Progress on my DK Hat-Devil's Heat

Anyone care for a picture?

I think the pattern turned out beautiful, and I'm very pleased. I figure my son will love it too, and I can't wait to give it to him.

Notice how it's already nearly half done?? Well that's because my student didn't show up yesterday, and I returned home quite a bit earlier than I expected. I hope that doesn't happen very often, as I do love my teaching job. In the meanwhile, I applied for a job at JoAnn's hoping to obtain a regular sales job, now that I have my foot in the door. We'll see how that goes.

In the meanwhile, more knitting in store!

New Hat for My Son

Well, I finally made some decisions, and here's the final bit.
A Double Knit Hat with No Turned up Edge...similar to my flower power hat, but with this chart---



Here's how much I had done last night, but I'm a lot further now.



And there you have it.

I think I might upload this to Ravelry. The chart might be a sticking point, because I editted someone else's chart to fit my project, but essentially, it's the same chart...just "different".

So there you go. I'll try to get another pic up tomorrow when I have something more to show, and the way the hat is going, I could have the entire pattern area done before I go to bed tonight--if that's the case, I might just do the pic tonight! Won't that be a thrill?

Okay, enough about that.

I went in today to teach a class, but my student didn't show up. That really discouraged me--it's not that I don't get paid or anything like that, but I was really looking forward to bringing another fiber person "into the fold" as it were--teaching her the myriad ways to get "caught up" in the addiction. Sadly, the student didn't show, and the teacher drove home.

To find that hubby wants to work some more on the bedroom downstairs. I haven't begun to think about it today, and he is raring to go! I suppose I should be thankful for it, but I'm not. We worked our buns off yesterday, and ended up sniping at each other over the slightest things. Makes it feel like it's more work than it's worth when that happens, and I determine that it's time to stop and take a break.

The thing is, coming home, I had other plans. This is not going to go well. I can just tell.

Another Dishcloth

This is my November 2009 Monthly Dishcloth, done a second time with a dark green, rather than the lime green that I made first. I guess I don't have a preference, although I think the lighter colors show up the pattern to it's best advantage.

I had hoped to add some ornaments and bulbs to it, so that I had a Christmas-y cloth, but then I'd never use it for it's intended purpose.

Then my husband says to me:

"I don't know what you're going to do with all these dishcloths. You never use them. No one else likes them..." and he was about to continue when I interjected, very angry--

"Well, that's a real nice thing to say to me! After all the nice things I make to tell me that nobody likes my gifts?" Well, I was REALLY ANGRY, and stormed out of the house. I came back, but I was pretty miffed.

"First off," I said, "is that if you ever want another hand made gift from me, it's probably best you keep your mouth shut--even if you don't like it. And SECONDLY, do not make nasty, mean comments about the items that I give away as gifts. After all, I can't afford to buy $1000 televisions. You are lucky to get what you get. Considering all the time I put into the work, not to mention the idea phase, I should think you'd be proud of me. And if I have a thousand cloths in my drawer and never use a one, WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?"

By now, I'm on a roll.

"So if you can't say something nice, don't say anything, or at the worst, freaking LIE TO ME! I don't want you belittling my handiwork, since you have no idea what goes into it! I'd like to see you put together some of the things that I've done over the years, and I bet YOU CAN'T."

Ooh, and I'm just a fuming!

"So TAKE THAT!"

And then we drove to Best Buy to get our new television.

This thing is beyond huge.

The plan is to put it on the wall. Our old television will likely go downstairs in the great room, but for now, the new television sits on top of the old one, which looks a little strange...but what can you do? I ask you!

So the weather is turning colder, but the day is just gorgeous outside. I want to get dressed and head out and do something fantastic--like go to JoAnn's with this 20% off coupon and buy a bunch of crochet cotton for my mother for Christmas--maybe some dishcloth cotton for my mother in law, and of course, my son's hat...a top down raglan with a cable in front for my hubby, and whatever for the name I draw for his family.

And that will be pretty much the extent of my Christmas shopping. So it will be a quick and easy year this year, I think. I look forward to it already.

In the meantime...on to knitting!

While the World Watches

Today is Black Friday.

The day after Thanksgiving--yes, thank you, I had a nice Thanksgiving supper. It wasn't home cooking, but it was fine. I hope that you and yours had a wonderful time.

But for now, I want to talk about Black Friday.

Wednesday night, hubby and I went to Best Buy to get our new television. I'm pretty excited about the new television. It's not the BEST we could get, but it was all hubby was willing to shell out of pocket, because his mother knows him so well...and she provided part of the funding for it, so it would basically force him to play his cards--I just hope that he's satisfied with the picture...but that's not the point, and I digress so easily...

Outside Best Buy were two dome tents--people! Camping out on Wednesday night so that they were there, Friday morning, EARLY to get the FIRST Best Buy "best buy". Camping out. On a sidewalk. In 30 degree weather (and rain--don't forget the rain).

I've heard of people who camp out at concerts, days in advance to make sure and certain that they cash in on the best seats they can, but this is Black Friday--What could possibly be so important? Frankly, I don't believe that I am that desperate.

My boss at JoAnn's fabrics tells me that the store is a mob scene on Black Friday. There I am, on the telephone, offering to come in to help at the cutting counter, which has a line waiting that goes all the way around the store TWICE. That's not counting the lines that form in the opposite direction that want to get out of the store, but have to go through checkout first. I could have worked either counter, but there was no time to apply and go through orientation, so I just gave up the idea. Of course, it might be a good idea around the holidays.

In the meanwhile, I see crowds at the discount and warehouse stores. Let's not even go to the mall! Hubby and I are not good in crowds--and I'm asking him.

"Do we want to pick up the television tonight??" Ever hopeful that we can watch Medium and Ghost Whisperer on the BIG screen tonight.

"I'd like to watch it on the big television," he says. "But I'm not about to forge through the crowds today."

"Yeah, I guess I feel the same, too," says I. It's just not worth it to us.

Add to that, the fact that I simply don't like going to town PERIOD during this season. There are simply too many crazies out there who DON'T know how to DRIVE. We're already experiencing higher than normal accident rates on the roadways. I came upon two on Wednesday afternoon--people in a hurry to get home and get prepared for Thanksgiving with their family, some who will now spend the day in the hospital, recovering from head wounds and broken bones--was it worth the hurry?

And I don't care much for the stress from the hurry. It aggravates my IBS (something I'm sure was a TMI moment for you) and then I don't much enjoy my holiday either. Take that, you hurrying hoard! But people get crazy at this time of year. Everything is hurry, hurry, hurry! Even Toys R Us opened--MUCH EARLIER than any of the other Black Friday Elitists--at Midnight--a time when I was fast asleep, counting Z's and such. People who work at these stores barely have time to digest their Thanksgiving dinner before they have to go to work AGAIN under these stressful conditions. They can have it.

I'll just stay home, thanks.

But perhaps...yes perhaps I will go to McDonald's and grab lunch. After all, a girl's gotta eat, and since our supper Thanksgiving left no leftovers, I'm thinking McDonald's is a good choice, fast, just 5 minutes away, and 5 minutes home again, safe and sound to devour my lunch.

I can live with that sort of hurry hurry.

I'm having a fit of startitis. I want to get going on my son's hat, but feeling a bit at odds with myself. I want to and then again, I don't. Maybe I need a break from knitting? Oh, dear, I will go nuts if I take a break from knitting.

I did however, finish a small cloth with a tree on it. A duplicate of the lime green cloth--just a different color is all.

And then hubby and I went to the basement to work a bit on the craft and sewing room--clearing it out and prepping it for ALL my sewing and knitting, crochet, quilting--you name it--stuff. Hopefully, it will become an orderly confusion. The floor is now CLEAR of clutter, bugs, spiders and dust and dirt. We had to bring in the Shop Vac to do it. Now, I need to get window plastic and put up blankets on the windows, so that light doesn't destroy the fabrics. This might help with the bug population, too. I am probably more hopeful about that than is realistic. There also seems to be a small water problem in the closet, so everything will need to go on STILTS so that water can't get to the items "accidentally". That would be a disaster. Trust me on this.

So there's still some work to be done in the room, but we are slowly making headway. I'm getting excited about it, and it looks like soon I will have a little more order to my life. We shall see. Maybe I'll feel like knitting later, when the hoopla has wound down. Right now, I need lunch.

Computer Updates

I must say, they suck--especially when the computer is

1. In your bedroom and
2. When it reboots twice in less than an hour.


Yes, friends I was rudely awakened on my first day of Turkey Time at 3:30am with the familiar "I am booting" song played by my computer when it logs me in, anew, after an update. This happened twice last night.

I think Microsoft does that on purpose!

In the meantime, while I've been awake for the last two hours of my HOLIDAY WHEN I DON'T HAVE TO GET OUT OF BED UNTIL AFTERNOON day, I finished the Piggie Pillow, Porker.

Pay no mind to the bits of glue on his nose--those will disappear. It's just that I'd just finished gluing.

And if I do say so myself (and I usually do, as you are by now aware), he is cute as a button--even if he does appear to have been "tying one on" last night. He obtained the name "Porker", because his body is so much bigger than his head. Lots of bacon on this pig! He gives new meaning to the term "Pork Bellies".

So now, another project finished. What will be next?

I'm thinking about a hat for my son. I purchased the yarn last night, and thought about getting it started today. Trouble is, I can't decide what TYPE of hat I want to begin. You see, this is the problem with knowing so many different techniques...for instance, I could begin with a standard stockinette hem, pick up the cast on stitches about an inch later to make a nice edge, then continue on in stockinette and just make a "generic hat", or I could do double knitting, making the hat reversible, or I could do some fair isle--I have this really cool dragon pattern that I know he'd like to have (so would I), or I could just make a standard hat out of ribbing (not much imagination there), or a toque, or a hat with ear flaps, or a helmet, or...

I could have just said the possibilities and offerings are pretty much endless, but I want him to wear this hat, the same way he wears his gloves--EVERY DAY! (Betcha thought he wore his gloves on his head, huh? Crazy images come to mind at 5am, trust me.) So I'd like it to be something nice, and I thought I could probably get a fair isle hat (just not the dragon hat) done by Christmas without too much ballyhoo--but then the issue is if not the dragon hat, then "what"? So I'm pending the project until inspiration hits me full in the face.

The colors he wants are to match the Devil's Heat gloves--which I easily found similar colors in Cascade 220 superwash. And I considered using the same essential "pattern" I used for the gloves on the hat, but I'd like the flames to begin right at the hem edge--and that seems a bit "fiddly" to me. Plus this, fair isle isn't stretchy like ribbing or stockinette in one color--that means sizing is a big issue--and if it's made too small--well you get the picture. Try to stick a child sized hat on an adult head, whaddya get? Pop goes the weasel. So something simpler might be in order--just your standard hat with a flip up hem in ribbing and a stockinette body, with some stripes on the hem? Sounds like a boring knit to me!

Back to pending the project until inspiration attacks.

In the meantime, Porker is done, and I couldn't be happier with the way he turned out.

Piggie, Nearly Done

Just have to embroider his face on, and can't do that UNTIL I have the floss to do it.

I'm thinking some for the nose, but instead of a mouth, I'll get some red felt and make a tongue and glue it on, along with some wiggly eyes.

Will post a pic of the finished pig.

Porker Is Nearly Done!

I was going to work on him tonight to finish him, but then simply ran out of time. I'll take him to work tomorrow to see if I can get him sewn up.

I need to gather up some polyfil, the sewing needle and the parts, which are all finished knitting wise, and sew everything together on break and lunch.

He will be ready for my mum's Christmas.

Then I begin on my son's hat to match his flaming fingerless gloves.

I am just a crafty guru this week, and things are really coming together.

Pics tomorrow if I get Porker done. STAY TUNED!