Writing frightening verse to a bucktoothed girl in luxembourg

It's one of those miraculous bank holiday weekends where you feel positively guilty if you're not doing outdoor activities... I believe it's technically the LAW to expose one's sorry, pale, English skin tones to the sunshine. So... I guess I might pop out for a bit later, if I must. (I'd go for a bike ride if only my bike tyres had air.)

The thing is, right now I'm feeling very happy and peaceful all alone at home. Just me and the cat, my ever-faithful companion. We have all of the windows open and there is a soft breeze blowing over my embryonic new projects which are spread out around me. I'm all zingy with creative juices - I love it!

First of all, I completed yet another set of stripey armwarmers... this time for a gorgeous 11 year old with a 'thing' for Tim Burton. I hope she still likes them by the time it's cold enough to wear them... http://www.ravelry.com/projects/flockhartsl/dr-seussesque-stripey-wrist-warmers-3

Secondly, I want to make a felted bag. Preferably a big, oversized bag that can accommodate all of the junk that I insist on carrying around with me daily. I have got as far as purchasing yarn and felting a swatch.

But here's the thing... A while ago I bought this pattern... which is, to my mind, unadulteratedly gorgeous and MUST be made:

But then... another part of my brain is wanting to design my own bag, and I started thinking about how this could be an excuse to learn intarsia (aka 'picture knitting'). It occurred to me that designing picture knitting must surely be no different to designing a tapestry... e.g. if I made up a chart out of little squares, where each square represents a stich, then surely the world is my oyster... no? As far as I can work out, the only thing I will need to take into account in the design is that felting shrinks the length of the knitting more than the width.

So... as always, I have launched straight into a design based on bare trees, which I consider to be the most beautiful forms that nature has to offer. So here is my embryonic chart design... I have no idea whether this will really work, but could be worth a try?

In addition to the above, I cast on stitches for two new projects... yes, I really am getting carried away.

Firstly, a lace shawl, using the unvelievably beautiful kidsilk yarn in 'ripe cherries' that I was winding on my nostepinne a couple of weeks ago. This is going to be a project that takes for EVER to complete and only gets worked on in a silent room with no disturbance. (I suspect it is going to challenge me, so I may just see how it goes.... the combination of this yarn and Addi Turbo lace needles has potential to be a slippery-dropped-stitch-hell waiting to happen!)

Secondly, a pair of fair-isle socks, using cheat's yarn that does the fair-isle pattern all by itself. Its like total magic - just wait and see! This will be a mindless project for when I am on the tube or watching TV - and hopefully quite quick.