FRUSTRATION!

Why can't I just make one thing without making any mistakes?

I made so many mistakes on the purple and green hat that I got tired of fixing them and just kept going. I think I even yarned over (a mistake I usually do not make: dropped stitches, yes, yarn overs, no) at one point, so I decreased an extra time and then used the tail to sew up the hole. Well, the darn hat ended up too small for me, anyway. I am going to give it to charity, I suppose. Maybe it will fit a younger person better. I have enough yarn to try the hat again and I am going to add a few more rows before decreasing in order to make it long enough for my head. And hopefully I will have learned from my mistakes.

I suppose it is ok that I won't be wearing the hat. I just got my hair cut and my curls are back and need to be shown off! They were pulled all flat by the weight of my waist length hair. No, I was not growing my hair that long on purpose. It was a year of pure procrastination that caused my hair to be that long. I feel like I've lost a bunch of poundage from my poor head.

Must finish watching Hockey Night in Canada (love that Center Ice; I get to see Canadian commercials).

Dear USPS,

How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways!

1. Back in December you left my presents from Hawaii on my front stoop, which is six inches away from a well traveled path...I did not get home until after midnight, which means it was sitting there for many an hour. I still can't believe no one stole it.

2. Instead of putting my Jessicurl products in one of those big boxes you took it back to the post office where I had to wait in line for far too long while some idiot could not find someone else's package.

3. And here is the BIG ONE: You THREW my Knit Picks DPN's over the fence into my patio area! The patio area that I NEVER go to. The one I don't even see because I don't open that curtain. That package was probably there for a week, with me getting angrier and angrier that I had head nothing about it. If I had not had to clear off the patio for impending repairs I would never have found it!

I HATE THE POSTAL SERVICE!

And here are some pictures of the Japanese book and the hat I am making from it.

Happy Belated Birthday to ME!

So, I mentioned before that I got a Japanese knitting book. Well, I figured out a pattern! Here's how:

I printed out information from the ABC's of Knitting, a very helpful website. And I have figured out the pattern for the hat I was dieing to make! I have started knitting it in Classic Yarns Cashsoft 4 Ply (extra fine merino, microfibre, and cashmere). The main color is purple, with a moss green accent at the bottom. I'd post pictures but I left my camera at work, after the fourth grade field trip to Sacramento (with my students from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m...I hope I teach third grade next year so I won't have to do that again).

So, pictures will be forthcoming this week. I'd post the title of the book, but uh, well, it's in Japanese.

Knitting Impasse

Don't think "impasse" is the word I am looking for, but the right word is just not coming to me at the moment. I was working on my sock diligently until I lost a needle. I hate knitting socks with 4 needles so I decided the sock would be my excuse to try Knit Picks. They have not arrived yet. Oh, how I hate waiting for stuff! In the meantime I decided to make the Fetching wristwarmers for my friend, Sally. But I somehow managed to drop some of the cabled stitches off the needles, at the last Sharks game I went to. I did not notice until I had knit back around to them. Very frustrated with self. Now I don't feel like making cables and wish to make some other kind of warmer for Sal.

In other news, I got a late birthday present when I went to S.F. to visit another friend. This late present was two books. One half knitting, half crochet and the other all crochet (I think my friend must not know the difference...I am pretty sure she knows I don't crochet)...in Japanese! (I tried to use the ISBN to find a picture of the cover, but no luck and I have no idea what this book is called!) I have read that in Japan they use charts and there is an industry standard for symbols. So, if you can get a key you can knit Japanese patterns. There is a really cute hat that I want to make from the half and half book and I think I have figured out the chart. Now I just need the yarn. The only thing in the pattern that confuses me is the fact that at one point it uses two circulars. Not sure why that is necessary for a hat.

I wish to have some progress to report soon!

Update: Apparently the two circulars are so that you don't have to deal with double pointeds. I don't mind double pointeds and already have them in the size I need so I'll skip that part.

Knitting Intermissions

I knit during the intermissions of Sharks games. I think I have mentioned this before. Well, last night there was a lady sitting in front of me, also knitting! I was engrossed in my knitting and did not notice but my friends pointed it out. I then leaned over and admired how fast she purled (it was very very fast) and then my friends teased me that I was cheating. Ummm, how does one cheat at knitting, exactly? Anyway, I thought it was cool that there are other intermission knitters, was amazed at the coincidence of one sitting in front of me, and of course, was too timid to say, "Hey! I am knitting, too!"

I Had to Take This Quiz!

Which Lady of Ab Fab are you?

I am Patsy

You are desperate to hold on to your youthful face--at the expense of good taste. Blond hair swiped from a horse's behind piled on top of your head, a permanent pout plastered on your mouth, makeup spackled on that would make the most embalmed corpses scramble for oxygen. At least you never allowed pregnancy to ruin your figure and turn into a walking, talking potato like your best friend, Eddy. With your trim bod and glamour-girl élan, you can still pull well-muscled man-tail with the best of them.


Hmmm...I 'm surprised I did not come out as more of a Bubble or Eddy?

An Excuse to Try Knit Picks

I lost a sock needle! I hate knitting socks with just 4 needles. Despise it. Well, now I have an excuse to purchase the Knit Picks DPNs that I have been coveting. I'm very excited. Yay!

As for the lost sock needle. I have no idea where it is. It should be in the purse pocket in which I keep extra needles. Not there. Not in any of the other pockets that my new purse sports. Did I mention that I got a new purse that is perfect for knitting projects? I love it. It is a purse that has a wallet attached to the outside and that has a pocket and is big. So personal stuff can go in there, leaving the main part of the purse free for knitting (plus cell phone and even iPod). I'll take a picture soon.

Baby Hat

I knit a baby hat this weekend. It was so fast! Ok, so the baby is not due until May but I just had to start the hat. Once I started I got obsessed and had to finish it. I worked on it during a lovely Absolutely Fabulous marathon on BBC America. I plan on getting a Sharks logo patch to sew on it as the teal color was chosen for the baby's dad, who is a Sharks fan.

Two views of the teal hat.











I went to Disneyland for Christmas. Here is a picture of my grandparents' brick.

No Resolutions

Today is January 1st and I see resolutions on several blogs, already. There will be no resolutions here. The beginning of a new year just is not special to me. I see it as some date that some person long ago picked as the starting point of the Earth's rotation. They could have just picked June 1st instead. If I'm going to celebrate anything I will go pagan and celebrate the solstices or equinoxes. Actually, I think I had a shot of Patron for the latest solstice. I also see the start of a new school year as more special than January 1st. Now that is a time for resolutions! I usually have something in mind to improve upon in my teaching skills each year.

Yup, January 1st just is not special to me. What will I be doing today? Going to work to get ready for school tomorrow.