A Seafaring Man

What I'm Designing right now: 

My first hat pattern in like, oh, six years is about to enter testing. Tomorrow. I feel sort of nervous -- you know, because I've forgotten how the whole testing thing works! By tomorrow's end, I will be mostly relieved and hopeful (hopefully) that people will enjoy knitting the pattern. (By the way, if you'd like to be a tester, I am adding this pattern to the Free Pattern Testers forum on Ravelry. You are welcome to leave a comment here or a pm on Ravlery if you want me to tell you what time that will be :)

This week -- and yes, long before the pattern testing is finished, which takes usually about a month --  as an additional resource for the new pattern, I will be adding some how-to tutorials here on the blog on tassel making, pom pom making (God I hate those things...) and how to use the 3-needle bind-off. If you haven't tried it, it is a great way for a "seamless" seam and I love it in lieu of just sewing two fabric edges together. This will be a series of three posts and I will list them in the side bar as links for easy finding in the future.

Dusty tassels. I forgot I hadn't dusted the table. Forever.

These babies are about to be tested!

I also have a secret project in the wings which I think I am pretty excited about. working on that. More to come in a week or two or three, depending! Still have research to do on that.

What I'm reading: 

In addition to Treasure Island through the Craftlit podcast, I am also reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. (I know tons of you read many books simultaneously, too. After all, reading follows our moods, right?) I have always put it off, but now I'm all in! What the crap?! Why didn't someone tell me this had ghostly stuff in it?! So fab. And, dear reader, you too can find a free version of Wuthering Heights on the Librivox app. If are a lover of classic lit and you have not yet checked out these free audiobooks? DO IT! And look for volunteer reader Elizabeth Klett whenever you can. She reads lots of Jane Austen, a wonderful version (dare I say the best?) Jane Eyre and many, many other titles.

Random Knitting Project:

Knitting Bee. Forcing me to open
my wallet...

Sweet Dreams Baby Blanket by Mrs. Moon. I am too old to be having a baby (I just slid under the closing door having Amy at nearly 40! And now Amy is 11!) but when I was at Close Knit on Alberta in Portland during the Rose City Yarn Crawl I saw this pattern. It was a completed project, just hanging there, tempting me. I don't know what it was. The pop of color on a gray background? The tiny, manageable crochet squares for a beginner crocheter like me? It would not leave my mind. By the last day of the crawl, I was at Knitting Bee and caved in. I love Plymouth yarns anyway, but I am really loving the Plymouth Dreambaby DK on the little #3 crochet hook. Butter in your hands. Butta I tell ya!! Maybe someone around me will have a baby. I do have 5 grown kids and only one grandson. So far.




Beans says, what does this all mean? I'm just a puppy.

Hey, Mom. Check my whiskers. I'm
nearly a man, now.