Isn’t she lovely?  I’m almost there with Miss Dashwood.  I muttered all the while I was doing the bobbles, but it was definitely worth it.  I just love the little tuck or pleat or whatever you want to call it combined with the bobbles — this is one pretty little hat!

While watching the Oscars, I finished the actual hat, knit both earflaps, and one of the ties.  They are 11-inch, 2-stitch, k1p1 ties — not as bad as bobbles, but Oh My.  I’d considered doing something else, even considered pulling out a crochet hook, but they really need to be done the way they’re written.

It’s a very firm, dense fabric, and will be quite warm, I think.  Look at that curly, curly brim!  Blocking will happen very soon.  Ai wants one — supersized!

My eyebrows got some exercise late yesterday while I was reading Wendy’s post.  Wow, look out…  Here come da knitting judge!  Good grief.  It appears that the jury has deliberated, however, and Bad-Ass Knitting has come out on top.  Almost makes me want to start a garter stitch scarf on some big-ass needles.

In other news, that Curlie Girl ought to be having a debut soon — Her Majesty St. Brigid is nearly complete — and I can hardly stand it!

Kt was home this weekend and, boy, it was a busy one.  Ai participated in the solo ensemble music competition — I missed one of her performances, and she almost did, too, because I was in the wrong room.  Argh.  She had a solo in the morning and triple-trio and madrigal in the afternoon.

In between, we did a little shopping while Kt gathered applications — she’d like to find an additional job for summer.  At this time next year, she’ll be studying abroad (England), so the wallet needs some fattening.  And while we were doing that, Ai learned that she got the job she wanted!  She’s so excited (she’ll start next Monday) and has already done the math (hours x wage = more than she’s used to).

I got a bit of a start with the dreaded taxes, turned a mountain of laundry into a molehill, went to Home Depot to choose paint for the upstairs kitchen (very tricky), and watched the Oscars.  I love award shows!

All peaches and cream, sunshine and happiness; those big, beautiful eyes and that pouty little mouth — don’t let the little angel fool ya, she’s got a bit of the devil in her, for sure!  Arrgh.  I’m nearly finished with the bobble border.  Bobbles.  I hate bobbles.  I’m taming them and it’s looking wonderful, but beware…  There was no way I was going to be able to k3tog, or p4tog, much less k4tbl, so I pulled out my crochet hook and pulled the yarn through in the direction necessary to make the stitch.  Oh, much faster and a lot less angst.

I updated the St. Brigid photo album with details today, and cleaned up and changed the design of all the albums.  Still a little more to do, but much nicer!

G’night.

That’s been said to me any number of times — Christine said it about socks, Nathania about the Must Have.  Of course, they’re right, but the thing I truly cannot resist is a face like this.

I have two hanks of the Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted remaining after finishing Mdd’s Natalya, and it ought to be just enough for this wonderful hat.  I really can’t tell you whether I’m more enamored with the hat or with the model, or even with the name — Miss Dashwood — it’s all perfect!

My circ is longer than the one specified in the pattern, but that just means I’ll have to switch to DPNs sooner, I suppose.  There is almost nothing in this world that makes me look or feel more inept than knitting with a circular needle. I think I’m getting a little better, but my discomfort with those is the main obstacle to my starting something like Rogue.  And doing a fancy, picot cast-on with a circ?  The thought made my arms limp, knees weak, and brain turn to pudding.  So I used a straight needle to do the cast on and then transferred the stitches to the circ.  It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?  I did my usual half-assed swatch and, as such, it was very close to gauge.  I’m knitting the 3-6 month size.  One thing I want to keep in mind as I knit this hat is what kind of changes I could make to end up with a Mr. Dashwood.  The picot edge would have to go, of course, as well as the bobbles, and I’d probably make the brim a bit shorter.  What think you?  Can this be made more manly?

Good weekend wishes to all y’all.

Heh.  Mom stood me up yesterday.  She made plans with someone else!  She did invite me to participate in the new plans, but I passed.  We’ve already rescheduled for next week.  Mdd was all in a tizzy yesterday morning, helping with Duncan for his trip to the vet, and she forgot her backpack.  When she called at noon to see if I could drop it off, I grabbed DH*, dropped off the backpack, and went out to lunch with him instead!

Mdd was so tired last night, but propped her eyes open long enough for me to finish her Natalya mitt.  Mmmmm, Blue Sky Alpaca Worsted.  (Thanks, Lynne!)  It took just about one hank and, wow, is it ever nice — so soft!  Mdd does have a full finger and, as far as I know, this isn’t any kind of teenage hand signal with hidden meaning — she had a big ink blob on her finger and didn’t think it was very photogenic.  She was planning on wearing her mitt to school today!

Project Runway seems to be my "finishing" show!  I watched the marathon on Sunday while finishing St. Brigid, and the finale last night while finishing the mitt.  I was both surprised and happy that Jay won, by the way — very fun stuff.  I really loved Wendy’s clothes and the colors — Oh! — I would wear those clothes, but I am old like her, maybe even "dowdy."  I’m a little more demure these days (and a little less, oh, shall we say "perky"?), but I’ve worn peek-a-boo stuff like the dress that made Michael Kors’ eyes pop — I think he had definite, pre-determined ideas about Wendy.  Kara’s clothes were okay — extremely well made — but she showed her unflattering, hm, even hypocritical, side last night.

I thought about starting Miss Dashwood, but I don’t have the correct circ in my paltry collection (I have the right size, but not the right length).  Duh!  I was just at my most local LY(&gift)S yesterday, too, with the Miss Dashwood pattern in-hand — I never even checked my needle situation.  (And yes, I was wearing St. Brigid.  "Oh, that’s pretty… we’re really big into felting right now…")  So I cast on for the second sleeve of Cromarty!  I only did two rows, but sometimes the hardest part is getting started…

St. B also went to Target!  Mdd wanted to go shopping for a bra.  She’s so funny.  She measured and told me what her size was the other day (I’m not sure where she got this measuring info), and said it letter before number, rather than the "normal" way.  She won’t change the way she says it, either; I feel like we’re playing Bingo!  She made two trips to the dressing room with seven different bras and none of them fit right.  Naturally, she wouldn’t let me even squint into the room, so I had nothing but her description of what was wrong to guide me.  Turns out that she’s not even ready for the letter part yet.  We cruised through the grrs department, where they go by number only.  By that time, of course, she refused to return to the dressing room, so I brought home two on approval.  They passed.

*I came home from work the other night and Deb Stoller’s Stitch & Bitch was on the kitchen table.  I was a little confused — Kt gave me "Nation" for Christmas, so this looked familiar — yet not.  DH had been at the book store and he brought it home for me.  He wasn’t sure I had it, or even wanted it, but it caught his eye.  Too sweet.  Plus, the other day, he says to me, "I think it’s really cool that all our grrs know how to knit!"  I think a little lunch date was in perfect order!!

I might owe my sister lunch, too.  I’d sent her an email pic of St. B the other day and, she said in this morning’s email, that she felt moved to tell two little ol’ ladies who were looking at knitting needles in Wal-mart all about it!  I have no clue what my sister was doing in that department, either.

Duncan couldn’t stop looking at his reflection last night — or maybe it was all the pretty lights!  We caught him several times, sitting atop a small cabinet in the kitchen, staring into the blank TV screen.  He wouldn’t even flinch when someone walked by.  The lights were on in a different configuration than usual and must have caught his eye.  Or else he’s a little full of himself!  I thought, "He’s looking at himself so much, you’d think he had a new sweater!"

Wish Duncan (a.k.a. Squitten) well as he’s just been delivered to the vet.  He’ll return tomorrow evening, a changed kitty, if you know what I mean.

Here’s the view this morning off my back porch.  Our house is perched, literally, on the edge of a ravine — a small valley, really.  It’s a gray, hazy, cold morning, but the sun is just beginning to break through.

Mdd finally started to knit a little scarf the other day, and now looked what happened.  She was already in bed, I was taking pictures of the cat, surfing the ‘net, or answering emails, while her yarn and needles became pet toys.  A little bit of a mess — three balls of yarn entangled and this is what remains of two needles.  Looks, to me, like the work of a dog.

While I was sewing up St. Brigid on Sunday — and watching most of a Project Runway marathon on Bravo (now I’m going to have to watch the finale tonight!) — DH was busy in the upstairs kitchen.  Wow, what a difference to have that "paneling" trimmed off.  Next step:  change out the electrical devices and then priming and painting.  I am certain now that the mushroom/trillium tiles will have to be painted.  Originally, we were going to paint this paneling dark green, but I’m thinking lighter, and maybe even a different color.

I think I’m going to lunch and to an antique shop with Mom today.  Guess what I’ll be wearing!!