odds and ends

we had an extra knitting lunch today, and kerstin brought her knitting in this bag, which i made for her for christmas this year. makes me so happy to see my knitted goods in use! this one may be my favorite felted bag, which is saying something when you consider the fact that i have made about 15 of these babies. i thought the novelty yarn was going to be too subtle on this one, but in the end, i really, really like how it came out. this pattern is a fiber trendsfelted tote bag, size small. the yarn is as follows: 3 skeins of lamb's pride bulky in periwinkle, and 2 skein of trendsetter charm. (i can't think of the color name to save my life!) this is knitted, single stranded, on size 13 circular needles, and the handles are knitted on size 11 straights. it's so easy i can make one in the dark now! i am just about to add the novelty yarn to the green one i am knitting for emily, so i'll show some pictures of it soon.

this has been a week of healthy eating for me, with my only cheating being the use of raw sugar in my tea. that is one thing i cannot give up--i feel too deprived if i do, and then i end up cheating in mush worse ways. ways like eating a whole oatmeal raisin cookie from starbucks. so yeah--a few tsp of raw sugar a day isn't so bad. anyway. i was making this shrimp and vegetable stir-fry the other night and was just blown away by how beautiful all the colors and textures were. food is such an aesthetic experience for me. i find that if i commit to cooking, i actually prefer to eat realy healthy foods--all those vegetables are just pretty. for more beautiful and healthy foods, check out charlie brown's gourmet set on flickr, and the wonderful food blog, 28 cooks.