Good morning!

Happy Thanksgiving, for those of you who partake. We had a nice time.

One of the highlights of the day was that Saint Cheryl taught me how to 'knit back', or knit without turning. What a cowinkidink, I was just reading about in some other blog about somebody catching on how to do that.

Well, actually, I learned how to purl back, because I was garter stitching (is that grammatically correct?), but whatever. Not easy at first, but even so, it was nicer than turning that long strap (for the backpack) and knitting across the back. And it was challenging, so it made me more interested in the boring strap knitting process.

And I can finally announce that the straps for the back pack are done! YEA! ::insert muppet dance here::

Now, I can't say the backpack is done, and here's why.

originally, I get the pattern and say 'Oooooo.... I wanna make that right away!'. But, of course, I couldn't just *make* the thing, that would be too easy... So I decide to make my own color pattern. Little tiny stripes instead of the big ones in the pattern. No problem.

Knit, knit, knit.

About 30 rows from the top of the bag, my roommate looses the pattern in one of her cleaning frenzies. I still haven't seen it. So now I get to wing it. No problem. I remember the pattern... Right?

Knit, knit, knit.

I finish the body of the bag! Woo! Now I have to do the straps.... At this point, I've decided to make a 3 color flap for the top, like a 'regular' backpack, rather than the kinda odd string things holding the one in the pattern closed. I figure out where to put the straps, I think, and begin to knit one. No problem?

Knit...

Knit....


knit....

Boy, this is boring....


knit....

and then I put it down. Knitting ten and turning was terrible; I wanted to stab my eyes out. So I sporadically worked on it for a month.

Last weekend I went to my friends, dutifully dragging the backpack. I'm so sick of doing the strap that after a month and a half, I only have like five inches of the *first* strap. My friends laugh at me, and this motivates me to finish that first strap.

I cast on the second immediately, afraid that my enthusiasm will fade.

Thursday, while things are cooking, we sat on the couch and watched DVDs (Man with Two Brains, Gammera the invincible, and the Two Towers). Saint Cheryl looks over and says, "that'd go quicker if you knit back, you know." and proceeds to show me how.

Hallalula!

I finished it in less than an hour.

I have undecided to do a colorwork flap... but Wendy has made me want to do pockets, so I will. Anybody got any ideas for motifs? The whole bag is gray with red and blue stripes...

Stay tuned....