battle

There are approximately 5032 things on my to-do list at home but, in all honesty, I'm battling a pretty serious bout of depression right now. So instead, I drove up the mountain, rented a room at a B&B and sat on the deck feeding peanuts to bluejays all day.

Sometimes loud, greedy birds are just what the doctor ordered.

Yarn Along

Ginny at Small Things hosts a "yarn along" every week. She shares a photo of her current knitting/crocheting project with the book she is currently reading.

I'm in the midst of a massive project and a really busy time at work. This quick post idea seems like the perfect way to share the happier, more peaceful moments I manage to grab! :)

I'm using remnants from Jack's hexi-blankie to make these little elephants, which will become a mobile for over his crib. I'm so late finishing but I plan to give it to him & his mommies this weekend. Meanwhile, I'm just starting the 3rd of the Mysterious Benedict Society books. I love this series. It's written for a 4th-6th grade level, I'd guess, but it's really interesting. I'm so happy Prisoner's Dilemma is finally in paperback!

Be sure to check out this week's Yarn Along post to see what others are working on/reading & share your own!

On another note- Please pray for my little friend Abby (2 yr old daughter of one of my NET brothers). She's having a surgery on her bladder/uterus on Wednesday. Thanks!!

Riverside Yarn Adventures

I had an unexpected day off  a couple weeks ago so I made use of it by meeting my then-VERY-pregnant friend for coffee in an town about halfway between the two of us. (She just gave birth this weekend! I've made a few things for the baby and I'm really excited to see him use them!)

On the way home I made use of the tons of free time & the fact that I was passing through downtown Riverside gave me an excuse to go hunt down a few yarn shops I'd heard of.

My first stop was a bit of an adventure. I didn't quite remember what street Designer Handknits was on, which turned out not to matter since they'd moved since I'd last looked them up! I did eventually find them and boy was I glad I did. It's a pretty big store- taking up what would be two store fronts in a small strip mall- with one side jam-packed with yarn & the other carrying a hearty selection of books surrounding a few large tables. There were several people sitting, chatting & knitting. The woman working (the owner maybe?) was SUPER friendly and made me feel like a regular customer right away. I have made a commitment not to stash any new yarn for the rest of the year, but I felt almost guilty leaving without making a purchase. They have TWO evening (Tuesdays & Thursdays) when they are open in the evening. I can totally see this becoming MY store.

Designer Handknits carries a Noro and Misti Alpaca- two of my personal favorites. They also had a lot of Araucania, which I almost never see offline. Strangely, I didn't see ANY Malabrigo, which seems to be an LYS staple. They also had a ton of yarns I'd never even heard of!

My next stop was Knitting With Sandra. This shop was a good size, again with a few large tables in the middle where there were several ladies knitting & eating. The owner was there, along with at least one other employee. There seemed to be a third worker on her lunch break. Seemed like a LOT of people working for a small shop, but everyone was friendly & helpful. There isn't a lot of selection at Sandra's. If my stash had fewer brands but the same number of skeins I think I'd fill the shop more solidly. I did end up buying the Wonderful Wallaby booklet and a large skein of cotton yarn (forgot the name) to make a baby Wallaby.

Sandra's carries Berocco & Lamb's Pride, among others. The employee let me know they would order any other colors I might need. They are open late on Wednesdays.

So if you're ever in Riverside, CA stop by one of these little shops and browse. In fact, go to both. They are no more than 2 miles from each other & have very different vibes but are both lovely.

Slouchy Hat

I never wear hats. Ever. I have a huge head, for one, so it's hard to find a hat that will A) fit & B) not look comically tiny once on. But the other day I went to the store and my hair looks like a rats nest and I wished I had one of those oh-so-in-style-right-now slouchy hats that I could hide my hair under. Wouldn't you know it? Some girl with curly hair walked by and had one on and she looked awesome. Sigh. Major hat envy.

So last night I decided to make one. The boys brought me some bulky wool yarn from their trip to Iceland. It was a really thoughtful gift but... um... it's BULKY. And it's got little flecks of different colors in it. And it's NOT merino so my slight wool allergy goes crazy feeling it scratch me. So no making anything that's going to touch my skin. Oh... but it'll make a good hat!

So while watching reruns of friends I made a Gumdrop Slouchy Hat. It's a SERIOUSLY easy pattern by Julie from Gleeful Things (cute blog. check it out.). I decided to go with a crochet pattern because I wanted to be able to finish quickly (in case I hated the way it looked) and have more control over the size. I still have a fear of adjusting knitting patterns. That wound up being good because I did make a few small mods to fit my monster head better.

Here's me:

Here's the hat from the back:

Eagle eyes will be able to spot the "seam" pointing about 1o'clock on my head. I don't think it's THAT noticable, but I might make sure to have it run down the bottom in the future. 

Over all I'm really pleased. I think it's a style I can pull off. I might be trying a few fancier designs soon.

Oh, and of course it's been Rav'd.