Yikes!

Dear Cynthia,This past Monday, it occurred to me that Valentines' Day is next week Wednesday. That realization was enough to kick me into high gear regarding the felted moccasins I was planning for dh. I finished knitting them yesterday, put them in the washing machine, started felting them, and then walked away and totally forgot about them......

Oops..... The directions say that during the felting process, it is very important to tug/loosen the waste yarn so that the back cuff, which also serves as a casing for the ties, does not felt shut. **Ahem**, yes, that is very important. With enough force, I was able to loosen mine, but next time I start the washer for a felting project, I don't think I'll be walking away from it. My 42 year old brain moves on to other things and forgets what I was doing in the first place. (By the way, my four year old informed me the other day that I am the oldest thing he knows.... Thank you...)I think the finished size is about right, though, and I'm pretty happy with the way they are turning out. The bottoms have two layers of felted fabric (similar to the felted clogs by the same author), and they are quite comfy. Tomorrow I'll go to Lakeside Fibers and try to find some nice bottoms for them, and I'll also put some real ties in them. It's an extremely clever pattern, from Bev Galeskas "Felted Knits".I'm still working on the garter stitch section of my Mad Money Bag. MollyBee and Allison - This is a great starter project for beads. I've never strung beads before, and with this pattern, they are knit in using garter stitch, and they end up on the opposite side (the side not facing me -- not what I expected, but very fun). Now I want to try beads on something other than garter stitch, just to see how they "work"... Anyway, I've got almost 100 rows of garter stitch done, out of 120 total... Then I have to decide what sort of cord to make...
Finally, I've really been trying to get my work area organized. I filed months worth of paperwork (which had to be done before I even attempt to get at our taxes), and now I'm trying to use up some of the polar fleece I have on hand. They are having a cold weather clothing drive where dh works, so I made up a bunch of hats for that. (Simple pattern -- cut a rectangle having the long side along the stretch of the fabric, stitch the short sides together, fold up the bottom 2 inches and stitch in place to form a hem, then tie the top closed with some cording.)

I suppose I ought to get some laundry going..... Do I say that in every post? I probably could...

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)