Just a short post because work is really busy, classes started yesterday and the first week is the worst.

I cast on for the Sockapalooza socks on Monday but I haven't worked on them at all. The person I am making them for has a fondness for blacks, blues and purples. This worked out for me because I had a purple and black varigated sock yarn that I had bought to make the Broad Street mittens in Knitty for a Christmas gift. Since I decided to not really make any gifts it has just been sitting in my stash.

I finished the reverse bloom washcloth. I screwed up a few rounds in the middle and my gauge was definitely way too tight. I kept breaking the stitches, cotton chenille has absolutely no forgiveness in it. I like the pattern overall though and I will make another soon to try to get it right.

I signed up for a Drop Spindle Workshop at Downtown Yarns with just a little enabling from Susie. Let's see how I take to spinning.


I've decided to make a hat for me from the yarn that I won in Chris' contest. I have been inspired by the freezing cold of the past few days and how warm my husband and sons look in their hats. I am having trouble finding a pattern. Certainly I can do a basic hat without much thought, but I wanted something that will show off this lovely yarn. I was thinking cables but the only pattern I found was a bit more complex than I was looking for right now. So any ideas on a nice hat for me? Do you have any favorite patterns that you think will work?


Remember the contest runs through Friday you can still send in an entry. Read the post below for details.

Finally Friday

It has been a very long week and it's not over yet. I still have to come in to work tomorrow, but I am dragging Avery with me and we will duck out early to go catch Racing Stripes. I suppose I should ask for some sympathy but I had a thing for zebras when I was a kid so I'm secretly looking forward to it myself. January is always difficult for him. He has the whole family home for a week and a half during the holidays and then it's back to school and Rinaldo and I are both working more than usual. I thought a special outing this year might help.

I decided when in doubt go back to basics, so I am knitting a washcloth. I may give it to my father in law to bring home to his wife if I finish it before he leaves on Saturday. I'm not crazy about her but I know it is difficult for her when he is away so what the hell I can be generous. I am doing the reverse bloom washcloth that was so popular a few months back. It's kind of fun and definitely easy.

So on to the contest. Over the holidays I ended up getting a second Charlotte's Web kit, exactly the same as the one I have so I have decided to give it away. Remember even if you don't want to do Charlotte it is 5 lovely skeins of Koigu KPPPM. See:



Here' s the deal- Send me an answer to the following question (it doesn't have to be the right answer I'm doing a random drawing). Next weekend I will have my son draw a name from a hat (or bowl or some other roundish thing) and I will announce the winner that Monday. Tisha informed me that the question should be something about the Bronx so here it is:

I live on Mosholu Parkway that means I live near what subway line?

A- The number 4.
B- The D
C- Both of the above
D- How should I know I've never set foot in the city!

Send your answer to bronxgirlknits at gmail dot com.
And yes this is really just a shameless way of finding out who those 70 people are who visit my blog everyday. I only know about 6 of you!

Good luck and have a great weekend...

Charlotte has kicked my ass. Ok, there I've said it. I have knit and ripped it out so many times this week I have lost count. I am constantly forgetting yarnovers. Maybe I'm not ready for lace knitting or maybe it's the wrong time of year for it (we are 1 week away from classes starting so work is at it's most intense). I took it with me to my knitting group last night and I finally got to row 17. I was very happy. Then I counted my stitches, the requisite 19 on one side and 18 on the other. I tinked back and still couldn't find what went wrong. Then a large hole mysteriously appeared. I ripped it out and started again. I was at row 11, the beginning of the lace pattern when I got home. I sat down to work on it and I couldn't make it work at all. Mind you I've never had problems with that row before. I ripped it out in disgust and went to bed.

I think I will put Charlotte aside for now. Today I won't bring any knitting with me to work. I am frustrated with Bob because I ran out of yarn in the middle of his overall bib. The kit didn't include full balls of yarn. They measured out what they thought it would take and in this case the blue wasn't enough. That means I have to find a blue to match. I am so not happy.

On a happier note. I've decided that having won a contest, I am going to run a contest. Check back Friday for details.

It's been a weekend of frogging. I ripped out Clapotis, until I find out if I will be able to get more of my yarn. I decided to cast on for Charlotte's Web. I knit until row 15, then the math stopped working so I ripped it out. So far I have only re-knit 4 rows, but we are watching the DVD of Arrested Development now so I might get back up to 15. I actually was watching Igby Goes Down earlier when I first started it and I think it demanded too much of my attention. It was really good, dark but funny.

Bob is going well. I got his legs and his body done, but the yarn is a bit hard to work with. It's a heavy duty acrylic so my hands get tired easily. I figure Charlotte is the perfect counterpoint to him.

The weekend went well. I had to work Saturday but I had today off and I had the joy of watching my father in law going around fixing things in my apartment. He re-did the sink in my second bathroom, yes, I live in an apartment in the Bronx and I have a second bathroom. It's really too small to use for it's intended purpose so we use it as kind of a garage of sorts. I also attach the washing machine to the sink in it. He also fixed some electrical sockets and my shower head, I had no idea he was this handy!

So far no word on whether Tashie will be here this week or not. I was really happy she was back last week. I've really gotten use to having her around and I miss her now that she's not here. We'll see what the week brings.

I have my knitting group this Tuesday at Barnes and Noble on 86th and Second. If you're in the neighborhood come on down. We meet at 7. I'm really looking forward to it. I missed the last one and then we skipped a month because of Christmas.

I just found out the best news., I actually won a contest! Chris was having a drawing for a this book and this yarn. She just e-mailed me that I won. I'm very happy. I so rarely win stuff that I really get a kick out of it when I do. By the way it's her birthday so go leave a comment for her with birthday wishes. She's really cool people.

Good luck with Monday everyone!

Man it's been a crazy week.

My mother in law was extremely dizzy on Wednesday and also felt awful so she decided to go to the emergency room. This threw us into a bit of an uproar because she is the person who takes care of my kids after school. So Rinaldo left work early that day. They couldn't find anything wrong with her, but they kept her, still in the ER. On Thursday a different doctor saw her (the third I think) and said that she may have had a small stroke. .. what!?! Yesterday afternoon they did an MRI and finally got her a bed by last night. We've been going nuts, my husband is worried of course, but we also have to deal with getting the kids and it's Rush at work (Ray works for the University also). Then Ian's school sent home a notice last night saying that there was no school today because of District Mandated Staff Development. How do they do that? People can't necessarily take off work on such short notice. I don't blame the school, I'm sure it was the District office's fault but damn. Rinaldo and I had to split shift the day again. The good news is he just called to say they are releasing his mother today so the MRI must have been ok.

On Wednesday Tashie called to say she had to come over. Her mom had decided that after the holidays she should start communting from home to get to school instead of staying with us. Wednsday afternoon on the way to pick up Tashie (she picks her up on her way home from work) her car died. Really died. So Tashie stayed with us Wednesday and Thursday.

Then I hadn't mentioned that my father in law was coming for a visit. He arrived yesterday afternoon (and don't think we haven't all thought about his visit's effect on my mother in law's health, they do have a bit of a tempestuous relationship, it can be somewhat entertaining if you're in the right mood). He is quite a character so that also makes everything run at a slightly higher pitch.

Oh yeah and my friend's father died last week, so I had to go to his memorial last night.

I gotta tell you I'm beat...

Meanwhile down at Brooks Farm in Texas, they have dug out all the Four Play they have left and are anxiously awaiting the sample I am sending of my yarn to see if they have a match. Randall Brooks is my new best friend. They are amazingly kind people.

That means that Clapotis is on hold. The IPOD cozy is done. I started Bob the Builder yesterday. He's kind of a fun thing to knit so I may not have to work on him sporadically. I'll at least keep going until I feel I'm losing interest. I have his legs done and I am up to his body.

I wish I could look forward to getting rest this weekend but I have to work tomorrow. No rest for the weary.

Have a great weekend...

The Agony and the Ecstasy

Ok, I am going to do this backwards. First I give you the ecstasy, the beginning of Clapotis:



and a close up of my luscious Four Play yarn from Brooks Farm:



After some intial brain freeze with decyphering the pattern (I can't really explain why but PFB had me hung up for at least 30 minutes), I am in love with this pattern.Really, and truly. It's fun and easy but challenging enough to hold your attention. It is also kind of exciting to anticipate the dropping of the stitches. Frankly I was enjoying knitting this far too much today. Ian was home sick with a nasty cough, so I was able to work on it quite a bit, since I stayed with him for the morning (Ray came home to stay with him in the afternoon so I could get a few hours in at work too).

So where's the agony you ask? What the hell was I thinking when I decided to use this yarn for the scarf. I mean it's a 50/50 blend of wool and silk like the yarn it was designed for and the gauge is just about perfect, but I should really have checked how much I would need for it. Three skeins...three people. How much do I have? One, that's right just one. To top it off I got this yarn at Rhinebeck and although Brooks Farms now has a website, this is not listed on it. I could have cried. I did e-mail them though to see if maybe they have it and just don't list it online. Cross your fingers for me.

In the meantime I gave in and bought a new set of #2 dpns and got back to work on the IPOD sock. It's keeping my mind of the Clapotis debacle.

You may notice some changes around the old blog. I've been wanting to change the look of the place for awhile but I decided it would be cool to wait for the new year. So here it is. What do you think?

I have been thinking about new year's resolutions and realized I don't really have any. I mean there are the usual, lose some weight, get to the gym more regularly. Maybe get back to meditating. But honestly I decide to do those things every few months. I don't know that the fact that it is a new year is going to make any of them stick any better.

New Year's eve was spent at home as usual. I have never liked to go out for this particular holiday. I frankly have never really been excited by it as a rule and hell this year I didn't even have Dick Clark to help me count down, there really was something anticlimactic about the whole thing.

I haven't started anything new and exciting, yet. Ray really wanted a sock cozy for his IPOD so I am working on that. Although I just bent one of my #2 dpns. It was really weird, I was getting up to go to the kitchen, I put the loose needle in the ball of yarn and set it down on the couch. I turned around to get something and when I turned back and took a step, I landed right on the needle. I am just thankful that it ended up impaled in the rug and not in my foot! It feels a little odd to work with though and so far I haven't been able to bend it back.

I want to start Clapotis tonight as part of my plan to knit more for myself, but I'd like to finish the cozy first. I have also decided to work on the Bob the Builder doll kit that I bought to make for Ian. I will make it a piece at a time in between other projects. This way it will keep me interested.


Please excuse the odd post put in earlier by Haloscan. When I switched my template I had the comments install automatically and it created the post. Kinda freaky if you ask me...

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Well I'm a few minutes late with my post, but it was done by 11:53 (as long as you don't count the buttons!).




Happy New Year!!!

So the time has come to retire the Devan Along. It was really cool hosting it and I "met" some very cool women because of it. Of course mine is not yet done, but fear not, I think I may still be finished by midnight. If any of you are online around 12:01 AM (EST) come see if I made it in time.

Since my completed Devan's page hasn't worked well in a quite awhile, I thought I would showcase all the finished Devans here:

Carrie's



Stephannie's



Chris'



Brynne's



Roxy's



Katy's



Thanks for participating and check back at midnight. I will post a pictured if I have finished.

I had a very busy holiday weekend, unfortunately that means that I got very little knitting done.

On Christmas Eve my husband and I drove out to Ikea and bought a few things. That night I put this together:



My new bed!

On Christmas day I sent Rinaldo and the boys to his family's dinner, without me. I stayed home and put these together:



I also re-did the boys' room now that I have the bookshelves so that kept me quite busy. I was really very depressed and more than a bit weepy. The first holiday season without my mother was hard. So I decided back breaking labor was the way to improve my mood. I have to say it worked quite well. It has also led to this whole "let's fix up the apartment mood" for me and Ray.

Yesterday instead of hanging out in the city with Katy and Jody, I was stuck in Home Depot buying more things to spruce up the house. I don't recall ever having such a compulsion to fix things up but I suppose it's another way of putting this year behind me.

I received some nice things for Christmas but I won't bore you with a list. I will say that Maribel got me Knit Wit, which I had been dying for and my favorite gift was a set of speakers for my IPOD. They're so cute the IPOD just docks right in the middle of them.

I will be retiring the Devan Along on Friday, let's see if I can finish mine by then!

Wednesday is Gift Day

The number one search that leads people to my blog is "ipod cozy". Now I have made two felted cozies that were frankly pretty sucky. I have always felt bad for those web surfers who when probably looking for a pattern, end up only finding a picture of my poor efforts.

The problem is that much like small dogs and children, IPODS must be kept warm in the cold weather. I don't really understand why this is but the batteries drain faster in the cold and the response is slower when you are using it. So I have continued to harbor a desire to make something to keep my friend warm.

This year Apple introduced IPOD Socks. For $29 you can buy 6 socks that are one size fits all for the IPOD. I looked at them in my husband's store and said, "hey, I can make a cooler sock than that". So here they are, my IPOD sock cozies:

first the mini



I don't actually own a mini so I used the store display at Ray's store. The wonderful and charming Ulysses is standing in as my hand model. While I have always loved Uli for his wicked humor, charm and good looks, I had no idea he had so much talent hidden away.


and the full model

(and yes that is my own Special Edition U2 IPOD, I'm a sucker for anything in black)



and the pattern:


IPOD Sock Cozy

Size 2 DPNS
Scrap sock yarn
Gauge 10st = 1"

Cast on 42 stitches (54 for the full size)

Knit in a 2x4 rib (K2, P4)
Continue until tube measures 4"(mini), 4.25 for full size.

Use the three needle bind off.
Turn inside out.

It's really basic and it's completely planned with simplicity in mind. It works up really fast and the best thing is that uses those small balls of yarn that get leftover when you make socks.

It's nothing anyone couldn't come up with, I simply did the math for you!


Ian performed in his first school show yesterday. So I will leave you with a completely gratuitous shot of my baby in a Santa hat:



Merry Christmas!

I had a fairly low key weekend. Ray worked on Saturday, so the boys and I just hung out at home. Thankfully just as cabin fever was about to set in he called from work and asked if we wanted to meet him and go to Unos for dinner. We did the online curbside pick up which was pretty cool. The boys and I were very happy to get out of the house.

On Sunday we went to the mall to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Unfortunately Ian was not really in the mood to hit the shops. He really just wanted to run around. I remember when Avery was 3 he was the same way. I think he was 5 before we took him back to the mall.

Avery and I also had to hit the library for the report he is working on about Colonial America. Unfortunately the library in my neighborhood is closed on weekends due to budget cuts. So we went down to the main Bronx library which is open on Sundays. We found 3 books for him to use so it was a successful trip. If anybody has any info on tools used during Colonial times, please share!


I realize I forgot to mention the 2 things I learned when I made Avery's ear flap cap.

#1 - I learned the cable cast on. Now it really isn't that different than the knit cast on which I already knew, but it's always nice to add to the repetoire.

#2 - I actually did a single crochet edging around the hat to keep the stockinette from curling. This is fairly amazing for me. I've always had problems doing more that a crocheted chain, but I have been secretly trying to learn. I've been using my Family Circle Knitting magazines. I succeeded a few weeks back in doing a swatch in single crochet. That inspired me to try it with the hat. It looked really good. It gave it a nice finishing touch. Even my husband commented on it.

I set aside the scarf this weekend so I could work on a secret project. I had hoped to share it today, but it's not quite ready yet. I am now planning for Wednesday.

See you then...

I had an excellent evening of knitting last night. I had bought The Misfits DVD a few weeks ago for $5.99 and last night I finally got to watch it. I really love that movie. Of course I have a huge thing for Montgomery Clift, even in his later years.

I was able to finish Tashie's hat. She was very happy:



I also started yet another Multidirectional Scarf:



This one is for my mother's doctor. She was so supportive and wonderful during my mother's illness. She was also always admiring my knitting. So I thought she would appreciate a knitted gift.

I was finally able to pin Ian down to take a picture with his hat. He's always willing to take a picture, he is not always willing to wear his hat!



It really is looser than I planned, but with all his hair it actually works. He even likes to wear it when he's outside.


This was on one of the Knitting lists this morning. It's amazing what people can do when they have time on their hands, they can even crochet chaos. What do you say Bron are you up to the challenge?

And finally yet another quiz, this one courtesy of Stephannie:



You're a punk rock mommy! DIY is probably your
motto, because you're a punk mama at heart.
Your kids are getting your independent spirit
and guts, and learning to solve problems
themselves. You love it when they show their
independence, even when it's breaking your
heart.


What kind of a freaky mother are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Yup that's me...



Have a great weekend!

Let's Do the time Warp Again

I had a very strong sense of deja vu on Monday. Maribel and I were on the phone discussing concert tickets. We are going to see Motley Crue in March and Duran Duran in April. Can somebody remind me of what year it is?

My husband is threatening to leave a comment on my post from Monday telling the world that I am lying about his sweater being finished. It's a minor quibble. The sewing is done so I consider it an FO. The ends however are not yet weaved in so he can't wear it yet. He is not happy about this. I had planned on weaving them all in last night but I would have had to have stayed awake past 9 PM to do that. That did not happen.

Tashie is also very upset with me because her hat is not yet done. We are having quite the cold spell and she keeps complaining that her head is very cold. Do you see the pressure they put me through!

I realized that I forgot to do my show and tell of what I got in the mail last week:



Yes, at long last it's my Charlotte's Web. I ordered a kit from Ram Wools. Here are the colors close up:



I'm very excited.

Finally I finished something big. The striped sweater is complete:



Forgive my poor husband looking exhausted, it was 11:30 on a Sunday night and we had a very busy weekend. I am happy to say he loves his sweater.

Here are the promised pictures of the ear flap hat:



and from the side:



Avery was also very happy with his hat as you can see. He decided not to have the braided strings hanging down from the sides. I think the hat is a little too long but he likes it and it keeps him warm. I'm beginning to suspect that I will never really be happy with any of my finished products. I always seem to be pointing out the flaws that I find with them.

Tashie's hat has been ripped out a few times. Various things have gone wrong. The gauge was off, one of my children tossed it off the couch and ended up causing stitches to drop. You get the picture.

Look at me posting at midnight, I'm insane. Time to go to bed. I have to go to work tomorrow and leave early to take Avery to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Happy Monday!

I have been informed by my favorite 17 year old, my cousin Natasha, that I must amend number 10 on my list of 100 things. It should read "I am glad I don't have a daughter, except Natasha". As you may have guessed if you read the comment that she left last night, Tashie has no self esteem issues whatsoever.

In many ways she is right though. One of the reasons I enjoy the relationship Tashie and I have is because she is my ideal daughter and yet not my daughter at all. This allows for much more openess in our relationship. I like to believe that she feels she can tell me anything without fear of reprisals. It's always been that way between us and I think parents and children can really only get to this point when the child is grown and even then I suspect even in the best of relationships there are always things you can't tell your mom!

Having said that, I will say that if I did have a daughter I would want her to be just like Tashie. Who is growing into an amazing woman in her own right.

I was surprised at how easy it was to do the 100 list and also at how much more I had to say. Guess I love to talk about myself, big surprise there, I also don't have too many issues in the self-esteem department! I have decided to blame the lack of comments not to a lack of love from my readers but to the fact that the Harlot posted her 100 the day before. Obviously my thunder was simply stolen from me.

I finished the ear flap hat but forgot to upload the pictures. I've started a hat ordered by Tashie to her specifications so I hope to finish that this weekend. I am also plowing along on finishing the striped sweater for DH. I actually finished the collar last night.

I will also be attempting to control myself from buying this (the first kit on the list). Please remind me that I live in an apartment. I have plenty of yarn. I barely have time to knit, why oh why should I learn to spin. If one believes marijuana is a gateway drug, this is surely a gateway tool. Leading up to a spinning wheel, which I swore I would never get until we own a house where I have room for it. Stop me please!

I also got a package in the mail this week, but I'll tell you all about that on Monday.

Have a great weekend!

I don't typically follow the crowd but...

100 Things about Me

1- I was born and raised in the Bronx.
2- When I was a kid I was dying to leave, now I never want to.
3- I was the only white kid in school throughout most of my elementary years.
4- I never had a problem with that.
5- It gives me a unique perspective on the world.
6- Both of my parents were completely blind.
7- I didn't live with them until I was 4 years old.
8- I lived with my grandparents, until my grandfather died.
9- I have a wonderful husband and 2 beautiful sons.
10-I am glad that I don't have a daughter.
11-Mothers and daughters in my family always have tumultuous relationships.
12-I love my husband very much.
13- Marriage is hard work.
14- Not as hard as I expected it to be.
15- I suspect it is harder for him.
16- Because he's married to me.
17-I can have very severe mood swings.
18- They've gotten much better since I've gotten older.
19- I have a very angry, violent streak.
20- I'm ok with that.
21- I've learned to work with it.
22- I think it makes me stronger.
23-I've know my best friend for 24 years.
24- Our sixth grade teacher sat us next to each other.
25- I don't know how I would have survived without her.
26- I used to think I preferred being friends with men.
27- I realize now I just knew the wrong women.
28- All my closest friends are amazing women.
29- I tend to make and keep one close friend from every phase of my life.
30- I was considered gifted as a child.
31- I was also considered an underachiever.
32- I attended Stuyvesant High School, one of the top schools in NYC.
33- I dropped out in 10th grade.
34- I am a walking contradiction.
35- I love that about myself.
36- I have Eminem on my IPOD.
37- I also have Rosemary Clooney, New Edition and Motley Crue.
38- See what I mean about contradictions.
39- I got my first job because I was offended that my boyfriend's sister worked in a bookstore.
40- I felt she wasn't worthy.
41- I knew I was.
42- Once I got a job in her store I dropped him and kept her.
43- I was 17.
44- I've been a bookseller ever since.
45- I've worked at 2 Barnes & Nobles, an airport bookstore and NYU's Main Bookstore.
46- When I was at Barnes and Noble I aspired to be a book buyer.
47- Now at NYU, I am.
48- I got my GED at 20.
49- I started college at 22.
50- I have an AA in Early Childhood Education.
51- I'm supposed to be continuing my studies to become a school counselor.
52- So far I've been too lazy to go back.
53- My youngest son has a speech delay.
54- This bothers me more than I can say.
55- I think the disabled are marginalized by society.
56- My parents and their friends were.
57- I think that's why I have issues about my son's problem.
58- I realize I am probably seriously over-reacting about it.
59- Both my parents died of cancer.
60- At age 63.
61- I figure 62 is going to be really rough year.
62- I have been overweight for most of my life.
63- I'm ok with that.
64- I still feel like I'm the same size I was at 17.
65- Though I am far from it.
66- I think I've gained too much this year.
67- I don't feel healthy.
68- I'd like to see the other side of 200 again.
69- That's my goal for the new year.
70- I'd be happy to stay at 199.
71- My grandmother taught me to knit.
72- I didn't do much with it.
73- Four years ago I saw a book called The Knitting Goddess
74- I bought it as a way to get back in touch with my spiritual side.
75- I ended up with a knitting obsession.
76- It makes me feel creative in a way I never have before.
77- My spiritual side still gets short shrift.
78 - I considered myself a witch as a teenager.
79- And a pagan as a young adult.
80- Now I think God is a power that is impossible for the human mind to fully grasp.
81- So any face and mythos we choose is a way to bring us closer to that power.
82- Therefore no religion is wrong.
83- Or right.
84- I still prefer a female deity.
85- I raise my kids Catholic.
86- I want them to fit in.
87- Until they choose to be different.
88- I love to sing.
89- I'm pretty good at it.
90- I wanted to be a rock star.
91- But I had nothing new to say.
92- I now want to be a star in my profession.
93- I'm getting there.
94- I love Fantasy and Sci-Fi.
95- I also love fiction, history and biography.
96- I also love comic books.
98- My husband and I collect them.
99- My favorites are female superheroes.
100- I have an impressive collection of Wonder Woman comics and memorabilia.
101-I could have gone to 150.

We put up our tree last weekend but I didn't get to take a picture until last night.



You may notice that it is boxing in my knitting corner, I'm surviving though. Ian likes the fact that we had to put the end table behind the tree. It allows him to climb back there and get DVDs out whenever he wants (the DVD rack had previously been turned to the wall to prevent us watching never ending marathons of Elmo, Bob the Builder and Dora everyday).

I started this on Friday:



Of course you can't tell what it is, it's an ear flap hat.

I spent most of Friday and Saturday on the ear flaps themselves since they double as swatches. Avery you may remember picked himself out some Alpaca at Rhinebeck to make a hat out of. I suspected at the time it was too thin but he had his heart set on it. However once I started knitting it was obvious that it really was too thin. I showed him how thin the swatch was and proposed that I double strand it with some Paton's Classic that I had in my stash. He reluctantly agreed but once he saw them knitted together he was happy again. I have to admit they look quite good together:

(Sorry the closeup is a little blurry, but I was too tired to take it again.)
He had also requested the design of it and so far he's pretty pleased. I'm happy because it's going quickly. After this Tashi has requested a hat made to her specifications so I guess of the few gifts I do actually make this year they will almost all be hats!

I am doing the world's slowest job on the finishing of the striped sweater. I have the shoulders seamed and about 1/4 of the stitches picked up at the neckline. Unfortunately the Stepford Wives was very short and that's all I got done and I haven't picked it up since. The movie was funny by the way, but I like the original so much better. I may pick the sweater back up tonight unless we decide to watch Hero. Subtitles and seaming just don't go together very well...

I finally finished the hat for Ian. Unfortunately he is at school so Curious George has volunteered to model it for me:




and here is the side view:



I've made this pattern before but I had huge problems with it this time. I kept screwing up the short-row shaping at the top of the head, while I was on the train yesterday. In the end I had to rip back about 6 rows when I got home to re-do it. I also am not too crazy about it in this yarn. It feels too loose. I should have done it at a tighter gauge. The yarn I used before was a Merino spandex blend that came out beautifully. I'll try it on Ian when I get home. I'm sure it's going to be fine and looser may be better for him because he has a fairly large head and a lot of hair. I do love the look of it. The colors worked out just like I wanted them to.

I'm off to Avery's school this morning for the Middle School Fair. He's in fourth grade so I don't really have to worry until next year but with all the issues in NYC with the middle schools I figure the earlier I start preparing the better.