Sometimes you can look at something for a long time and really not see it. Until one day, all of a sudden it hits you that this combination is not going to work - ever.

      "And as much as you want to be done," I told myself the other day, "you will never use this piece. So you may as well rip it out now."

       There. Catharsis. A new beginning. And that much closer to the finish line.

       Here's the goal - a shibori-style felted tote:  
      

But with a different slant on the idea of a red bag, and with handles that will let me sling it over my shoulder. .

       In the original bag, I worked with a redder-than-red Peruvia from Berroco(rojo 7155) and an off-white complement (blanco) in the same yarn.
 
     For the second bag, started with the same  Peruvia to "highlight" a compatible Jasper  in the Rojo Coralita colorway. (3831).   got carried away with the hint of the blue in the Rojo Coralita and added more blues blues from the Jasper and Peruvia families - to the point where I ended up with cacophony rather than contrast. So we have edited out the extra blues and are sticking with a basically red bag.

                                        I'll keep you posted on the shibori thing.

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Kitty has been absent from these pages for a good while, but here you see him in one of his favorite locales - the bathroom sink. Draped over the faucet in the background is the washcloth from The Well-Knit Home.

 

The sample photographed for the book happens to be my favorite washcloth. I wouldn't mind having a few more of these, but at this point I realize that if I want them that badly , I'll have to knit them myself.

I can't say enough about the yarn, Provence, a mercerized Egyptian cotton from Classic Elite. The washcloth has been through the washer - and dryer - numerous times and still looks as good as new. It is worked up in a simple checked rib pattern that is perfect for beginners - or for those moments we'd all like to steal back from the tedium of daily living. (I got a couple hundred stitches done a knit-in-the-round project onwhile I was waiting for a sandwich today. But I digress)

 

As for Kitty, he comes running whenever he hears me turn on the faucet. He bats the running water with a paw and then licks the fur. Or he plops down just as I'm about to rinse out from brushing my teeth. Sometimes, he just sits there and lets the water run over him.

While Naomi was selling me yarn one day, and I was blathering on about Kitty's aquatic tendencies, she told me about the Drinkwell fountains, specifically designed to supply running water for pets. I realized then that Kitty had slowly stopped drinking from his water dish.

 

Before the day was out, the DH had ordered a Drinkwell fountain for Kitty, partly in the hopes that he would stop playing in the bathroom sink and partly to ensure that he remain well-hydrated. Cats that don't drink enough water can become prone to urinary tract infections. Kitty drinks from his fountain, but the sink is still his first choice.

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