Not, like, the knitting to take with me (though I've decided on this, using some of the laceweight yarn I bought in Russia; I figure it's perfect: one smallish ball of yarn should get me through a lot of stitches, and one set of circular needles is all I'll need otherwise).
No, this, knitting for vacation.
Little felted bags for iPod and camera (the empty one, due to that whole I'm using the camera issue).
(Oh, wait... my computer has a camera. Here it is, filled.)
So, I was inspired to make these on Thursday night, and stayed up WAY too late knitting them. I whittled down some of my DVRed movies while doing this, though whatever I watched was so unmemorable that... I can't remember what it was... hmmm...
Anyway, I used a double strand of some rough wool I bought in Russia. The yarn name is "Derevenskaia," which means rural, or country--basically, it's a rough, tough yarn, perfect for felting.
I did a bunch of laundry yesterday, and did the felting then. They went through two different hot cycles with various towels and sheets, and then a warm cycle with red/purple darks.
The resulting felt is nice and thick--it should cushion the little guys well.
The camera bag ended up way too big, so it got cut down a lot, but at least it ended up fitting just about perfectly. It's a nice snug little bag for a nice little camera.
The other? Well, that's for my unbelievable new toy.
I totally splurged (well, I did a couple of public talks for which I got paid, so I used the money I earned doing that) on an iPod Touch.
Holy crap, you guys, this thing is freaking amazing. It's an iPod plus web browser. It has an almost disturbing map feature that figures out more or less where you are on a google map based on the wireless spots in the area. (And it remembers the last map you put in even if the wireless turns off, so I currently have a map leading to my hotel in Paris ready to check if needed). It has a calendar and address book that syncs with my computer. It's... it's crazy.
I actually didn't intended for the top flap to be offset like it is, but that actually turns out to work perfectly for the headphone jack, so, yay for happenstance.
OK, but now I've got to finish packing. Well, actually, no. All I still have to pack is toiletries, which I can't do until after I shower. So I've got to clean a bit, and then shower and pack, and take off. Hopefully, post to come from Paris! And Helsinki! And Lisbon! Man, I'm almost tired just thinking about it!