Baby Hat Week

It's been a busy week. I have not had the time or concentration to work on anything complicated, so the project of choice has been baby hats. I made up two Umbilical Cord Hats from Knitty Gritty this week. Although I used the identical pattern and the same needles for both of them, they came out looking very different. One was a baby shower gift for a girl in TLC Wiggles from Coats & Clarks; the other a hat and socks for my soon-to-arrive grandson in a manly shade of DK weight Wool Ease. The socks don't come from an actual pattern - they are a scaled down seat-of-the-pants version of a plain top down heel flap sock.


I've used this pattern before - it's a foolproof basic that needs less than half a skein of yarn, knits up quickly, and always looks super cute. To some extent it doesn't seem to matter much what size of needle you use. These were Magic Looped on #7's. I've made them up with #8 DPN's with equally good results. Because baby hats and socks need so little yarn they are a good way to use up odds and ends. The little boy hat and socks were made from the leftovers from a London Beanie I made his father several years ago. I've got enough yarn from another London Beanie of his to make up another set for the baby. I think it would be mighty cute to see them in matching hats, so I think the next hat for the little guy will be a scaled down beanie.

Big & Bad & off the Needles

The Big Bad Bulletproof Baby Blanket is finally finished! It looks beautiful, and I am glad to see the back of it. I've had it on the needles for months (and months). I must admit that true to most of my projects, the second half went much faster than the first, but this thing still seemed to go on forever. Shana was sick of seeing it, or maybe just of hearing my sigh and complain about it, and would practically groan every time I dragged it out. In it's finished state she thinks it's beautiful, or at least she is smart enough to say so.

To match it I immediately cast on with Magic Loop for the Baby Squash Hat from 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders. The alternating panels of knit and purl echo the center of the Blanket, and it is ferociously cute. In contrast to the neverending blanket I started and finished it on the same day, even allowing for dinner guests and two football games. I have only to choose a little sock pattern for complete the ensemble. Baby Nimrod may arrive at any time.

A Visit From Miss V

Young Miss Vivian came to visit for a few hours yesterday evening while Mom and Dad hit the mall. I had not seen her for a couple of weeks, and what a difference that makes to a crawling baby. When she last visited she had not quite perfected her crawl, and going to and from a seated position was hit or miss. Now she can crawl at a great rate, change direction at will, and sit up whenever she likes. She can climb in and out of her little baby seat. Falling over and rolling away only makes her start over. She can even crawl on over to an interesting spot and dig right in with out pausing to change position. A very handy skill indeed when faced with Grandma's bookcase. I don't see the crawling phase lasting very long. She's pulling herself up and is trying out a hybrid crawling style on her hands and feet that looks like she'll be standing up on her own soon. Please note the missing sock. That was pretty much the state of her feet during the entire visit.




The Big Bad Bulletproof Baby Blanket will be finished this weekend (or I'll know the reason why). It shouldn't take long to crank out a matching hat. I might even go for a pair of matching socks. I'm still on the heel of the pink Monkey socks, but they are shaping up to be quite pretty. The most recent Marsan Watchcap is plodding along - it is not the right gauge to be a nice break from the blanket, and the blanket is also consuming almost all of my knitting time. I swear I will never knit another one of these as long as I live. It's taking forever, killing my wrists, and weighs at least 40 pounds. I prefer crochet for baby things - much cuter and much faster!



Over at Time Goes By Ronni has posted a "when I was young" meme: List 5 things that at 25 years old you never thought you'd become (or do). I never pick these up, but this one was appealing and food for thought.

1.) At 25 I still thought I'd never be using algebra again in my life. I now combine my former customer service skills with a daily dose of accounting.

2.) I would never have guessed that my best friend and soulmate would turn out to be a woman.

3. It never occurred to me that any person might pick up athletic pursuits in her fifties, let alone me.

4. If you'd told me at 25 I'd own a computer and carry a communications device in my pocket I'd think you were reading too much science fiction.

5. At 25 I didn't know that life after 50 would be a better, happier time of life. I always though choices would narrow, not that at this age I can choose what I want to do or try.

Thinking about my 25 year old self I've also found myself thinking about my high school self. There were so many times then I could have benefited from a peek at the future. Too bad you can't send a message to that person that you were!

Back on Track

What is this building with no visible sign? What can it possibly be - and why am I going inside? Oh yeah - now I recognize it - that's my gym: Pacer Fitness Center, that place that has not seen much of me lately. I am hereby offering the photographic proof that I am still allowed inside. It's time to face the music - I have not been a regular this year. I was looking over my 2007 goals and out of seven have met exactly ONE (and a half). The good side of that is that I don't have to make up a whole new list of goals for 2008. I do have a couple of new athletic goals - 100 miles at the Spin Your Wheels ride in August, and I'd like to come in first in my class at the Corporate Challenge in June. I'm going to participate in the cycling time trial again, unless someone younger and faster wants my slot. Surprisingly, I don't think that will happen. I don't think there are any other cyclists among the women at my office. Last year I signed up at the last minute and with little preparation placed second in my class, so I'm thinking I can do better this year. The leader wasn't that far ahead of me. I may even consider signing up for another event, because we get points just for showing up at events even if we come in last. I printed out the Couch to 5K yesterday to scare myself and my crummy knees with. This year I am going to be on the committee so I will have the authority, nay the duty, to nag people into signing up! I will really enjoy the nagging.

Blah Blah Blah

Winter is still here and I am showing the sorry state of my knitting. The Bulletproof Baby Blanket is just barely more than half done. This is not good, because the intended recipient is no more than a month away, and there really should be a matching hat. As requested by the impending Momma, this is the Big Bad Baby Blanket from Debbie Stollers Stitch and Bitch. It would be a really easy knit if it wasn't bulletproof. One of the nicest features of the blanket is the way the center lines up - four squares meeting in the middle. It's just cool enough to keep me amused while I plug away at the rest. Why yes, I AM easily amused!



I've started a scarf for myself from some really pretty Cherry Tree Hill Silken Mohair that I bought at Newbury Yarns while I was in Boston in November. I hardly have enough to show, but the colors are so pretty it might just be worth a tiny peek. The chosen pattern is still Helleborus, but of course it doesn't look like it yet. Yes, I do have an insane number of stitch markers deployed. Don't laugh. I knit while I watch TV and I REALLY don't want to have to count more than one repeat. Sadly, I am not one of those knitters who can easily memorise a simple lace pattern. I'm about two inches into still another black Marsan Watchcap. That's surely not worth looking at. I do have one Monkey sock down to the start of the heel flap, but that's a thrill I'll save for another day.



Last weekend we had perfect weather. I had to work Saturday, but Sunday I was free to get out for a ride. For a change of pace four of us rode down by the river, then off to IHop to replenish any calories we may have inadvertently burned. Shana and I washed our filthy cars in the driveway, watched a movie, had a good dinner - a perfect day. This week we are back to work for a full week with no holidays in sight; the weather has turned cold again and the plumber came to visit. Real life.

This time of year is challenging. The nights are too long; the days are too short, and summer is too far away. We are planning our summer activities, and can hardly wait to get back out on the roads for our regular training rides.

The Fiesta Bawl

Even though the Soooners' performance in bowl games has been just awful for several years no matter what they looked like during the regular season I was looking forward to watching them in this year's Fiesta Bowl. This is what the game mostly looked like:

Please note the gathering of officials, the score which features OU with fewer points than our opponent, and the FLAG. As has become their tradition at the end of every season, the Sooners lost miserably and looked awful. The best thing about the game was that this year we were not playing for a national championship and were therefore marginally less embarrassed. We had many players out for injury, academic probation, and petty crime. The remaining players acted like they had never seen a football up close before. Every time we tried to run we got stuffed; every time we passed a holding penalty was called. The continuing holding calls were the only evidence I saw that we had not left the offensive line in the locker room.

Luckily we were having a bowl party. The company and dinner made up for the sad performance of our team. We had pasta and pumpkin pie and a lot of fun, so I guess we'll be counting down the days to the next kickoff after all.

International Watch Football in Pajamas Day

At least that's what I am calling it. I'm spending New Years Day alternately watching football and knitting in pajamas and cleaning my dusty house in obedience to my family superstition. My beautiful sparkly pink tree will be headed for the attic, along with all the other sparkly treasures. The turkey cake is about gone - I pulled his feet out of the freezer for breakfast. With the exception of a pound or two of ham slices and a really nice ham bone all of the festive food is gone, and the dietary good behavior starts today. *imagine sad face here*

Over the weekend we celebrated the WAACO Second Annual Combination Susi's Birthday and Geocaching Extravaganza. We were lucky enough to get a clear day with a high around fifty and nearly no wind while we were out and about. This year being lucky in weather is no small thing. Kim and Ruby had picked out some caches and printed out the coordinates and clues for us, so after lunch and wonderful presents out we all went on the hunt. Part of the "rules" of geocaching require that you try to be a little discrete so as not to give away the caches to "muggles". You can imagine how discrete eight women crawling around on the ground might be. Note to self: bring a flashlight and reading glasses next time.

Susi saw a tent she wants. She's not quite a rough and ready type, specializing in fine cooking equipment and a vast assortment of gloves. The one she wants has a vestibule large enough to stand up in, which would add a large measure of comfort and luxury. This is me giving Shana "The Look" when she suggested we might also need such a tent to replace the already palatial Taj M'Shana.

The state of my current knitting may be revealed on my next post. Now that the holiday rush is over I've picked up Baby Nimrod's blankie, which is nearly half done but does not look much different from the last picture. I've started on my blue scarf, but it's only about three inches long and will need to be blocked to show the pattern and is therefore not much to look at in its current state. I'm thinking about a pair of fetchings in alpaca for Shana, but my thoughts show up poorly on camera. She's encouraging me to cast on soon so she can wear them this year, but that doesn't make much of a picture either.

Happy New Year to all, and may the coming year bring fun and fellowship and some really good luck!