Market Bags and Swans

Oh my goodness, another week (and more!) gone without a post.  I have no excuses this time, other than the days just keep getting away from me.  And what do I have to do? Well, there is Baby Man and the regular round of errands, some work, sleep, household chores, and of course knitting and cross stitch!

I’m speeding right along with Happily Ever After, even though I had a wee bit of a set back when it came to centring the date. But a little ripping and everything is back on track.  I did make a few adjustments with motif positioning to account for the fact that I used letters in the date and not just  numbers.  (Canada has one way of writing the date with numbers only and the U.S. has another and since the couple is one Canadian and one American/Russian, I thought it was best to spell out the date to avoid confusion.) So, to make sure I haven’t made a horrible mistake, I’m working on the boring bit of the border now, and then I will work down to the date.  There is some wiggle room between the date and the names, and any mistake can be fixed there.

Happily Ever After by Marie Barber - WIP

I’ve still got some backstitching to do in the swan panel and beads and backstitching on the diamond panel, but this is turning out just beautifully.

In the world of knitting, I am stalled on my socks that I shared last time. I’ve been working on a string market bag instead for an exchange I’m taking part in through Ravelry.

Montavilla Market Tote - WIP

The pattern I’m using is Knit Picks’ Montavilla Market Tote, and the yarn is Fiddlesticks Knitting Ecoknit Organic Cotton in three different colours (Cream, Cinnamon, and Coffee).  (I have a fourth colour but it didn’t blend nicely.)  If I can find some sort of a drawstring toggle, I’m going to make this into a bag that holds its self, like the Everlasting Bagstopper from Knitty. I’ll let you in on a secret: the yarn for this bag cost me $3CAN.  Amazing, eh? This is fabulous, soft, organic yarn, but I bought it at my LYS’s closing sale for a song.

And that is about it.  The heat here in Southern Ontario has been nearly unbearable for late May.  Quite honestly, I just don’t want to do anything other than sit around and read. The weather is suppose to break later in the week, and hopefully that will help me feel more motivated.