One Thing Leads To Another

A friend sent me a link to a story about yarnbombing at the Telegraph.

There was a link at the bottom of the page to a gallery of signs. This one made me think of Neil Gaiman's Stardust (book and movie). How could it not?

But some of them were more fun than others.

This one just struck my funny bone. Never would've thought of such a problem.

And this one is obviously there just for me.

I'm not sure why this makes me laugh so hard.

On the other hand, I know why this one is funny.

Do they really mean this?

Blast From The Past

I just sent this link to a friend.

When I go to blogs I used to read and there's silence, sometimes I worry a little. One day I went to a blog and there was a post to let everyone know that the owner had died. Bloggers are friends - people who talk to you and you don't have to talk back, but you can. You miss them when they're gone.

I've been together with my sweetheart for something like fifteen years now. I cherish the time we spend in a car just breathing the same air, unable to think of anything to say that we haven't bored each other with yet.

I hope most silent blogs are like that.

The Noro Hat

I had to make another of these.



I mean, come on. What else would I do with the rest of the yarn, eh?



The hat on top has been worn frequently for a couple of weeks. It stretches to fit like a glove.



Anyhow, Mom wants whatever hat I'm wearing. She hasn't seen this one yet. When she sees it, she'll want it. Right off my head, just like all the others. Whether or not it fits. She'll give it back when it doesn't fit. After she's worn it a couple times.

Of course, it's also possible that she'll lose it.

In any event, I've knitted this twice, so maybe it's time to write it up.

I've done this with size 8 and size 9 needles. The hat comes out the same. I'd say it's size "adult" and leave it at that. The whole point of it was that every time I made a hat it wasn't quite perfect, so this time I decided to run the ribbing all the way up to the crown.

I make a commentary in here about making the hat 1.5 inches longer than the length of the recipients hand. I tend to use my hand as a measure around here and I make no guarantees about how well this will work for you. But it works really well for me.

Yes, this is based on (or inspired by) the Noro Scarf pattern and it's entirely in the public domain as far as I'm concerned. Do what you like with it.

The Noro Hat Pattern.

Needles: Size 8 or 9 either double-pointed or circular.
Yarn: 2 skeins Noro Silk Garden in two different colors.

Cast on 72 stitches with one color.
Join being careful not to twist.
With the same color, Knit 2 Purl 2 around once.
* Switch balls of yarn and Knit 2 Purl 2 around twice. *
Repeat from * until piece is approximately 8.5 inches long OR until piece looks like it's probably 1.5 - 2 inches longer than the length of the recipient's hand.
Decrease for crown - stitch count at end of each row.
Switch balls of yarn
Knit 2 Purl 2 around once (72)
Knit 2 Purl 2 Knit 2 Purl 2 together around once (63)
Switch balls of yarn
Knit 2 Purl 2 Knit 2 Purl 1 around once (63)
Knit 2 Purl 2 together Knit 2 Purl 1 around once (54)
Switch balls of yarn
Knit 2 Purl 1 around once (54)
Knit 2 Purl 1 Knit 2 together Purl 1 around once (45)
Switch balls of yarn
Knit 2 Purl 1 Knit 1 Purl 1 around once (45)
Knit 2 together Purl 1 Knit 1 Purl 1 around once (36)
Switch balls of yarn
Knit 1 Purl 1 around once (36)
Knit 1 Knit 2 together Purl 1 around once (27)
Switch balls of yarn
Knit 2 Purl 1 around once
Knit 1 Purl 2 together around once (18)
Switch balls of yarn
Knit 1 purl 1 around once (18)
Knit 2 together through the back loop around once(9)
Cut yarn leaving about 12 inches of yarn. Draw yarn though all 9 stitches and pull to close the hole.
Weave in ends.

NOTES:

If you pull too tight when switching balls of yarn, your piece will have one vertical line that behaves differently from the rest of the piece.

I try to carry the unused yarn behind the work. I've goofed a couple of times and can't see any real difference in the final outcome. You should doe whatever makes the most sense to you.

When I weave in the ends from the cast on, I weave them in on the outside of the piece, because that will be hidden when the brim is folded up.

That's it. Have fun!

Said Without Whining

I was going to whine about this. But Dan Gilbert says it better ... he doesn't whine about it, like I would.

He looks at it from the perspective of happiness. I look at it from the perspective of watching people make themselves miserable.

Funny how the perspective makes such a difference.