The Sweet Smell of Success (without Tony Curtis, alas)

Ahh, look at that! Isn't it beautiful? It's soft and fuzzy too. I can't wait to give the hats to the Lovely Aide. I'm going to see if she's there today...

I have the pattern in rough draft (and a goofy picture of me wearing the hat, taken by me in the mirror; thank goodness I took a shower today) and I'm going to work on getting it typed up so I can post it. Hopefully that will be soon.

Conquest!

The hat, so far. Sorry no one is wearing it; the only available model is eating crackers at the moment and I didn't want to disturb him. Or clean him up for that matter...

The pointy part at the top of the hat wasn't working out without giving the wearer a gnome-y, elvish "Lord of the Rings" medieval look so it's just a normal decrease that fits the head. The ear flaps took a little work but they turned out really cute, also. I LOVE THE SEED STITCH!!! This would definitely be a hat to wear in cold weather; the ear flaps are cozy and warm. The chenille has turned out better than I thought as a hat material. I don't think I'll be turning out blankets knitted from it any time soon but the fear and loathing I was brewing for those months has dissipated. And this is all my own pattern so I can post it once I have it fully finished! I still have the furry part in the front and crocheted furry trim to do but I should have it done in no time at all.

A Monkey Named Larry

(They Might Be Giants puts out excellent kid's music, by the way, hence the blog title)

Just a quick post because I really should be working. Yes, I should. And I'm not. But I promise I will soon. Once I piddle around some more...

Above is the other surprise project that I had going. LMSS knows about it now so I can finally show it! It is totally punting me out of my comfort zone because (1) I'm having to switch colors between the cables and the lace and (2) do cables. Thank heavens it's a simple cable: K8B, which means put 4 sts on a cable needle (or double point needle, which I prefer) put it to the back of where you are working, knit the next 4 sts, and then knit the 4 stitches off the double point. The top picture shows how the pattern is developing and the bottom picture shows my minor freak-out with wondering how I was going to manage all the strings. I'm doing the tip I read somewhere from Stephanie Pearl-McPhee about instead of carrying the yarn on bobbins or leaving it connected to the skein you cut it in yard lengths at a time so when things get tangled you just pull it free. Nothing to snag. More ends to weave in but to me it's a fair trade-off. I cut my yarn in around 2 yard strands and it's working fine so far, only it looks like I'm knitting with a Muppet wig.

I am actually knitting the chenille hat AND NOT HATING IT!!! I'm glad I gave myself this weekend to not stress over it (and I have 2 cute little dishcloths, too!) and it is my goal to finish this week. The seed stitch looks great and my only complaint is how the chenille bulks and grabs at everything. I'm using Addi Turbos so that eases it a little. I've worked 4" in seed stitch and am developing how to do the decrease. I'm supposed to have the top a little pointy-er than normal so we'll see how this goes. After that is the ear flaps, then the white furry bit on the front. Wish me luck! I'll get pictures up soon!

#2 Revealed: Elizabeth Zimmermann's SBJ (Surprise Baby Jacket)

And here it is: the Surprise Knitting Project #2 that is for LMSS's incubating darling (2 months to go!) who wouldn't roll around for me but did kick her mommy's innards several times during our visit. I can finally post these pictures (up till now Snakewoman was the only one in the know through email) because LMSS received the sweater last weekend. It was one of the many reasons for seeing her, along with bringing her our old baby furniture and little girl clothing. I also brought the Class Wrap knitted by Mom that was also for LMSS. This is knitted in the same yarn that Mom's Class Wrap was knitted in, only the Class Wrap was mainly in the ecru yarn with the purple accenting.

I regret not having a picture of what it looks like while being knitted; Stephanie Pearl-McPhee was right in it looking like a flat sting-ray. It's just this misshapen lumpy mass that won't lie flat and even when you try to fold it into place you are half not-believing that it's done right. It was very interesting to knit because of the way Elizabeth Zimmermann wrote the pattern and how, as you knit, it doesn't look like anything remotely resembling a sweater or even parts of a sweater. I found some very helpful sites by googling "Elizabeth Zimmermann's Surprise Baby Jacket", along with one lady who has the whole thing written out row by row what to do. Elizabeth Zimmermann really makes you look at your knitting and think about what you are doing. By doing this I am in even deeper awe of EZ and what she knew about knitting.

Austin City Limits

The views this weekend...

We had a great time. LMSS is doing great and we had a wonderful time playing in her backyard, which is actually what we did most of the time. It was so nice just to visit. (By the way, if you're my friend on Facebook or Myspace, I have more pictures up there.)

The drive wasn't too bad. Actually, it wasn't bad at all because we took Hwy 79 all the way there and there were lots of little towns to keep you interested. Hubby drove there and I drove back and everyone else slept. We met LMSS's students, learned what travelling with a new puppy was like (not recommended but could be worse), and I did NOT work on the chenille hat. At all. I did knit a nice little dishcloth and half of another. I also went to Hill Country Weavers and DID NOT BUY ANYTHING!!!!!

I think I need to check my temperature...

Here's a little sweetness added to your day!

I'm sure you've been wondering what the puppy looked like. Here she is. She's not even 3 lbs. and can fit in Hunky Hubby's shoe easily.

Just wanted to add this for fun!

For your consideration

And here it is! This is the finished cabled newsboy cap, knitted more rasta style with 8 of the regular cables before starting to decrease. Little Guy's Tupperware puzzle ball (the thing you stick the shapes in the holes they belong to) served as the model (you can't see it but it's there; the closest thing to a human head I could get to sit still for more than 5 seconds) and I love the way it turned out. I had to get a picture of the star made at the top. The color variations in the yarn gives it such a neat look. And it looks great on the person it's for.











Here is the helmet picture and the yarn that will eventually be that. One day. Wish me luck!