 dpn's (finally) and think I am going to try to fashion a felted i-cord handle. Not sure at all how this will turn out, but I kind of hate this bag by now anyway (why knit with winter colors at the beginning of spring???), so chances are it will never see the light of day.

2. Posted pictures of felted bag (see above).

3. Cleaned out 9 episodes of Knitty Gritty from the DVR (and learned a cool 9 block blanket, tank top, fair isle pattern, and tri-color technique...!

And, I am *so* proud of my last accomplishment. Determined to start a garment, but hateful of all tank top patterns, I discovered a gorgeous Anthropologie-inspired piece to start next. I had picked up some Bernat Bamboo in corn -- simply because the texture was so scrumptious. (I had been spoiled by some delish Malabrigo at Christmas and have hated everything I've knit with ever since.) I cast on and going to town after only one day on this project:

I'm not sure about the color now that I have started, but it is a good practice piece. Too bad I'll probably spend more on a button for finishing at Anthropologie than I did on the entire sweater. Maybe I'll get lucky and find something cute and re-usable around the house.

Feeling v. productive and proud of self, and so excited to see how my little capelet turns out -- it could be a gateway to knit designer knockoffs!