if I were a knitter...

I would knit adorable little handbags like this. Or I would knit funky scarves like this and sell them in my hip little shop downtown. But I don't knit. Nor do I have a hip little shop.

Oh, I've tried. I could knit a garter stitch scarf that would wrap around the world. I have swatches of knit stitch and purl stitch around here somewhere, just like the ones Debbie Stoller suggested I make.

And I like the way knitting makes me feel. The counting appeals to my inner OCD and the click-clickety sound of the needles calms me even more than a trip to the library.

I guess the problem is I don't want to make a chunky scarf or even a bikini. I want to make this. And I want to make it now, so I can carry it to my meeting this evening. But when I look at the pattern, its like a secret code written by a club that I forgot to join. All those letters and numbers just kind of swirl around then jump off the page at me.

So for now, while I'm still trying to figure out how to bridge the gap between me and that messenger bag, I'm content to cheat...

The Husband: "Are you making a vest?"

Me: "No, it's' a giant hat."
The Husband: "Oh."

This bag began as a gift for a friend. The sweater I was cutting up was small, so I tried to cut it out as large as possible, while still maintaining the shape I wanted. It was looking pretty good too, it had a nice shape and size...
But it looks like I'm going to have to experiment a bit before doling these out as Christmas gifts. After sewing and felting, it was much smaller than I expected, not to mention the wonky little bulges everywhere.

I think maybe it makes a better hat after all...