Rainbows all around!

Holly, mom to the adorable kid, and I have been friends since the third grade. (Second grade was rough for us. I was super jealous of her.) She lives in Germany and is in Indiana for a visit, so we pretended yesterday was her birthday even though it's not for another six weeks.

She's asked for a hat:

Ann Budd's Basic Hat Pattern with picot edge, 

using polka dot chart from Hilary Smith Callis' Dots Cowl

(mine ravelled here)

a cowl:

roughly based on "My Favourite Things" Infinity scarf

(mine ravelled here)

and Totoro mittens:

Norwegian Totoro Mittens (mine ravelled here)

 All were knit in Cascade 220 Superwash in 854 Navy and Knit Picks Chroma Worsted in Carnival.

I don't know Totoro, so those didn't strike a cord with me, but I love the hat and cowl A LOT. I'd wear them myself in a heartbeat.

Happy birthday, Holly!

Dinosaur Hat

A friend asked me to knit her son a dinosaur hat to match his mittens... which I apparently never blogged. The fact that her kid is adorable is a bonus.

Dinosaur hat, knit in Kelley Green Vanna's Choice 

I used Ann Budd's Basic Hat pattern for 18 months through 4 years. The yarn pretends to be worsted, but the gauge is closer to a bulky. I had to frog and reknit because it was much too big the first time around. (That's what I get for not swatching.)

For the dinosaur spikes, I used this pattern and sewed them to the top of the completed hat. It was cute when I finished it, but it's much, much cuter on Luke's head!

Please do not exterminate.

As a rule, I think you should avoid celebrating the villains. Don't wear a Darth Vader shirt. Don't make a Weeping Angel that will then send you back in time and eat your life force. Don't crochet a Gargamel; that guy's an asshole.

But I knit a pair of socks called Dalekanium. It's an easy stitch pattern and looks great in self-striping yarn. I was powerless against them, which is exactly what they want.

They're toe-up, another thing I usually avoid, However, I was knitting a gift for a guy with big feet, and I didn't want to run out of yarn. It's happened to me before.

They have a teeny-tiny gusset and a short-row heel. I didn't pick up the wraps, and I like the way the heel looks. 

The stitch pattern itself is easy. There's a slipped stitch every fifth stitch on the top of the foot and all the way around the leg. It makes charming loops on the fabric. 

It also makes the sock run VERY LARGE. I ripped back and ended up knitting the smallest size for my friend's man feet. For some reason, the pattern doesn't count the slipped stitches as part of the stitch count. If I knit these for me, and I might, I'll go down to 55 stitches (plus the slipped stitches). The size small is written for 60 stitches. 

Dalekanium socks (mine ravelled here),

knit in Knitpicks Felici, Rustic Cabin colorway 

(discontinued, because Knitpicks hates me)

Thanks but no!

Recently a very dear friend send me an e-mail:

We're getting Mom and Dad's house ready for their 60th Wedding Anniversary Party on Sep 6. The house should look pretty good in time for the millions of people to arrive. I didn't send you an invitation because I love you. You're welcome.

It is so fanstasic to have people who know me well enough to know that, while I love them very, very, very much, the idea of going to a party crowded with strangers makes me want to crawl under my bed until the event passes.

Rebecca Lynch has made an app for "introjis," which are emojis for introverts. You can find them here. It's one of the few kickstarters I've supported. She gets me.

"Not going, but thanks for the invitation!"

copyright Rebecca Lynch--buy the app here (Android) or here (Apple)

In Case We Doubted...

In case we doubted the benefits of compost, behold the volunteer tomato plant growing out of my compost bin. I have done nothing but ignore it and whack it back when it looked like it was going to take over the air conditioner.

Compost works!

Something Is Better Than Nothing

I keep thinking I'll take better photos, and then I'll post things. Turns out, that's just not the case. So, bad photos!

I embroidered a couple pillow cases for a friend's birthday:

This friend and I tied for Biggest Bookworm as voted by our high school senior class.

They weren't wrong.

You just have to love whom you love.

I also made another pillowcase for me, using one of the motifs from an earlier pillowcase:

My love of embroidered pillowcases shows no sign of abating.