Today is Opening Day of the 2011 baseball season. In honor of the Cardinal's start for the year I wore a red shirt to work. When I got there I found out that the lead teacher and the other assistant had the same idea, as did several of the students. I completed my errands and housework in time to watch a bit of the pregame show, and I was sitting on the couch for the beginning of the game at 3:15.
Pepper the cat sensed I'd be there for a long time and arranged himself on my legs for a nap. (He woke up enough to give me the evil eye each time I cheered too loudly.) Tony wasn't around, so for dinner I heated up some untraditional baseball fare--Ethiopian-Style Chickpea Stew left over from last night.
When I read this recipe last week I knew I'd be making it. I thought I had all the ingredients in the house, although after I started I realized there was only one can of chickpeas in the pantry. Since I wasn't cooking for a crowd, I solved the problem by halving the recipe. There was some celery in the vegetable drawer that needed to be used, so I chopped it and threw it in with the carrots and potatoes for an untraditional touch.
I used the higher amount of cayenne and the stew had quite a kick! A big spoonful of yogurt took care of that problem, and turned the sauce a pretty light red color. I ate the stew, then sopped up the last of that sauce with bread. The Cardinals ended up losing 5-3, but my good dinner made the loss less painful.
ETHIOPIAN-STYLE CHICKPEA STEW (Whole Foods Market)
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 (8-ounce) can no-salt-added tomato sauce
1 quart low-sodium vegetable broth
1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Flatbread
Preheat oven to 450°F. Stir together paprika, salt, allspice, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, coriander, cayenne, fenugreek (if using) and ginger in a small bowl; set spice mixture aside.
Toss chickpeas with a tablespoon of the oil on a large rimmed baking sheet and spread out in a single layer. Roast chickpeas, stirring occasionally, until somewhat dried out and just golden brown, 16 to 18 minutes; set aside.
Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion and chopped ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, until very soft and golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in reserved spice mixture and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until spices are toasted and very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce and cook 2 minutes more.
Stir in broth, potatoes, carrots and reserved chickpeas and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until potatoes and carrots are just tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover pot and simmer until stew is thickened and potatoes and carrots are very tender, about 25 minutes more. Ladle stew into bowls and serve with flatbread on the side.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Let Me Check The Calendar...
It's March 30th. Spring officially started last week. The baseball Cardinals have their opening day tomorrow. And it's snowing. Ridiculous!
I understand there was some nice weather last week, but when I arrived home from my Spring Break trip on Thursday it was chilly. Friday morning there was a dusting of snow (which melted by noon). Saturday afternoon the white stuff started again, and by bedtime there was about five inches on the ground . It was substantially gone by Sunday afternoon. We got a break on Monday, but when I was out last night my car was pelted by a cold mix of rain and snow. This morning when I woke up the grass was covered with a light layer of snow, and there was enough on the deck that I didn't want to go outside to fill the bird feeder.
To put things in perspective, the average high at this time of year is 60°
According to the 10-day forecast today should be the last of the nasty stuff. (I can only hope.) There's a chance of rain for the next few days, but that's to be expected. It's almost April, so I'll look forward to those showers bringing May flowers.
I understand there was some nice weather last week, but when I arrived home from my Spring Break trip on Thursday it was chilly. Friday morning there was a dusting of snow (which melted by noon). Saturday afternoon the white stuff started again, and by bedtime there was about five inches on the ground . It was substantially gone by Sunday afternoon. We got a break on Monday, but when I was out last night my car was pelted by a cold mix of rain and snow. This morning when I woke up the grass was covered with a light layer of snow, and there was enough on the deck that I didn't want to go outside to fill the bird feeder.
To put things in perspective, the average high at this time of year is 60°
According to the 10-day forecast today should be the last of the nasty stuff. (I can only hope.) There's a chance of rain for the next few days, but that's to be expected. It's almost April, so I'll look forward to those showers bringing May flowers.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Cats And Dogs
Son Brian and daughter-in-law Nicole came into town this weekend. For the first time ever their dog Yves, a cute little Chihuahua/Papillon mixture, visited too.
Our cats are almost eight years old and the closest they've been to a dog is in the waiting room at the vet's (and they weren't too thrilled). However, I was hopeful that on their home territory things would work out well. The cats and Yves are about the same size, and the house is big enough that "the boys" could run and hide if they needed to.
Friday afternoon I heard Nicole's car pull into the driveway a little after 3:00. Brian was first into the house, followed a few seconds later by Nicole carrying the dog. She put Yves down on the kitchen floor, where she started sniffing around. Yves was curious about the cats, and I think she wanted to be friends. However, the cats weren't too sure. Pepper had been sitting on the desk in the kitchen, but when he heard the door open he jumped down and moved into the hallway. From there he warily eyed the new four-legged creature. Jackson was sleeping on the back of the couch in the family room; he leapt off and went into slinking mode against the wall.
Historically Pepper is the first to make himself scarce when people come into the house, and Jackson tends to be more outgoing. With Yves, though, their roles were reversed. When the dog was around Jackson couldn't be found, but Pepper would come into the room and look in to see what was going on as long as he had a good escape route. By Saturday night he even got within a couple of feet of Yves. Friday I tried to carry Jackson past the dog to his traditional eating area in the laundry room to feed him, but got a long set of scratches for my efforts. The rest of the weekend I brought Jackson's bowl to him in the master bedroom.
We tried to keep both the cats and the dog safe. Over the course of the weekend we left several times. When we weren't around to supervise the animals Yves went into her kennel in the bedroom and we closed the bedroom door so the cats couldn't bother her. I also made a couple parts of the house "cats only". Yves was not welcome in my bedroom or the basement, but pretty much made herself at home in the rest of the house. She hopped on chairs and couches to snuggle with whoever was sitting there, and followed us around hoping for some attention.
As Brian and Nicole were leaving this afternoon we agreed this trial visit had been a success and they'd have to bring Yves back again another time.
Our cats are almost eight years old and the closest they've been to a dog is in the waiting room at the vet's (and they weren't too thrilled). However, I was hopeful that on their home territory things would work out well. The cats and Yves are about the same size, and the house is big enough that "the boys" could run and hide if they needed to.
Friday afternoon I heard Nicole's car pull into the driveway a little after 3:00. Brian was first into the house, followed a few seconds later by Nicole carrying the dog. She put Yves down on the kitchen floor, where she started sniffing around. Yves was curious about the cats, and I think she wanted to be friends. However, the cats weren't too sure. Pepper had been sitting on the desk in the kitchen, but when he heard the door open he jumped down and moved into the hallway. From there he warily eyed the new four-legged creature. Jackson was sleeping on the back of the couch in the family room; he leapt off and went into slinking mode against the wall.
Historically Pepper is the first to make himself scarce when people come into the house, and Jackson tends to be more outgoing. With Yves, though, their roles were reversed. When the dog was around Jackson couldn't be found, but Pepper would come into the room and look in to see what was going on as long as he had a good escape route. By Saturday night he even got within a couple of feet of Yves. Friday I tried to carry Jackson past the dog to his traditional eating area in the laundry room to feed him, but got a long set of scratches for my efforts. The rest of the weekend I brought Jackson's bowl to him in the master bedroom.
We tried to keep both the cats and the dog safe. Over the course of the weekend we left several times. When we weren't around to supervise the animals Yves went into her kennel in the bedroom and we closed the bedroom door so the cats couldn't bother her. I also made a couple parts of the house "cats only". Yves was not welcome in my bedroom or the basement, but pretty much made herself at home in the rest of the house. She hopped on chairs and couches to snuggle with whoever was sitting there, and followed us around hoping for some attention.
As Brian and Nicole were leaving this afternoon we agreed this trial visit had been a success and they'd have to bring Yves back again another time.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Yikes!
Back in the old days getting home from vacation meant unpacking the suitcases, going through the mail and newspapers, and getting caught up on the laundry. How things have changed. I was only out of town for four days, but in addition to all those basic tasks, I get to:
- Clean up two cat hairballs. Fortunately, it was easy because they were on the vinyl kitchen floor and not the carpet.
- Skim through 79 emails in my Inbox (most of which went straight into the Trash).
- Give a cursory glance to 158 Junk messages to make sure nothing important ended up there.
- Dive into 137 blog posts that accumulated in my Reader.
- Download the pictures from my camera to my computer and start organizing them. Recharge the camera batteries.
- Email a couple of the pictures to the family.
- Check in with my Facebook friends.
- Sit on the couch so Pepper the cat can stretch himself out on my lap (and hope that his brother Jackson will curl up on the couch, too).
Thursday, March 24, 2011
How I Spent My Spring Break (Part 4--Back To Reality)
Every good thing has to come to an end, so yesterday I left Phoenix and flew back to St. Louis. I had one last breakfast with Son Tony, then dropped him off at work. I got on the Interstate one more time (fortunately it was after rush hour so the traffic wasn't too bad), and stopped at a gas station to give the car one last fill up.
Once I got to the car rental return facility everything worked like clockwork. I dropped the car off without having to wait in a line. There was an airport shuttle bus waiting right outside the door which took me directly to my terminal. I had to stop at a self-serve kiosk to print out my boarding pass, but the security line was very short, and the TSA agents weren't crabby.
The flight was uneventful. It always takes less time to fly to the east, and I arrived back in St. Louis three hours after I left Phoenix.
The balmy, spring-like weather that I'd had in Phoenix was replaced by St. Louis chill. However, I noticed that while I was gone the Bradford Pears and redbud trees had bloomed, so I'm guessing the weather was nice part of the time. After a quick stop at the grocery store for a gallon of milk and something for dinner I arrived home. The cats were waiting to greet me, wanting to know just where I'd been.
Once I got to the car rental return facility everything worked like clockwork. I dropped the car off without having to wait in a line. There was an airport shuttle bus waiting right outside the door which took me directly to my terminal. I had to stop at a self-serve kiosk to print out my boarding pass, but the security line was very short, and the TSA agents weren't crabby.
The flight was uneventful. It always takes less time to fly to the east, and I arrived back in St. Louis three hours after I left Phoenix.
The balmy, spring-like weather that I'd had in Phoenix was replaced by St. Louis chill. However, I noticed that while I was gone the Bradford Pears and redbud trees had bloomed, so I'm guessing the weather was nice part of the time. After a quick stop at the grocery store for a gallon of milk and something for dinner I arrived home. The cats were waiting to greet me, wanting to know just where I'd been.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
How I Spent My Spring Break (Part 3--Take Me Out To The Ballgame)
The Cactus League consists of the fifteen Major League Baseball teams that do their Spring Training in Arizona. When Son Tony moved to Phoenix last year, I knew I'd eventually be at one of them, and on Tuesday it happened. I attended a game at the Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona.
Surprise Stadium is the one closest to Son Tony's house. The facility is shared by the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, neither of which is the team I root for, but it didn't matter. The crowd was quite mixed. I saw a lot of people wearing clothes with the Rangers logo, and since the Diamondbacks play in Phoenix full-time there were a lot of "locals" sporting their team colors. However, there were also a lot of people like me there, too.
The weather couldn't have been better! The sun was shining, and the sky was clear blue. I was glad I remembered the sunscreen. We had great tickets in the first row on the Ranger's side, but when we arrived there was a big crowd of people standing there watching the warm up and waiting to get autographs, so we chose to sit in some empty seats about five rows back. When the game started, we just stayed there, and still had a great view:
The stadium was much smaller than a typical Major League venue. At this game there was a bit more than 7,000 people in attendance and the stands looked nicely filled. There were also a lot of people seated on blankets on the grass behind the outfield. The game started out quite defensively, but the Rangers scored 7 runs in the 3rd inning (and another in the 8th). The Diamondbacks got 4 in the 6th inning, 4 in the 7th, and another in the 9th to win the game.
Surprise Stadium is the one closest to Son Tony's house. The facility is shared by the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks, neither of which is the team I root for, but it didn't matter. The crowd was quite mixed. I saw a lot of people wearing clothes with the Rangers logo, and since the Diamondbacks play in Phoenix full-time there were a lot of "locals" sporting their team colors. However, there were also a lot of people like me there, too.
The weather couldn't have been better! The sun was shining, and the sky was clear blue. I was glad I remembered the sunscreen. We had great tickets in the first row on the Ranger's side, but when we arrived there was a big crowd of people standing there watching the warm up and waiting to get autographs, so we chose to sit in some empty seats about five rows back. When the game started, we just stayed there, and still had a great view:
The stadium was much smaller than a typical Major League venue. At this game there was a bit more than 7,000 people in attendance and the stands looked nicely filled. There were also a lot of people seated on blankets on the grass behind the outfield. The game started out quite defensively, but the Rangers scored 7 runs in the 3rd inning (and another in the 8th). The Diamondbacks got 4 in the 6th inning, 4 in the 7th, and another in the 9th to win the game.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
How I Spent My Spring Break (Part 2--Flexibility)
Day 2 of my vacation in Phoenix with Son Tony, where we started out thinking we were going to do one thing, but ended up changing course.
Tony had arranged for us to drive to Sedona, where we'd meet up with a tour company for a day trip to the Grand Canyon. It takes almost two hours to get to Sedona and the van was leaving at 8:00, so we got up early, ate breakfast, and got on the road. It didn't take long to leave the metropolitan area, and soon the road was a ribbon cutting through the desert plants.
We arrived at our meetup spot at a coffee shop about fifteen minutes early, then sat inside and tried to figure out which of the other people would be joining us on the trip. Eight o'clock came and went, and Tony called the tour company to find out if we were in the right place. He came back with some disappointing news.
There had been snow in the mountains on Monday which closed the Interstate and caused our tour to be cancelled! They had forgotten to call and let us know. Tony explained that we only had one day in the area, and we had driven quite a ways to get there. Could the company do anything for us?
Forty five minutes later a tour van pulled into the parking lot. A souvenir insulated lunch bag that contained a bag of granola and a stainless steel water bottle was waiting on each of our seats. For the next five hours, we had our our own private tour of the Sedona area along with a personal tour guide, who regaled us with stories of the area's geographic formations, history, and culture.
Sedona is noted for its stunning array of red sandstone formations, the Red Rocks. They're everywhere! We made several stops to see them close up, and saw some of them from more than one angle. We also drove to Montezuma's Castle National Monument, where we saw some wonderful Indian ruins with "apartment type" ancient cliff dwellings, and the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built into the side of a rock. The driver pointed out where all the good shopping areas were, and we stopped at a great restaurant for lunch.
After lunch we drove up the Scenic Oak Creek Canyon Drive (which was designated by Rand McNally as one of America's Top 5 Most Scenic Drives.) When we got to the top, there was an overlook, but sadly it was closed because of the previous day's snow. On the way down the driver stopped at an artesian spring that was right off the side of the road, where we filled our water bottles and sampled the cold, clear spring water. We drove to the city airport, located on top of a mesa, where there was another wonderful view of the surrounding countryside, then through the Seven Canyons area with even more views.
Sadly, all good things have to come to an end, so the van drove back to the coffee shop and dropped us off. As Tony and I started our drive back to Phoenix, I remarked I didn't know how I could have had a better day.
Tony had arranged for us to drive to Sedona, where we'd meet up with a tour company for a day trip to the Grand Canyon. It takes almost two hours to get to Sedona and the van was leaving at 8:00, so we got up early, ate breakfast, and got on the road. It didn't take long to leave the metropolitan area, and soon the road was a ribbon cutting through the desert plants.
There had been snow in the mountains on Monday which closed the Interstate and caused our tour to be cancelled! They had forgotten to call and let us know. Tony explained that we only had one day in the area, and we had driven quite a ways to get there. Could the company do anything for us?
Sedona is noted for its stunning array of red sandstone formations, the Red Rocks. They're everywhere! We made several stops to see them close up, and saw some of them from more than one angle. We also drove to Montezuma's Castle National Monument, where we saw some wonderful Indian ruins with "apartment type" ancient cliff dwellings, and the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built into the side of a rock. The driver pointed out where all the good shopping areas were, and we stopped at a great restaurant for lunch.
Sadly, all good things have to come to an end, so the van drove back to the coffee shop and dropped us off. As Tony and I started our drive back to Phoenix, I remarked I didn't know how I could have had a better day.
Monday, March 21, 2011
How I Spent My Spring Break (Part 1--The Beginning)
Day One of my vacation started with me driving to the airport to get on a plane for Phoenix.
I was using a new parking lot, so I left extra early. I was glad I did, because the shuttle at this lot didn't run as often as the transportation at the lot I usually use, but I still ended up in the terminal in plenty of time. Security went quickly, and then all I had to do was sit around at the gate.
As the boarding process started, we were told that TSA personnel would be checking our IDs before boarding. I'd never heard of this before, but sure enough, they came through the line of passengers and compared the name on the ID to the name on the boarding pass before we got on the plane. My flight was uneventful. Since I've been to Phoenix before, I knew where to go to find the shuttle for the Rental Car Center. (Every rental company is in the same building, which is really nice.) Fifteen minutes after entering the Rental Center, I had my car and was ready to roll.
I had several hours to kill before Son Tony got off work. When I asked him for suggestions on what to do, he suggested I go to the IKEA store, which I've never been to before (although I've seen lots of their ads). The store was about 20 minutes east of the car rental facility, through a bit of early rush hour traffic. When I got off the interstate, I didn't know how easy it would be to find the store, but there was an easy to see huge blue and yellow sign at the edge of the parking lot to show me where to go.
My shopping trip was quite an experience. You start on the top floor, where arrows on the floor help guide you through the two floors of displays. (All the furniture at IKEA is modular and comes unassembled in boxes. If you see something on the floor you'd like, you write down the number and pick it up on a different floor.) Two and a half hours later I'd been through every department. Living room, bedroom, dining room, office, and kitchen furniture. Fabulous children's furniture department. Closet, cabinet, and drawer organizers. Linens, curtains, bedding, rugs, and pillows. My feet hurt by time I made it to the ground floor, which is where you'd pick up the boxed things you wanted to buy. Since I wasn't making a purchase, I walked by the warehouse-looking area, left the store, and found my car.
Son Tony's car was in the shop, so he asked me to pick him up at work, which was to the west through a bit of late rush hour traffic. After we said our greetings, he suggested we try a Mexican restaurant that was purported to have the best carnitas in town. Tony ordered it on tacos, and let me try a bite. It was very good, but so was my torta al pastor, and the salsa was just right.
We drove to his house, watched a bit of TV, then went to bed. The next day's adventure required getting up early!.
I was using a new parking lot, so I left extra early. I was glad I did, because the shuttle at this lot didn't run as often as the transportation at the lot I usually use, but I still ended up in the terminal in plenty of time. Security went quickly, and then all I had to do was sit around at the gate.
As the boarding process started, we were told that TSA personnel would be checking our IDs before boarding. I'd never heard of this before, but sure enough, they came through the line of passengers and compared the name on the ID to the name on the boarding pass before we got on the plane. My flight was uneventful. Since I've been to Phoenix before, I knew where to go to find the shuttle for the Rental Car Center. (Every rental company is in the same building, which is really nice.) Fifteen minutes after entering the Rental Center, I had my car and was ready to roll.
I had several hours to kill before Son Tony got off work. When I asked him for suggestions on what to do, he suggested I go to the IKEA store, which I've never been to before (although I've seen lots of their ads). The store was about 20 minutes east of the car rental facility, through a bit of early rush hour traffic. When I got off the interstate, I didn't know how easy it would be to find the store, but there was an easy to see huge blue and yellow sign at the edge of the parking lot to show me where to go.
My shopping trip was quite an experience. You start on the top floor, where arrows on the floor help guide you through the two floors of displays. (All the furniture at IKEA is modular and comes unassembled in boxes. If you see something on the floor you'd like, you write down the number and pick it up on a different floor.) Two and a half hours later I'd been through every department. Living room, bedroom, dining room, office, and kitchen furniture. Fabulous children's furniture department. Closet, cabinet, and drawer organizers. Linens, curtains, bedding, rugs, and pillows. My feet hurt by time I made it to the ground floor, which is where you'd pick up the boxed things you wanted to buy. Since I wasn't making a purchase, I walked by the warehouse-looking area, left the store, and found my car.
Son Tony's car was in the shop, so he asked me to pick him up at work, which was to the west through a bit of late rush hour traffic. After we said our greetings, he suggested we try a Mexican restaurant that was purported to have the best carnitas in town. Tony ordered it on tacos, and let me try a bite. It was very good, but so was my torta al pastor, and the salsa was just right.
We drove to his house, watched a bit of TV, then went to bed. The next day's adventure required getting up early!.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
My Bags Are Packed...
...I'm ready to go. I'm leaving tomorrow for a trip to Phoenix to see Son Tony!
It's Spring Break at work, so I have the whole week free. Hubby Tony has work commitments that kept him from coming with me, so I'm on my own. I've made a lot of solo road trips over the years, but plane flights-not so many. After breakfast I'll do the last of the laundry, finish straightening the house, start the dishwasher, then put my suitcase in the car and drive to the airport.
When I arrive in Phoenix, I get to rent a car (believe it or not, the first time I've gotten one out of town just for me). I'll have a couple of hours to kill before Tony gets off work, so I'll find something to do before I meet him at his house. It sounds like he has some great activities planned for Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I'll be heading back to the airport and coming home.
I'm can't wait!
It's Spring Break at work, so I have the whole week free. Hubby Tony has work commitments that kept him from coming with me, so I'm on my own. I've made a lot of solo road trips over the years, but plane flights-not so many. After breakfast I'll do the last of the laundry, finish straightening the house, start the dishwasher, then put my suitcase in the car and drive to the airport.
When I arrive in Phoenix, I get to rent a car (believe it or not, the first time I've gotten one out of town just for me). I'll have a couple of hours to kill before Tony gets off work, so I'll find something to do before I meet him at his house. It sounds like he has some great activities planned for Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I'll be heading back to the airport and coming home.
I'm can't wait!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Bag It
A couple of weeks ago I felted wool sweaters for the first time. At the end of the process, they looked like this:
I've been slowly working to transform them into completed projects. Here's the first, a black purse with dotted Swiss lining and handles:
Isn't it cool? I'd worked out the details of the project in my head, but it took me a while to get started. Even though I was pretty sure the wool had turned into felt, I was scared to make the first cut in case I was wrong! However, there were no problems; the knitting had transformed into a very thick solid layer that didn't ravel at all.
At twelve inches square, the bag isn't very big. In the process of felting, the sweater shrunk substantially. I cut the largest pieces I could from the front and back body sections:
To give the plain black a pop of color, I searched through my fabric stash and found a partially-constructed blouse that was in a box of material I got from a friend. I took the seams apart, but left the interfacing in:
I cut a lining out of the large piece, and strips from the interfacing-stiffened edges to make handles. I sewed the raw edges of the strips together, turned them, then attached one to each square of felt. The next step was to join the pieces of felt together. Because the felt doesn't ravel, I sewed around the outside edges (which alleviated the problem of too-thick turned seams). I pinned the lining in, then hand-sewed it around the top of the bag.
Voilà ! Finished project.
What am I going to use the bag for? I'm not sure. After I finished I set it on the island, and later Tony found one of the cats laying on it, but I'm not ready to relinquish it to them. I wonder if they'd like a throw made from the second sweater?
I've been slowly working to transform them into completed projects. Here's the first, a black purse with dotted Swiss lining and handles:
At twelve inches square, the bag isn't very big. In the process of felting, the sweater shrunk substantially. I cut the largest pieces I could from the front and back body sections:
To give the plain black a pop of color, I searched through my fabric stash and found a partially-constructed blouse that was in a box of material I got from a friend. I took the seams apart, but left the interfacing in:
I cut a lining out of the large piece, and strips from the interfacing-stiffened edges to make handles. I sewed the raw edges of the strips together, turned them, then attached one to each square of felt. The next step was to join the pieces of felt together. Because the felt doesn't ravel, I sewed around the outside edges (which alleviated the problem of too-thick turned seams). I pinned the lining in, then hand-sewed it around the top of the bag.
Voilà ! Finished project.
What am I going to use the bag for? I'm not sure. After I finished I set it on the island, and later Tony found one of the cats laying on it, but I'm not ready to relinquish it to them. I wonder if they'd like a throw made from the second sweater?
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