Here are a couple of photos of the completed Fortune Cookie Bag. I haven't felted it yet. I did make one change to the pattern - they wanted you to do something like I-cord, only crocheted, by going around and around and around in a spiral. Well, I tried it, got off, and the spiral kept getting smaller and tighter. Also, I find I can knit faster than I can crochet (I know the reverse is true of most people, but I really can knit faster), so I did a knitted i-cord instead, figuring it wouldn't matter after the thing was felted.

Here it is opened up. It's not a very large bag.



And here it is closed, with the flap folded totally over the bag.



I admit, I'm not totally mad about the colors in it now that it's finished. (I can't help but think that, for me, it would be cuter in fawn or brown, with either a red or cream-colored stripe). But I chose the denim because most people wear denim and I was making it to be an "anonymous" gift in a gift exchange. I'm working (doing only a row or two a day to avoid inflaming my wrist again) on another one, paler denim with a dark stripe, for my sister-in-law.

I also bought - and will have to buy another one for my sister-in-law, I suppose - a little "coin" charm sort of thing. So there's something to go in the purse. You know, so you're not giving an empty purse as a gift. I have no idea if that superstition is widespread but I know my grandmother would not give a purse as a gift without at least a shiny penny in it - I suppose the idea is wishing for the other person that their purse never was empty.

But, as I said, I have no idea how widespread that superstition is, so I thought it might take too much explaining to give the purses with a shiny penny in them (also: it seems to be hard to find "shiny" pennies these days). So the little "charm coins" suffice - they are small pieces of pewter (?) stamped with an image and a word on the back. The one I chose for this gift has a bee on it and says "happy," I may chose one of the more overtly religious ones (they had several with angels) for my sister in law.

***

My minimal goal for the day is to write the exams for next week. (Probably no sorting-of-soil: I have five samples to do but hopefully can get those done by the end of the week). I also have to go out and get crickets (at the crazy pet store where everything goes wrong every time) and lettuce and little plastic cups to contain the crickets (we are doing an antiherbivore compound lab where squares of lettuce are painted with things like tea or cinnamon oil and after two days, we score the squares of lettuce to see how much is eaten in each treatment). So I have to build in some time today for "things to go wrong," seeing as getting the supplies involve going both to the aforementioned pet store AND the wal-mart.

I also have some slop-over grading to do, because a couple of people were out sick and had to get extensions. (Once again: I teach for free. They are paying me to grade.)