I had told you of the bag I was weaving from a knitting pattern found in the Summer issue of Knits. I now have three pictures to share with you; the first is after the squares have been joined according to the diagram,
the second shows the bag assembled but before felting
and the last is after the felting. 
I still need to decide on how I want to put on handles or possibly run leather cord for closing it and providing handles. Let you see it really finished the next time.
Doreen and I have held out long enough, we are finally going to carry a yarn comparable to Encore. We had not wanted to get involved with acrylic yarn but many want to be able to use it for washable items that will withstand washing and take little care. To answer the need we will have Universal's Classic Worsted. It should weave very nice baby afghans and ones to send along to college and will receive rougher wear. The feel is soft and nice and the colors are yummy. It will sell for $5.75 and has almost 200 yards. Think twenty-five square four by four pieces or eighteen four by six pieces. Three or four balls would make a nice sized baby afghan or lap throw. To compare the yarn content; Encore is 75/25 and Classic Worsted is 80/20, the first number is the percentage of acrylic and the second is wool. I will be weaving some soon and report back.
Speaking of reporting, one of my weavers was taken with the reversible purse I had done and made one of her own which she shared with us recently.
The pictures show what she has done. Both sides turned out so very nice.By the way, she is a senior at OSU and really likes the looms. We do enjoy having this group of young women from OSU drop in on Sunday afternoons and share their time and talent with us. Maybe they will let me take a picture of the group the next time they are here.
I do not usually expound on my political views but this morning the column by Cal Thomas spoke to my feelings. The last three paragraphs make sense to me, see if you agree, but then you have the right to disagree if you wish. So if I say Merry Christmas to you it is because I believe that the birth of Christ was important and needs to be celebrated. Even if we have different beliefs we want to share the love that this time brought into the world and as Sandra Bullock has said, "The important thing is 'world peace'." Enjoy the weekend, "go Bucks", and smile a lot, it makes you look younger.
Love and peace, Elaine
