So many things to share today! Nope, I didn’t cast on for that green and purple shawl yet. The right stripe sequence hasn’t come to me so I’m pondering it. Instead, I took some time yesterday to drive out to Half Price Books. I realized I only have one Stephanie Pearl-McPhee book in my library (the rest I’ve read from the library) and I thought it might be fun to have a couple to take with me, to get signed. And what do you know? I found a lovely hardback copy of Free-Range Knitter that looks unread! (I also bought a DVD of Sweet Home Alabama and a signed copy of Room. Bookstores are dangerous.)
And then, since I was near a Joann store, I had to stop by at least, right? I mean, I don’t get over there that often, and I had two good coupons, so I had to go. Any good crafter would have done the same. But the amazing thing is: I didn’t buy any yarn!! None of it called my name. I’m afraid I’m becoming more of a yarn snob, in that I enjoy the softness of fiber and the richness of color in premium yarns. I still like acrylic for some projects, but it’s definitely a lot easier to resist. So what to use my coupons on? I looked at needles; there weren’t any I needed. Knitting books? Eh. I found myself in the beading section and remembered I’d wanted to try using split rings for stitch markers. I only found one kind that looked big enough to fit on a knitting needle so I grabbed those, a bag of headpins, and then the beads were all 50% off so I had to get a cute string of beads too. I had fun!
I think my favorites might be the baseballs with the blue for my Kansas City Royals! But no, I love them all. I did end up with a minor injury from using a letter opener to try to open a split ring, but we must suffer for our art, right?
Last night I needed knitting for American Idol, and I’m a little bored with my Hitchhiker, so I grabbed some gray Berroco Fiora to cast on for a scarf, called the Float Flutter Fly Scarf. Go on and look, it’s fine. Pretty, right? I discovered that ridge in the middle is created by slipping 5 stitches every other row, so this is what the back looks like. 
It’s just kind of…weird. The pattern does say to pull the stitches tight after the slipped stitches, and I’m trying, but maybe not enough? I don’t like the way the bottom slipped stitch hangs down. 
I put it down and ended up working on the Hitchhiker after all. Maybe frog and start over? I’m not that far in and now that I understand what the pattern is doing, maybe I could get that part snugger. I do like the feel of the yarn, and it is a lovely pattern…ok, fine. I won’t give up just yet.
Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend, and if anyone else is at the Knitting in the Heartland keynote tonight, find me and say hello!
And I know, at least I’ve submitted the books. And the fact that I got the requests, not to mention actual thoughtful notes from agents, should be encouraging. That’s what I’m trying to focus on today. I’d like to think I’m a better writer than I was ten years ago. So that’s the manuscript coming up next. I still love that story. I still think it has potential. Let’s see if I can get it to better than “good enough”.
There you have it. I have no choice. When the Yarn Harlot says you should go, you should go. So I will go and I will take my knitting and there will be lovely friendly knitters there AND those of us attending the keynote address get to shop from the vendors afterward! I will have plenty to blog about this weekend, that’s for sure.
It’s going to become a 
The pattern was written for DK, so I lowered the number of stitches to cast on with this worsted weight, but not enough. It’s a little looser than I would like, but it will do. It fits well enough on my noggin.
The girl and I went to watch Room with my mom yesterday, and I got this hat up to the decreases while watching. It was a good movie, grim but moving, definitely wonderful performances. I still liked the book better.
Maybe I knit more tightly than Jen, maybe my “super bulky” yarn wasn’t as bulky as hers, I don’t know. But I still love the hat, and I still want to make an adult version at some point. But for now, I’m going through the book to decide which pattern I want to try next! Until I decide, I cast on for another lacy cotton slouch hat, this time in a peachy pink. 
Yesterday was National Puppy Day but I didn’t have the time to blog, so Grace and Jack will send you belated happy puppy wishes! 
The yarn is Araucania Huasco, a lovely crispy Merino. It’ll be my first fingering weight Hitchhiker but it’s going quickly enough. Still, I got a bit tired of the skinny yarn and tiny needles and needed a bulky fix. So I started this. 
Simple beanie in super-bulky wool on size 15s. This was so super fast to knit…but the sad part is that I got to the decreases and realized I have no size 15 DPNs and couldn’t finish. Joann doesn’t carry them in the store, but thankfully we’re testing Amazon Prime so I’ve got a set ordered that should arrive tomorrow. But just that hat wasn’t a long enough break from the Hitchhiker, so I *finally* cast on for my 
Um, this yarn is AMAZING. It’s a bulky blend of 70% alpaca, 30% bamboo, and it’s a chainette yarn so it’s incredibly light and fluffy. I don’t even care that it’s spring and I’m knitting with alpaca. I might in a couple of weeks, but for now, this will be fantastic evening knitting.
I’m doing another 
I wasn’t sure about the skinny stripes, but my daughter said it was really pretty, so I stuck with it. I do really like how the stripes turned out at the crown. 
I had to improvise the decreases a couple of times, but it worked out just fine. I think it’s a fun, funky hat for a hip little kid!
But then…I kind of got bored with it. It is a really simple pattern, after all, mostly just stockinette. (This is why I think I will never be able to make a sweater.) So I had to set it aside and do something more interesting for a while, like cast on for a new 
This is what I got done during our viewing of Apollo 13, and there were several spots I had to stop knitting and just watch. It’s just such a good movie, you know? Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise are so good, and Ed Harris is a bit attractive, and it’s all suspenseful and funny and stuff. So yeah, it was a good Sunday. Jack agrees; he appreciated being able to rest after all the excitement of the birthday party. 
This morning I was resting on my couch with a cup of tea, appreciating the view of the magnolia tree in my front yard. We had one at the house where I grew up, so this is a lovely reminder, plus it’s just a gorgeous tree. 
I can see it from the window of my craft room too, where I sit at my desk. Just another reason why I love this house. Maybe it will inspire me today as I get back to work on query letters. I got my first rejection yesterday, a very kind form rejection, and it’s fine. I’m expecting plenty of those. I’ve got lots more agents to query, and I still haven’t searched through the new 
The party went well, though I did keep Jack on the leash for the first hour or so until he adjusted to having so many strangers around. He did keep my baby nephew happy: the baby laughed every time Jack barked, which was a lot. Once I let him off the leash, he did really well. He and Grace both followed me around, settling in wherever I did. 
My mom noticed and asked if they loved anyone else as much as they love me. Don’t tell my kids, but I don’t think so. They’re both my babies, even if I do have a favorite!
They also had a beautiful Herb green so I grabbed a couple of those. I mean, you have to get it when the price is this good, right? 
Now, I want you to look at the yarn below the green. It is the exact same yarn as the yarns on the right side of the green. Same color way and everything. COMPLETELY different. That’s the Maxima I was planning to use for the wrap, and having one skein so different would not work at all. I had to go back to the yarn store. Had to. No other option. Plus, the owner had mentioned they were having a yarn tasting, and that sounded fun.
I’ve also had the urge to make something with brown and teal, so when I saw these colors in the Fiora, they ended up in my arms too. 
It’s an interesting blend of fibers: 40% cotton, 30% viscose, 15% alpaca, 10% nylon and 5% wool, and it’s 246 yards of DK weight. The two together should make a lovely lightweight scarf; I just need to find the right pattern. But it’ll be after I do the Moonstone. That’s my next project, and I’ll be casting on this morning.
This was knit with size 6 needles, as the pattern recommends. But it was too loosey-goosey for me so I frogged that and started over with 5s, and I like it much better. I learned how to do picots and those are pretty darn nifty. But guys, there’s a trick in this pattern that I didn’t discover until I started knitting. When you start the first garter stitch stripe, you do the first three stitches in the other color and then pick up the stripe color. Well, that left a big stupid hole in my knitting! That irritated me so I frogged back (and frogging picots are interesting) to before the stripe. A bit of investigating showed another Raveler recommending the intarsia technique of twisting the yarns at that point. I’ve never done intarsia but I’ve carried yarns up the side of my knitting; is the twisting the same as that? I’ll do more investigating before going back to knitting this but I’d love any advice you have!
I used Malabrigo Rios (the recommended yarn) in color Teal Feather, and knit to 8.25″ before decreasing. I think it’s the perfect amount of slouch and I’ll definitely be knitting this pattern again.
These are lazy pics, sorry. The lighting inside wasn’t great and I didn’t want to go outside, but these still show the awesome pattern. This is the 
bonnyknits 