In which the Rabbit acknowledges that other projects are under way . . .

but are being kept secret from certain readers of this blog. Enough said.

In which the Rabbit knits a shawl

Also in progress: this Roman Holiday shawl, knit with lovely slubby pima cotton yarn from Americo Original, one of the Toronto yarn shops the Rabbit hopped to this past weekend. Loved the women who sold me this yarn, and love the taupe.

In which the Rabbit struggles with color

This is a picture of a current work in progress, the Penny Rug Purse from Bag Style. The Rabbit feels as though she has been working on this forever. She has started it at least twice, but each time has found color juxtapositions that didn't work, so frog, frog, frog. She is not entirely happy with this, but is happy enough to go on with it.

It goes slowly because when the Rabbit is prudent she can really only work on it during the day. Knitting this bag at night in insufficient light leads to infelicitous color combinations, which leads to frogging (see above). In one case, for example, it resulted in a horrible Tommy Hilfiger-esque combo of yellow and navy (which in the yarn store didn't exactly look like navy, but never mind) that made color-sensitive lagomorphs everywhere cringe. Ripping it out was a public service, really.

In which the Rabbit knits a tiny baby kimono

This is the baby kimono pattern from Mason-Dixon Knitting. It's made from worsted-weight cotton. The Rabbit loves cotton, but finds it hard to knit with (perhaps this is an excuse to buy some Addi Turbos?). But this was a perfect project for meetings: it's just garter stitch, garter stitch, garter stitch, and it's all in one piece so the finishing demands are minimal. Speaking of finishing, the Rabbit took this opportunity to practice mattress stitch, and is, for the first time ever, pretty happy with the finishing. It still needs the ribbons added, by the Rabbit will do this when the sex of the intended recipient is known.

Now all we need is for someone in the Rabbit's acquaintance to have a baby.

In which the Rabbit makes felted bowls

These are three felted bowls from Leigh Radford's One Skein. The Rabbit loved making them (they are essentially small hats knitted on big needles from bulky yarn), and loves how they turned out. There will be more, more, more.

It which the Rabbit attempts a Good Work

Inspired by Betsy Greer's Knitting for Good, the Rabbit has decided to make a series of items to donate to various local charities in the fall. "Donation Hat #1," above, is the first of them. It was a wonderful excuse to use this fabulously garish (and soft, soft, soft) Patons Rumor, an alpaca/acrylic blend (the colorway is called moonstone). Normally the Rabbit eschews acrylic, but she couldn't resist the hand of this yarn.

The pattern is the "Garter Stitch Cap," from the first book of knitting patterns the Rabbit ever bought, Handspun Handknit. With bulky yarn and big needles, it only took an evening.

In which the Rabbit perseveres

This is the Knitting Needle Knitting Bag from Bag Style. It was nearly the death of the Rabbit. First, there was the stitch, which initially gave her fits. Then there were the handles: endless six stitch rows of garter stitch which seemed to go on for much longer than they actually could have. Then, due to lagomorphic haplessness, the Rabbit attached the handles wrong twice, and both times managed to cut the knitted fabric when removing them—and thus had to frog and reknit a number of rows. Then there was the lining (see remarks on sewing, below). But all this builds character. And the finished bag is lovely and functional.

In which the Rabbit felts yet another clutch

Clutch number three, for the only person I know who really looks good in that olive-y green right under the handle.

In which the Rabbit makes excuses, and needle cases

The Rabbit has been so busy making things that it's been hard to find the time to blog about them all. So a series of short posts about a bunch of finished objects will follow. Above are a the knitting needle cases the Rabbit made out of sweaters purchased at Value Village and felted in the washing machine. There's one for straight needles, one for circulars, and one for dpns. This project reminded the Rabbit of how much she hates to sew--knowledge that is always useful in preventing future sewing projects.