I’m one of those people who knows a lot about global geography but gets lost on the way to her best friend’s house, and plans at least an extra hour of travel time for unexpected detours.  Since I go on a fair number of road trips by myself, and since I make an even worse passenger-navigator now than I was before the knitting, I finally broke down and bought a portable navigation system just in time to drive to Massachusetts next weekend for the Knitters Review Retreat. 

The addition of that little puppy makes for a veritable tentacle-fest in my purse or glove box, however, so I thought a lovely little bag for all of the gadgetry would be in order.  I knew I wanted to make it myself out of stuff I already had, that it should be big enough to hold the nav system, my phone and charger, and my ipod and its cords, and possible more electrical nonsense if the need arises, that it should be velcro free (most knitter’s things should), and that it should be easy to close and carry.  La.

That’s one of the best quilting cottons I’ve ever found, and I am really surprised I was brave enough to use it on an experimental pattern.  I love the birch leaves and the shadows.  Ahhhh.  The lining is a linen leftover from a previous sewing project, and it’s got some good heft to it.  I also put a square of twill inside the base to add some structure to it.

I really like this concept.  Instead of two equally-sized wrist straps, it has a long one, which threads through a short loop.  I also added some leather ties, which I just sewed in place as I joined the lining to the outer fabric. I figure they’ll make things less likely to escape, and they also make the bag look more polished when it’s closed.

And there’s my new toy.  She will save me so much heartache and stress. 

The sewing was a nice break from the knitting.  I have a feeling I’m going to make a very similar bag tomorrow to hold my sock knitting.  I love how quickly sewn projects come together.  Particularly since cellulose-based materials are apparently immune to attack from Yarrow the Wool-Destroyer. I decided to dig up some yarn to make a baby surprise jacket to add to the charity knitting pile at the KR Retreat next weekend, but apparently Yarrow had his way with the yarn first.

The blue stuff got the brunt of his wrath.  It’s pretty chewed up in many many places.  I’m trying to use it as a stripe here and there, but most of the lengths I’m finding are too sort for a single width of stitches.  Blasted cat.  And as if that weren’t bad enough, he hopped into my lap this morning while I was scratching out some plans for my fun new gadget bag and immediately tried to chew on my Irish Twist cardigan right there in my lap, as I was wearing it.   You’d think he’d realize cats can’t be punk rockers, no matter how hard they try.

As far as the blanket is concerned, I think my plan will work.  Here’s a square with the double i-cord edging.  It’s not tacked down yet, because I’m trying not to waste work while I’m waiting for the final yarn to be ready.  I am looking forward to curling up with this blanket this winter, but also pretty concerned for its safety around Yarrow. 

And there’s another boring elegant, simple sock in the works.  I’m using Trekking Natura, which I really like so far.

I prefer to avoid synthetics in my yarn, and the bamboo definitely feels nicer in the hand than nylon does.  I’m not sure how they’ll react to water.  This yarn seems to be significantly thinner than standard Trekking, but I don’t know how much it blooms or how durable it will be.  Regular Trekking isn’t the softest stuff to knit with, but it blooms beautifully and wears really well.  I hope the same is true of this.  The sock seems a little limp, though, even on 2mm needles.

Finally, the Yorks’s huge fun annual Halloween Party was yesterday, and we had a blast.  Of course.  For once, I made a costume that I thought was witty and that made sense to other people.  Anyone who remembers when I went to a Halloween party as this guy knows what I mean. 

I couldn’t get many decent photos, what with the darkness and the crowds, but most of the cast of Firefly was there; as was the Empire State Building, complete with King Kong and Fay Ray; the requisite Star Wars/Trek/meta-Geek costumes; a number of the folks from Harry Potter; Prince Hal/HenryV,

(Chip York, one of our hosts, is a photographer–I’m sure he took a much better picture, but he sure has handy settings around for this kind of stuff). Luckily, we also had protection against zombies.

Can’t be too careful, these days.

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