Read the directions and directly you will be directed in the right direction.

It's around 2 PM on a dreary, rainy, overcast, but near balmy day in Detroit. By midnight, the temperature will be below freezing. I'll be dressing accordingly and likely in layers. The mitts are done and soaking in a bath right now. I'm sure my friend will be thrilled to finally have them. She only asked I do this 2 months ago. Better late than never.

Thank you for the advice on the Nordic hat. I'll stay away for a bit, but not long. What concerns me most about that pattern is the hat which is knit stockinette and then hemmed. I'm worried it'll have no give and squeeze my head, so I'm considering the instructions and my own variation. Today I'm back to Christmas knitting and I'll cast on for Jane's Mock Cable Hat. I bought the pattern the day she released it on Ravelry. Since there is quite a bit of worsted weight wool in the stash, I won't have to go shopping and being fresh off the mitts that employed plenty of right and left twist stitches in the cables, I think I'm ready.


Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb, my schedulers, have already sent out my schedule for tonight and changed their minds once. I'll let them get a grip on what they may really want before I look at my emails again, or maybe I'll wait to clock in at 4 PM, which ever comes first. I'm betting on 4 PM. But wait...just as I wrote that sentence, my Blackberry chirped.

It comes to mind that I'm in dire need of a vacation. I'm taking two extra days off in December and this gives me three short weeks in a row, but the big staycation is in the works for February. Not being of sound mind, I couldn't bear the thought of working all of February. It's a month I abhor in the first place, and doubly so when working the streets of Detroit. It's cold, dark, snowy and miserable, so I took half of it off--the last half. I've no plans and in my mind, that's the best kind of vacation to have. When I return to work, it'll be March and with any luck, spring will be in the air.

Oh my. It's 2 minutes past the last time my Blackberry chirped and I think they've changed their minds yet again. They really do need to get their excreta together.

Well, off to wind wool and at least knit a row or two of that spiffy new hat.

Today's title? What the Doorknob said...
Alice in Wonderland

Been there; done that.

Once again, a slight wave of panic fills my knitting soul. I'm not done, not even close to being done with holiday knitting. Every year I promise myself that I won't knit any holiday gifts, but I do.

This year, I have a little something different in mind for my holiday knitting. If it can't be completed in one or two days, I won't even consider the project. That means, if you're on my list, you can expect a hat, bulky mittens or a cowl.

You won't be the lucky recipient of these Can Cans. While they're relatively quick--this pair was cast on Friday, worked on solely all weekend-- they're not quick enough. I think I can blame the itty-bitty needles and the fingering weight yarn. I've visited this pattern before and made them for Kathleen. I came across another skein of yarn in the same color and so I'm making them again for a friend (a mentor, really) who asked for them because her office is cold. Once I finish these, I'll seriously tackle the rest of my holiday gift giving list.

There's only one big problem with my plan and that's the Nordic stocking hat and gloves pattern that is screaming for me to begin already. I stopped by the yarn store yesterday and bought the sport weight wool in all the right colors. I even went to Office Depot to enlarge the Fair Isle pattern 150% so that I can see. I'm trying hard, really hard to ignore the voices telling me to cast on now.

Maybe just a swatch to get a feel for the yarn and pattern. That's not dangerous, is it?

What's wrong with this picture?

A boy and his dawg in more respectful times just two days ago.

Leo has been crated off and on today for safety reasons. When he gets rambunctious, he says hello to the interior of his crate. We can't chance that he'll jump on my son and tear the flaps newly made by the eye surgeon just this afternoon.

While my son has been trying to sleep off the effects of valium, Leo has been freed from his cell. When the boy woke up and wanted to eat, I went to the kitchen to make him a dish full of delicious leftovers. On the plate was turkey, mashed potatoes, and all that was left of the stuffing and green bean casserole. I delivered a dish of cranberry waldorf salad to my son while the rest of his dish was getting ready for the microwave. I dawdled to put in his eye drops...

...and returned to the kitchen to find my son's dinner had been snarfed up by his four legged friend.

As you can see, barely a crumb was left behind, and that only because I interrupted the pig in the middle of his crime.

Still not full, and apparently ever hopeful, the beast is begging here for dessert.

Naughty dawg. Poor six eyed young son.

Tomorrow morning, the granny glasses and eye shields come off and with a little luck, the boy should see at least 20/20.

It's the little things...

Deep dish apple pie from Ina Garten's recipe.

Giving thanks today to the cooking Gods for an oven that works and smoke alarms that know the difference between normal heat from the stove and a real fire.

Mad as a Hatter

If I don't make it to the stores, there will be nothing to serve but Trader Joe's Macaroni and Cheese for Thanksgiving dinner. However, the table is set and that has to count for something.

I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. Demille.

This is Tam B from Three Tams. I love how the patterns are similar, and yet different.

Talk about cutting it close--this is all that's left of the Cashmerino Aran yarn--a mere 8 yards. The keys are there for size reference.

Big girls can too play with crayons

Being rather late to knitting in general and color knitting specifically, I have to say, I wonder why. This is such an entertaining form of knitting and I find the patterns so mesmerizing, I just can't put my needles down. I've been having fun with these hats and find myself saying, one more row, one more row. Tam B is the last of three and I chose to make it with Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in a cream color and Mochi Plus for the variegated striped yarn. I'm not completely finished yet so I can't show you the star on top, but it's my favorite so far. The yarns are so soft and the sheen and stitch definition are perfect for this project.

Oh.

Yeah.

See that rib? I finally conquered the purling problem encountered with Tam A.

After whining about my schedule this week, I found out a last minute request to take Friday off was granted. All in all, this week is shaping up to be a good one.

And so it begins.......

Tam A in hand spun alpaca (my own) and Noro Kureyon

Bright and early on weekdays, one of our schedulers posts report from the day or weekend before. This allows everyone who reads it to gain knowledge of what happened while they were off. Some read it, and very obviously (as previously posted here), many do not. It's not that they can't read, it's more like they don't want to take the time when a phone call to awaken the night shift nurse is easier, but I digress. The scheduler always starts her post with a quick nod to what day of the week it may be--as if my Blackberry didn't already let me in on that. Monday report typically begins with, "and so it begins.........." There are always a plethora of ellipses to denote that, yes, it's the start of the week, and my friends, it's gonna suck.

It's only Sunday, and I'm already dreading the week ahead, what with the hunting, gathering and cooking for a feast all by myself, entertaining Mr. Larger Than Life, watching Stinkerbell McBookeater like a hawk and oh, yeah, working 12 hours Thursday night into Friday morning, sleeping fast and getting up to work again by Friday at 4 PM. It's my holiday to work, but don't feel sorry for me, it's one of the two I selected. Sometimes, I'm not too bright.

So far this weekend, I've worked a bit on the shawl and knocked out another tam. I selected tam A from the free Three Tams pattern and used a combination of hand spun alpaca for the main color and Noro Kureyon for the contrast. Being a primarily self taught knitter, I tried and tried to do the corrugated ribbing on the brim of the hat, but couldn't figure out how to make the contrasting color pop. As a result, the contrasting color on the brim only shows on the inside. Now I know what I did wrong, but it's too late for the hat, and the brim will stay. I'm not ripping out all of that fragile hand spun and the single ply Noro.


I will however promise not to advance in a pattern without figuring out what's going on with my technique when it isn't right. What I did wrong was bring both the working and non working yarns forward to make the purl stitch and both to the back of the work to make the knit stitch. I should have moved only the contrast yarn forward for purling and back again for knitting and let the non working yarn dangle in the back. I inadvertently created a double knit brim that could be reversible if not for the rest of the hat.

Live and learn.

I'm ready for Tam B with a corrugated rib and I'm also cruising Amazon for a more definitive text on color knitting. I think I may buy Alice Starmore's book and perhaps the one on color by Sally Melville.

I'd better hurry...........before I know it, it'll be time to begin that work week.