I can’t help myself. I’m a gadget whore, an accessories whore. And a yarn whore, but you all knew that.
I got a new knitting bag.

A Jordana Paige Bella bag, from Yarns Online. Do I like it? I love it.
I already have a Jordana Paige satchel, but as soon as I saw the Bella, I wanted it. I love my satchel, too, but I like this one even better. It’s nice and soft and lightweight. And I find that sometimes the satchel is bigger than I’d like. Here’s how the two compare size-wise.

Side by side.

The Bella in front of the satchel. They actually don’t look too different in this picture, do they? This one shows the difference better.

It’s definitely smaller than the satchel.
Smaller, but not small. As soon as it arrived I tossed Fifi in there.

As you can see, Fifi fits nicely, and there’s some room to spare. I doubt that you’d get in a whole sweater, sleeves and all, but you might. But if I’m working on a sweater, I’m not usually carrying the whole thing around anyway. Generally I only carry the pieces I’m working on.
Here’s how it looks without Fifi in it.

The centre pocket/divider is soft, and gives easily when you stuff your project in.

A better picture of the divider. You can also see the little zip pocket and credit card slots. On the other side, little gadget pockets.

(Apologies for the bad flash pics, I forgot to take pictures of this bit in daylight.)
Cute, but not altogether useful for me. The scissors and needles are about the only things I’d carry in there. I guess you could add a crochet hook and DPNS. Just a note, if you use straights, you couldn’t store those in there. The bag isn’t tall enough.

As you can see. Doesn’t worry me, I rarely use straights.
Overall, I give it a 10 out of 10.
Fifi? This close to done. Here’s a sneak peek.

Update on Em’s leg, as requested. It’s doing better, but she’s still on restricted dance moves. She’s got a comp this weekend, but there’s no way she’ll be able to do all her dances. If she’s doing better, maybe she’ll do some. She of course, keeps insisting she’s fine, and would dance anyway, no matter how many times she’s told she’ll only make it worse!
Lets finish on a high note.

Always makes me smile! (Well, except when she’s playing destructo bunny!).

The Angora Supreme sweater is done, blocked and being worn right this minute!

I like it, but I don’t love it.
The main problem is that I really need to stop being so lazy, and wash my swatches. It grew when I blocked it. Both in length and width. Before blocking, it was much more fitted, which s what I was going for. However, I am glad of the extra length in the sleeves, because they were a tiny bit short. The body is a little too long for my liking now.
But I do like it, and I will wear it, which is an improvement over many of my previous knits!
Specs –
Yarn: Cleckheaton Angora Supreme, seven and a half balls.
Needles: 4mm Knit Picks Options. (Recommended needle is 4.5mm, going down a size is pretty standard for me)
Pattern: Good old Sweater Wizard, customised to make what I wanted.
Overall 7.5 out of 10.
The yarn is sadly discontinued. I wish I had stashed more of it away. It’s lovely and lightweight to wear, but still feels warm. It has a nice halo, too.

The halo was hard to photograph! It also has the added benefit of excess bunny hair not mattering! Usually I’m constantly picking bunny hair off my clothes.
Saturday sky!

All week it’s been unable to decide whether we should have sun or not, and today was no different. It was nice and sunny one minute, cold and grey the next.
Fifi is powering along.

I would have her finished tonight, but we’re off to my nephew/godson’s 18th Birthday party. Where we shall zealously keep Em under guard from the 18 year old boys!!

Nothing going on here, but Fifi.

If only all my projects moved along this quickly! However, it’s starting to hurt my hands a little, so I may have to put it down.
I don’t usually get a lot of hand pain when I’m knitting, but this is hurting. I’m assuming that’s because of the amount of time I’m spending on Fifi, not because of the yarn. The Calmer is really elastic, and any hand pain I’ve had before has come about with inelastic yarns like 100% cotton.
Some one else who lives here has started a new project.

Looks like some one was planning a big escape. The hole has now been covered. Of course, Twinkie put on her most innocent looking facade, and denied all knowledge of the alleged hole.

Lucky Em spotted the hole before it got quite big enough for Twink to squeeze through.
Em’s leg is doing much better, it must have been all those healing vibes. She’s supposed to dance at a comp on Sunday, so we’ll see how that goes. She coerced me into letting her go to dance class to sit and watch last night. She kept trying to sneak in a step or two, but the teacher made her sit back down again. At least she listens t someone, even if it’s not me!!
The Angora Supreme sweater is finished and dry! I tried it on this afternoon, and it has grown a little with blocking, but I’m still pleased with it – photos on the weekend.

Really, I love Fifi. Love it.

It’s addictive, I can’t put it down.

All of my other projects have been totally ignored in favour of Fifi. I haven’t knit a single stitch on any of them. All I want to do is work on Fifi.
Never mind that the weather is still cold and crappy, and totally not sunny or summery or suitable to the garment.
Speaking of crappy weather, the Angora Supreme is almost dry. I haven’t tried it on yet, it’s too cold to struggle into a damp sweater.
I got a great parcel from my friend Jill this morning. In amongst the knitting magazines she keeps me up to date with, and lots of other little goodies, there were these fantastic Polar Bears bits and pieces from San Diego Zoo.

I am so going to San Diego Zoo while we’re in California!!
A little more detail on the dating drama. Em’s just testing the boundaries, I think. The boy in question is 16, but he may not even be aware that Em has a crush on him, because she’s too scared and giggly to even ask for his phone number, let alone actually carry on a conversation with him. That just confirms for me that she’s not mature enough to be dating!
Speaking of Em, poor kid has damaged a ligament in her knee, and is moping around feeling miserable. She had to sit out dancing last night and is suffering through icings and rest. Healing vibes would be welcomed!!

Saturday sky this morning.

Saturday sky this afternoon.

Well, it was nice while it lasted!
Guess what?

Know what that is?
It’s Fifi!
And you all know what that means, don’t you?

The Angora Supreme sweater is finally finished!! I tried it on before I tossed it into the bath, and I’m extremely happy with it. It’s blocking right now, but due to the cloudage I showed before, it’s taking it’s own sweet time to dry.
Lets do some Twinkie pics, it’s been a while. When she’s happy and content, and she’s getting some nose rubs, she pulls her paws in and gets all comfy and balled up.

She’s like a big fat ball of cotton wool, all warm and fluffy and squishy.
Today I decided to mop the floor, so I cleared the room of furniture.

Twinkie, of course, took this as a sign that she should try to refill the room.
On a totally unrelated note, am I being totally unreasonable when I won’t let my 14 year old date? (Not that she’s been asked on a date, it’s a hypothetical question!)