Remember this Silly Thing?

This is my variation on Debbie Bliss' knitted bag from Junior Knits.

It's made out of some horrifically coarse yarn that I picked up years ago in the hopes that it would felt. It doesn't of course, so I'm looking for non-garment applications for it. Much of it went to the girls school last year when they needed "hair" for some lifesize paper dolls they were making for the 50th anniversary celebration. The pinks and purples remain with me. :-(

I lined it with plastic canvas rather than fabric to give it a bit of shape and to keep Clare's valuable cache of coloured pencils from slipping out and closed it with a magnetic snap. I think it's pretty homely, but Clare seems to like it.

In other knitting news, the hobo bag continues at a snail's pace. Well, not really a snail's pace, snails move forward very slowly, but they don't race backwards at regular intervals! I've ripped out the first few inches a half dozen times trying to get the increases right.

Since I don't have anything mindless on the needles right now, (ok, Gillian's hoodie is mindless, but the needles are pretty tiny and my wrists need a rest) I'm tempted to make a quick sweater for DH using the Paton's Merino Wool that won't work for the Na Craga. Elizabeth Morrison at Garter Belt has a great pattern for a quick men's sweater, the Adirondack Sweater that is sufficiently "regular-guy" for DH.

"Regular guy" is DH's adjective to describe what he considers an appropriately unadorned style, suitable for guys like him. i.e. A regular-guy haircut is obtained at a barber shop, not a hair salon, a regular-guy car has a modest amount of chrome and comes with four doors. A regular-guy sweater is defined more by what it doesn't have, noticable patterns or textures, bold stripes, colours other than navy, grey, black, or brown, or "interesting" neckline details than by what it is, basically a crewneck sweater. Adirondack is a good, basic sweater, pretty much a crewneck but with a bit of subtle ribbing to give it some visual interest and no ribbing at the bottom band (a personal bugaboo).

Anyway, a simply patterned men's sweater should provide some decent TV knitting, since I can't seem to work on the Hobo Bag without decent light, some quiet and a full night's sleep.

After 2.5 weeks of kids home sick from school, the now-recovered kids are home for their March Break this week. My sitter continues to be unavailable and DH is still working crazy hours. Next Monday is a distant light at the end of the tunnel. Did I mention that I find knitting to be very therapeutic?