This was one of those unplanned projects. Well, to the extent someone that has to order yarn can have an unplanned project. Travis has been wearing this really ugly machine-knit hat (it has a company logo embroidered on it) and I decided that he needed a new hat. So, last week I ordered some yarn and I cast-on Wednesday night. I knit on the hat whenever I had a spare moment on Thanksgiving, and throughout the weekend. I should have finished on Saturday night, but had to rip back a bit and rework the pattern. So, I actually finished Sunday evening about 10:30.

Project Details:

Pattern: Shedir

Yarn: Dolly Maxi in Smoke Grey - 2 balls

Needles: 3.75mm 16″ Addi Naturas

Thoughts/Modifications: Well, I obviously substituted yarn because cotton yarn for a winter hat in Wyoming doesn’t make a lot of sense. I also wanted to make the hat a bit bigger to fit a guy. I used a tubular cast-on and cabled without a cable needle. I also had to reduce the total number of rows for the hat because my larger row gauge was resulting in a very tall hat. So, I just deleted one horizontal repeat and it turned out about right. This yarn is very soft and squooshy (yes, I do believe that is the technical term for it) and it’s superwash - a must for Travis because he throws everything into the washing machine and just assumes it will come out just like it went in. I think the fit is ok. I maybe could have gotten away with a 3.5mm needle, but I wanted the cables to provide a dense hat that would stand up to the cold and wind in Wyoming.

However, despite what these photos might lead you to believe, Travis has yet to wear the hat outside because he thinks that it will not be “wind proof” (although the 12 degree high today would have been a good test). I explained that the cables and the wool would do a nice job of keeping his head nice and toasty, but he does not believe me. Or, he doesn’t like it and thought the wind proof thing would be the better route. I don’t know. Now, I could line it, but damn it I want him to tell me with actual certainty (by this I mean have some freaking proof) that the hat lets the wind blow through and freeze his ears off. I don’t really think that’s asking too much after I spent 4 days knitting the thing for him. So, I’ve decided that I’ll give him a couple of weeks to wear it and if he doesn’t I’m going to donate it to charity.

The weekend is over and I’m not sure what to do with myself. I had a lovely 5 days without having to report to work, and it was fabulous. Now it’s time to get back into the swing of life. No more lazing away the day with a cup of tea and my knitting. Sigh. Those were the days. Now it’s on to the hussle and bussle of the Christmas holiday. Shopping and wrapping and baking. Yipes. I need to make a list of the things to buy and the things to bake - you know, I like lists.

I knit Travis a hat over the Thanksgiving holiday. I’m not sure how he feels about it - he’s unwilling to commit. I’ll get a thumbs up or thumbs down on it tonight. It’s supposed to be -15 degrees by tomorrow afternoon, so it seems to me a nice warm handknit hat would be just the ticket, but what do I know. Whether he likes it or not, I’m going to make him model it tonight, so I should have pictures for you this week.

The installation guy was supposed to come install my high speed internet yesterday at 1:00 and at 2:00 I finally called to see where he was. Apparently he hurt himself on Wednesday, but no one felt the need to call and tell me about that. Delivery and installation people are probably one of my biggest pet peeves. No one else in the world gets away with making an appointment and then just not showing up. Why do they feel like they have that right? They’ve rescheduled for Wednesday night at 5:30, so we’ll see if they actually make it. I’m not going to hold my breath if it’s all the same to you.

Well, I don’t seem to be putting anything wonderful down in this post. I think it’s a continuation of the Monday blahs. I hope to have something more exciting to talk about tomorrow. Have a good Monday.

I survived Thanksgiving and we had a lovely day. Everything got baked and cleaned and prepared without any major mishaps. Well, except for the pipeline at the end of the road. They chose Wednesday to close the road and install pipe across it. So, the road into my house was closed for most of the afternoon. Luckily, the neighbor pulled up to the closure right behind me and we managed to get home cutting across the pasture on a 2 track road. It took 45 minutes, but it was a heck of a lot better than sitting in the car for 6 hours. A little notice might have been nice, but what do I know.

Here’s a little Thanksgiving Eye Candy for you.

I hope those of you who celebrate had a great holiday. We’re headed out to do a little bit of shopping locally, but are avoiding the mall and the big chain stores like the plague. I hope you are all enjoying a long weekend and are not out shopping at the mall on Black Friday.

On an administrative note: Jacqueline and I have decided to host a knit along for the Victorian Lace Today book. It’s a very flexible sort of thing - join when you want, start when you want, knit what you want (from the book) and finish whenever you get around to it. We’re imagining a place for people to get together and share ideas or problems, ask questions, and get advice from other lace knitters. If you’re interested in joining us, e-mail us at victorianlacealong AT gmail DOT com.

On Saturday I took a dyeing workshop at the local yarn shop and I have to tell you - I had a great time. Dyeing isn’t as scary as I thought it would be. We had a great teacher and a fun group - there were about 7 of us - and I learned a lot.

We started by handpainting some yarn with the primary colors and I got some nice rainbow sock yarn. It might be a bit bright, but it will be fun for someone. That KnitPicks yarn I’ve had for eons came in handy.

Then we handpainted yarn with varying depths of shade - I chose blue - and it turned out pretty good. I imagine they’ll be a nice, subtle sock when knit up (and I’m really hoping it doesn’t pool like crazy).

We stopped for lunch, which was a carry-in and after lunch we dyed some merino locks in the crock pot, handpainted some roving, a silk hankie, and some silk sliver. I didn’t even felt my roving, I was so proud.

We had a little outlet problem, so we had to take most of our stuff home and steam it, which was interesting, but it turned out ok. So, now I need to figure out what dyes to order, what else I need, a good book or two, and when the heck I’m going to find the time to play with dyeing. I honestly think I need to quit my job or figure out a way to survive on 3 hours of sleep because that’s the only solution that’s coming to mind. Tomorrow will be dedicated to baking a preparing for the big turkey day. I still need to grocery shop tonight. I’m still not sure how it got to be Thanksgiving already. Wasn’t it just Halloween last week? Anyway. I need to grocery shop (I finally made out my list this morning, which made me late for work). Tomorrow, I need to bake a pecan pie, a pumpkin cheesecake, some dinner rolls, and cut about 50 pounds of stuffing ingredients. Oh, and I have a massage appointment tonight that I’ve rescheduled twice. Travis is supposed to pick up the turkey from the butcher tonight before 5:30. Last year he forgot, so I need to try to remember to call and remind him before they close. At some point I need to finish rearranging the furniture in my house (it was a brilliant move to start that project on Sunday - sheesh), clean the guest room, do something about the state of my craft room (it’s at the “enter at your own risk” stage), and iron a table cloth and napkins. Yipes. I’d better stop writing - I’m starting to scare myself. In fact, the eye twitch is back.

I have plans to post tomorrow, but I’ll be home and at the mercy of dial-up. We’ll hope that the speed of things increases after everyone goes to work. If I can swing it I’ll post some in-progress shots of the baking.

It was a nice weekend - busy, but nice. This little treat was waiting for me when I got home on Friday night.

In case you can’t read it, it says “Sweetie, I came home early & cooked you dinner. It took 4 hours. Trav” I swear - just when I think that guy can’t be sweet - he goes and does something like that.

The dyeing workshop on Saturday was wonderful. I’m really excited about dyeing and I need to get some dyes ordered and get some of the things I need. Realistically, I won’t have time to do much dyeing until after the holidays, but I think those winter weekends are a great time for playing with color. I have a lot of pictures, but the dial-up just couldn’t handle the upload this morning. The good news is that I will soon have high-speed internet and I am so excited. Maybe a week or so.

Yesterday I sat on the couch and watched a movie and worked on my slipper. I finished the top part.

Now I’ve picked up the stitches on the cast-on edge and am working on the sole. It’s going quickly, so I hope I can make good progress on it over the holiday weekend.