Weaving in loose ends

First off, happy birthday to me! I got another year younger this past weekend. DH actually remembered and ordered a cake at the Shoprite bakery (for a grocery store, they make really good cakes) and invited both sides of the family over. Its been hot and humid here in NJ, more like August than October, so we spent the day eating cake and chips & dip - so much for the diets - and swimming in the pool. Now, we haven't been in the pool since very early Sept., so you can only imagine how warm it is around here. Mom & Dad gave me a black and white flowered SportSac bag, which are great for knitting bags. (Like I need another knitting bag :-) .... must start something new, right?) An old friend came over in the evening and we all went for dinner at the local diner, so it was a nice day all round.

I finally buckled down and finished the commission work I've had sitting in my house all summer. I hated the yarn, a very splitty chunky weight cotton, and have been putting it off despite calls from the project's owner. And then I re-wove a whole bunch of the ends that the owner had done poorly. Just an icky kind of job, especially when it isn't your own. But its done now, and ready to get out of here.


I also used yesterday afternoon to finish my Knitting Needle Bag. It came out soooo well. I'm very pleased. I ended up making the knitting needles from dowels, but the natural wood was too bright. A quick dip in some diluted food coloring, and they are so much better. The lining fit in well, and I'm going to use this everyday, I think.

The lining fit in well, and I'm going to use this everyday, I think.

And to keep the FO theme going... I also finished clue 1 of the Secret of the Stole (SOTS) knitalong. You can only imagine how my fingers were itching last night after all this finishing, so I grabbed the 3 pairs of socks that have been lurking in my knitting drawer and wove the ends on them too. After all, when I finished them in June/July/August, there was no urgency. Now, they might actually get worn in the next few weeks. This actually concludes my list of finished objects waiting around for the last 10 minutes of work. But don't worry, there are at least 2 abandoned UFO's sitting by the couch. I'm going to push myself and pick up that Lace Top from Gathering of Lace that I started probably back in 2002. All it needs are the sleeves and the neckline to be finished. Its just sad that I haven't finished it off in all this time. It even held my size 8 Addi needles hostage for years. I'll put it back onto my Options, it should just fly along, although I'll have to magic loop it. Perhaps a picture of it on the blocking board will show up soon. And I even have the right spaghetti strap top to go under it, another reason why I probably never finished it back then.

Okay, I've stated it all publicly, now I'll have to carry through, right?