Tesla Coils and Hats

We saw this yesterday. Although we sat near the front, I must tell you there wasn't a bad seat in the house. I'm sure the back row got a great show. Plus, they got the satisfaction of knowing that the rest of us would've died first if anything had gone wrong! It was spectacular, entertaining and educational. If this show ever comes to a theater near you, please go see it. I promise you'll learn something and have fun, too. (A glowing pickle, a contortionist, insight into human behavior, two real-live Tesla coils, and some really good jokes, just to ruin the surprise!)

I went with my sweetheart and two friends. For the purposes of this story, I'm going to split us between the guys and the girls. Please note, I do not think that I am describing a difference between the sexes. I am merely telling a funny story about four people being observant in different ways in two different situations.

During the show, Richard Wiseman showed a little film clip before which he gave specific instructions to the audience. After the clip, he asked us if we had noticed something during the clip which was entirely unrelated to what we had been asked to do before the clip was shown. A few people saw it, but most of us did not. Both of the guys in my party noticed it, while neither of the women did.

Later in the evening, while the four of us waited to be seated for dinner, somebody left the restaurant obviously dressed in a costume. It was a white suit made of something like polyester, with glittery red fringe at the ankles, some red splash of color near the shoulder and a stylized crown in colors such as red, yellow, white, and orange. I can't remember exactly what it looked like other than the red and the shape. Both of the girls in my party noticed him. Neither of the guys did.

Well, I sure felt better after that.



That's the first hat I ever knit. I gave it to my mother shortly after I knit it because the day after my father looked at it on my head and said, "That's the kind of hat your mother should be wearing," my mother saw it and liked it so much that I gave it to her right off my head.

The pattern is the Quaker Ribbed Bottom Hat from the Frugal Knitting Haus.

The next hat I knit was their Double Knit Hat. I've knit a couple of them and then I moved on to another pattern.



Another hat for my mother, this one is based on the London Beanie pattern. It looks funny at the top because I've got to try it on Mom before I finish it. This is the second time I've knit it, because the first time I made it too short for her. I think this is long enough, but I don't want to cut the yarn until I'm sure. The yarn is some sort of cotton-angora blend I picked up on clearance and I've only got this one skein!

And finally, I've got another pair of socks on the needles.



I suppose the amazing thing about this is that I've managed to restrain myself to only one pair at a time. It's not easy. The yarn came from my Pal from Secret Pal 8. No, I can't say I like the colors of the yarn. Even so, I like the way the pair is turning out and I've got a whole lot of ideas for the next chevron-stripe socks I make! I've never worked with Lana Grossa Meilenweit, and I must say I'm enjoying knitting with this yarn. If I were going to be picky, I'd whine that I would have preferred one of the bluer colorways. On the other hand, I must admit that I'm a lot more likely to try something outlandish pattern-wise if I'm not happy with the yarn colors in the first place. Remember these? Ok, the photo wasn't very good, but I had fun with those socks, even though I really hated the colors. And I wear them. And I'm the one who bought that yarn that I didn't like.

I'm a real piece of work, eh?