My favorite bags are the two gallon Ziploc food storage bags and the two and half gallon Hefty bags. I can put a project, with long needles and all the yarn in these bags. I can see through them and the cats can't get to the stuff inside. The bulk of my yarn and supplies sit in a large plastic box (Sterilite), the top locks down so the cats can't get to the yarn. There's something about yarn that attracts my cats, not only wool but synthetic. They will lurk and sniff and try all sorts of tactics to get to it. They also supervise my knitting, usually from the arm of the chair, but sometimes from my lap. Always entertaining, frequently challenging. I lurk here, and hang out mostly on the cooking and kitchen forums. I've been knitting since I was a child, my grandmother taught me to knit (the European way). I make lots of mittens and hats (an easy project when I get home from work), though I have made some cable knit sweaters. Now that I have a grandson, I guess I'll be doing more knitting as well as other needlework.

These patterns also look fairly manly: http://www.theanticraft.com/archive/samhain05/ripewithindecision.htm#mere http://www.ballostringdesigns.com/free/knit/melissa.html http://www.magknits.com/Jan06/patterns/matilda.htm http://theknittinggarden.com/gallery-sept/sept-art-6.htm http://boogaj.typepad.com/photos/knitting/misti_bulky_scarf.html http://www.tata-tatao.to/knit/plainmaf/e-vstripe2.html Use different colors on this one: http://www.craftychickonline.com/Knit%20Star%20Scarf.htm http://www.bhg.com/bhg/slideshow/slideShow.jhtml?slideid=/templatedata/bhg/slideshow/data/1134656091624.xml&catref=cat840013 http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/PATTexchequered.html http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTmarleysghost.html http://knitandplenty.typepad.com/photos/free_patterns/baby_alpaca_checkerboard.html http://www.bhg.com/bhg/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/bhg/story/data/1134142106024.xml&catref=cat840013 http://www.yarnmarket.com/yarn/Yarnmarket_Free-Big_Wool_Ribbed_Scarf_Free-1388.html http://oceanwindknits.ca/sectionpage2.asp?blog=free%20patterns&id=18&cmts=yes http://www.magknits.com/Aug05/cof.htm http://magknits.com/May06/patterns/rosalind.htm http://dabne.net/carolina/geekknit/linuxscarf-en.htm http://www.darnyarn.net/large_images/diagonalribwhite.htm http://www.spunmag.com/article/tammy_and_evan.html http://www.doctorwhoscarf.com/ REVERSIBLE CABLES: 1) http://briarfiber.com/blog/2005/06/reversible-cable-scarf.html 2) PDF -- http://www.cu-needleworks.com/Patterns/Scarves/DoctorScarf/doctorscarf.pdf 3) http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/50368.html PDF pattern: http://www.helloyarn.com/irishhikingscarf.pdf

Thanks Sharon - that's a great idea that I never even thought of. I love this place - so many great people with so many great ideas!~

Well, I made an armknitted blanket from super bulky yarn on Friday evening. It took me probably a total of 3 hours to complete, and it's far from perfect. Obviously it still requires much thicker yarn than the super bulky, as the effect is too fisherman's net-looking ... The cats like it though ... After trying armknitting, what I'd like to do next is this "tableknitting", which looks super easy to do and there's not the inconvenience of having your arms all tied up. There are a number of videos online that show how to do this. Here's a screenshot I captured: I have to figure out where one gets yarn needed for such a project. I made the rounds to Michael's and Joann Fabric over the weekend, but they have nothing even remotely close to what's used in the photo above. Probably has to be ordered online, and I'm sure it is pricey so I want to be extra sure that I really want to do this before forking over the $$! I've gone back to straight needles to do another chunky blanket for now. Sue, the blanket I posted above could not be easier, but it just takes awhile. I prefer straight needles vs. knitting in the round, so I use a pair of large size (US 19 I believe), and it's a little tedious to have 88 stitches to get through so it's a long process. I'm a fairly slow knitter too, but it's nice to have a project that stays with me for awhile -- something I can pick up and work on a little each evening. My blanket is just 88 stitches worked in plain ol' garter stitch. The fun part is making the tassels to sew on each end. That's the style of blanket I'm doing now, using a different yarn than I've done before. I'm loving this yarn - it has a glint of gold metallic thread running throughout, and it works up like a dream. However, it's going to be very heavy so may not actually get used a lot. Still, I think it'll be pretty once finished.