Two more bags and...the Claw!

I was lured into making another round of bags for two reasons, the first being a fetching promise of Koigu from Monika in Ontario, and the second being a gift for Rebecca. Rebecca had some perfect yarn, with plenty of yardage and a great price for sale on the Destash blog that has made it possible for me to make the Mommy Snug sweater from the Spring 2006 IK. My 2nd sis is prego, due in January, and lives in Wisconsin - she's gonna' need it! Making just the two bags would be an inefficient use of fabric, something that pains me to no end. Working in costumes you can't avoid the waste unless you're going to keep every scrap because you might need it some day. Frankly, I need that space for my yarn and when I'm working I sew so much that I tend not to do it at home very often. Lately has been an exception due to the time off I'm taking. I actually feel like sewing.
The point is that in order to make the best use of the fabric I picked up I had to make four bags so these two are up for grabs.

Another reason for the sewing...it's a good use of my creative energy since I've been knitting this gift. If my former boss Dave actually looks at my blog, well now is the time to head elsewhere on the internet or you might spoil the surprise for yourself.

Okay. I've been knitting this gift and feel compelled to say that this thing, however handsome it is, however loved it will be (I think it's pretty dandy and well suited to the recipient), it has become my nemesis. It has nearly broken my knitterly sanity. It is a blanket, a throw actually, but no matter. It's cotton. 100% cotton. As it grows it gets heavier and more unwieldy and it turns my hand into...
The Claw! I have recently had some rather desparate moments in which I realized that whether I wanted to crank through this thing or not, it had a pace all it's own. If I get any speed going, my hands fatigue quicker. If I pace myself the goodwill that I want to pour into it starts to slip away as each strip goes on endlessly (you guessed it, it's a log cabin). There have been points in which I had warning twinges in not only my hands but my wrists as well. Not. Good. So why can't I just set it aside and start another project and alternate between the two? Because I WANT. TO. FINISH. IT. I want it done before I leave next Wednesday for two weeks in Indiana with my family because it's to big to take along. Plus, there is IT looming on the horizon (More on IT in the next post, probably to come from IN) and I really don't feel like I can get moving on any of those projects until I finish this.

Sigh. Thanks for listening to my rant. I will beat this thing!
Tschuss.