Preparing for battle

I am eagerly anticipating the yarn shops in Austin... They won't know what hit them. Wait, darn, we're on a strict budget. But I would really like to celebrate my trip by finally getting those rainbow Lantern Moon needles. Can I do dishes? Wind yarn?

I finished correcting the purple newsboy hat last night but neglected to take a picture of how pretty the top turned out. That's on my List-of-Things-to-do-Before-Leaving, along with making sure we don't leave any trash in the trash can or dirty dishes in the dishwasher. No stinky-winkies when coming home. (where is this language coming from? Is it owning a dog? Too much British tv?)

I enjoyed fixing the hat. Gave me a sense of accomplishment and a good shake and spread (think sheets or a blanket) on making the chaotic bed of life. The puppy is even settling in our routine and I have to remind myself she is a smart dog and is not looking for sneaky opportunities to wee on the floor. She's doing really well and the kids are great with her.

But back to the hat. Call me insane, but I love the finishing part of projects. I know I've probably said this before but I'll say it again: watching the knitted mass come together and get all it's ends tucked in is a lovely sight. Makes me feel like I actually am SuperWoman and can create anything with just a wave of the knitting needle. (That reminds me, the puppy is so small and will be so small full-grown, Mom mentioned needing to get it a sweater so it wouldn't get cold in the winter. I laughed and said I could just knit one. That got my mind thinking: me knit for a dog? Are clothes really even good for dogs? She so little it wouldn't take all that long anyway... if you had told me 3 months ago I would be thinking about knitting for a dog I would have told you you were on a fast road to CrazyTown.)

Ok, maybe I'll finish about the hat now. I got it finished, checked everything, and then compared it to the chenille mass that has been sitting all by it's lonesome for a month or so. Ok, so the issue is the chenille has LOTS of give to it (is that what they mean by negative ease?) and I need to thicken it up/give it some structure/help it stay the gauge it needs to be. Solution: knit 2 strands at a time. Ok, that'll be note #1. Now for the actual stitch part. The thing is the picture I am trying to copy knitting is crochet and the crochet stitch used is the double-half stitch which has a nice little pattern to it but I'm at a loss on what to do knitting to get a similar look. Have I gone through my knitting books, no. Should I? Probably, but that would be too easy, wouldn't it. :) I'm thinking of this as not me being lazy but a test of my mental recall on what my knitting looks like and the different stitches. I'm considering seed stitch. The hat has a helmet look to it and I think that would be nice. I did purling on the right side for Helmet: Take 2 (as in the second time I tried it; Helmet: Take 1 was the attempt at the crochet pattern and looked like a dog bed) and that didn't look right. The only thing is seed stitch isn't tight fitting and I might lose some structure. I am knitting 2 strands together though... it might work. We'll see. I have my knitting bag to take mostly ready and I'm starting my little piles of things to take. I have to remind myself we are only going for a weekend, though, no need for half the wardrobe and "just in case" knitting extra projects.