what a difference a day makes

Posted on Posted in book reviews/events, designing, lace/shawls, projects

yesterday

today!

yesterday

today.

yep, it’s march for sure—and this crazy-making weather has me crawling around the flower beds daily, searching for signs of life and just when i finally find some, mother nature dumps some more snow on them, just for funsies.

yesterday and the day before i had the most excellent runs—cold, but the air had that spring thing going on, where it’s cool, but balmy at the same time? just lovely. and the sun! i could roll around in it all day.

and then there was this morning, when the only fit thing to do was climb onto the stationary bike for another inspiring installment of watching water drip from the eaves outside the porch door.

but better than not moving at all, i gotta say . . . and nice that we are finally turning the corner on spring, yay. the days are noticeably longer and the sun is showing its face often to spread actual warmth in its path. huh.

i am almost completely tied up with secret knitting except for this DK shawl in our breakfast blend morning smoke color which, while i only work on it infrequently and for short periods, is nearing completion nonetheless. i think i’m just a few rows away from the final hem section, which is a pattern of welting.

we got another two boxes of yarn yesterday, this time the fingering weight breakfast blend in espresso

i immediately wound a skein up with plans to cast on a pair of mitts to join in our march BNW KAL. i’ve been thinking that some mitts to match the strömming cap would be great, but that i’d prefer them to be fingering weight.

since i’m once again getting ready to travel, this will be a good take-along project for knitting in public (i know—i already have several of those on the needles; not to worry, they are coming along as well).

that’s right, i’ve been prepping my lessons and packing my bags again this evening, which is why this post is going up so late. i’ll be teaching at the black sheep knitting guild in detroit; i hear that there are still spots available and they are now open to the public.

i know a bunch of you are going to ask, “where do you get all those cute bags??”

no need to email me—here’s the skinny: three bags full on etsy; proceed at your own risk and don’t say i didn’t warn you. myself, i dare not click for fear of falling down and hitting my credit card hard, so that it accidentally puts a huge dent in my monthly budget. just saying.

(but omg, i can’t stand it; i’m so weak. i clicked anyway and right away, the garden gnomes totally sucked me in. oh, and the bento box, too. and maybe the sushi DPN case or the farmyard circulars case . . . see, this is why i must mind my own business.)

fortunately, i just had a nice little hit of TBF; michele sent a sample set of her new DPN case and a midi bag in the ever-popular farmyard pattern. doesn’t it go really well with the espresso yarn?

just in the nick of time, too—i’ve been noticing that the original packaging of my DPNs is becoming tattered, so that the needles often fall out when i want them to stay in.

this handy tote holds everything nice and snug; i love the idea of having everything in an attractive case that i can grab and go with any time, knowing that all my favorite sizes are now in tow. i just need to get a needle gauge that will fit one of the wider slots so that i know which needles are which.

michele’s bags and cases are so beautifully made; i can tell she enjoys putting the various fabrics together in pairings that are meant to be amusing. she sews her clever sense of humor into every piece.

not only that, michele is very generous. we’re going to celebrate my trip to teach at the black sheep knitting guild in detroit by hosting a three bags full giveaway.

if you’d like to win one of michele’s new DPN or circular cases, leave a comment at the end of this post by 9 pm EST sunday, march 10. we’ll pick one winner on monday and announce it at the earliest convenient time (i’ll be teaching and traveling, so it could be delayed a bit).

i’ll try to pop in a couple of times over the weekend, but don’t worry if you don’t see me for a couple of days; things often get hectic with these weekend gigs.

maybe when i get back, these guys will be blooming . . .

283 thoughts on “what a difference a day makes

  1. That was close- I almost got sucked in on to buying bags at Three Bags Full! I managed to close the page before the credit card incurred any damage, but it was close.
    I remember days growing up outside of Cleveland where it would be snowy one day and tulips poking through the snow the next.

  2. Love those bags! I have one and it is one of the best knitting accessories I have. Good luck with your flowers too I am struggling to keep my baby plants away from the chickens this year!

  3. I have been a fan of Michele’s beautiful bags since I first saw them on your blog several years ago. More than a few grace my home and knitting projects, and I’d love to put a new circular case to good work! (Just bought a dpn case as I couldn’t wait 😉

    Thank you for showcasing Michele’s bags on your blog. She has beautiful products and is a top-notch businesswoman.

  4. Are you saying a chance to become better organized AND using sweet fabrics???? Send it my way, por favor!

  5. What wonderful bags! My circular needles are always falling out of their case but I seem to be spending my limited yarn budget on yarn. I love the bags with the farm animals and the one with the flowers and then there is the leaf pattern. I’m heading to her etsy shop now.

  6. Love 3 Bags Full…just ordered two more project bags! All part of spring cleaning and organizing. 🙂

  7. Beautiful needle case! Not that I NEED any more Three Bags Full bags ;-). HOWEVER……… I don’t have needle case, of any kind 🙂

  8. I seriously need a DPN case…they just fall out of my other needle case so I have resorted to tying them together with rubberbands.

  9. Well, goodness! Who *wouldn’t* want to win one of michele’s bags? A no-brainer for sure.

    And I credit you for luring me down this particular rabbit hole long ago, to which my bag cache can attest. She even does custom bags using cute little fabrics that one might happen to stumble on roaming around etsy, just sayin’!

  10. Youve already led me into temptation with Michelle’s lovely bags. The first one arrived a couple of days ago and I have two more winging their way to me as I type. I foresee some serious danger ahead….

  11. I still keep my dpns and circulars in their original packaging. Which is ugly. A nice organizer would be great.

  12. I’m a sucker for bags! I love the one we got last year in the BNK Club — although I prefer my bags w/o zippers. These are my current favorites: http://www.etsy.com/shop/dancingsheep. But I think I need one (or more) of those nifty needle cases…

    P.S. I was so dissappointed your teaching gig in Austin for last month was cancelled. Hope to take another class with you sometime!

    Off to look at needle cases….

  13. Thanks so much for sharing the website. I have to admit that I do not have a proper needle case… I keep my needles in their original packaging in a non descript plastic container, and my knitting in zip lock bags…I know shameful…and a problem when working on sweaters! … although at least I know where to go to find my needles! I LOVE the project bags that you usually have in the blog pictures and have been wondering where you get them…I will have to splurge on one of them!

    Thanks for sharing!

  14. What terrific fabrics! It would be so difficult to choose! Great Spring idea to help organize.

  15. Those bags are so cute. I have one of her project bags and I love it. The farmhouse print is adorable.

  16. totally cute, those bags. If I had any money right now, I’d buy several of them and replace the ugly ziplock bags I’m using. One day …

  17. I love to see what fabrics different people like. Your choices are very eclectic. Some people stick with the same themes or color schemes. Of course I can’t be impartial to TBF since she IS my very talented sister. 😉

  18. Ooh, put me down for the giveaway–I really need a better solution for my circs, right now they just sort of float around my space in chaos!

  19. I do love the bags, but here is another dpn solution, toothbrush holder tubes work great. My DH stuck a tiny bit on glue in the holes on ends and presto, several colors help keep sizes separated and they are easy to carry around…

  20. I’d love one of those dpn cases. I have a large collection of antique dpns from my grandmother and they are all orphans with no cases. Organisation seems good. I love the sushi one. But the maths equations fabric is so me too (geeky mathematician here). It’s my birthday on Wednesday. Maybe I can win me a fantastic birthday pressie.

  21. The bags are great- so playful! I had a wonderful time at your lace class today. Loved the pattern and I will finish it up tonight. I don’t know if I could get the mits done in time for the guild meeting, but I am going to try! Thanks again for a great day!

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