Who Checks the Charts?

  Here is the picture of the BUN Hat I promised.  It is smaller than the pattern says because I used smaller yarn and smaller needles.  I adjusted the height accordingly by just doing less for the body of the hat and followed the decreases as written.

 This was my between projects project.  Just a quick brioche hat.  I love how fancy brioche looks.

  I finally blocked the Star Stitch Scarf that I was testing the pattern for.  I still need to ask her if she is ever going to publish the pattern because it looks really nice.  You can see the pattern better if you click on the photo and see it closer to full sized.

 I didn't actively follow a pattern when making this because I had remembered it well enough from when I taught the class.  The Quick & Simple Granny Shawl has all the same steps as the ones that I did.  There are a ton out there that will get you very similar results with only very minor changes in what you do.  I just kept going back and forth until I didn't have enough yarn to do another whole row.

  I was kind of nervous about this one.  I haven't done a pointed blanket project like this with so many points.  At first it seemed fine, but as I went it kept looking more and more like it wouldn't block out flat and would be buckled.  I kept wondering if I should take it out and do it again with only 6 points, but I kept going.  Once I started pulling the points out while blocking it looked more and more like it would work and that mine would look like the pictures.

  On row 11, at the very end the chart doesn't actually match the stitches I had. It shows two increases next to each other, but only shows one more stitch in the chart.  It tells you to k4, yo, kfb, k2, but the written instructions tell you to k5, kfb, k2.  I'm guessing that when the chart was made they put together a big block of pattern and worked backwards from there.  The yo was probably just left over from that and no one noticed it.
  There are also a few rows that are missing the symbol to do garter stitch on the wrong side on the flat edge.  I also found some symbols on the chart that aren't on the key at all.  So my suggestion is that if you have a doubt about the chart, check the written instructions, they seem to be correct.
  Here's to a new year and hopefully correct charts.

It's Friday the 13Th Again!

  Usually a Friday the 13th is my lucky day.  Today was not as good.  We got some bad news about a friend who had been having health problems.  She did hang on until a Friday the 13th and now can have as much wine and wings as she wants.

  I'm still working on finding a good place to block everything.  It's a good thing that Bill was out of town for a few days because the comforter was still a bit damp when it was bed time.  Everything is now dry, but I'm waiting for a day with better lighting to take pictures.  It's raining out now and I was thinking of taking some pictures outside for the bigger items.

  One of the people at K&CC has been making these cute hats that have a neck/ear flap.  It would be good to help keep people warm who might not like wearing scarves.  The BUN Hat is really fast to knit and also a great way to go through leftovers.  I thought my skein looked like a baby carrot or a hot-dog cut into a octopus shape.

  I started on the Caron Asymmetrical Lace Shawl.  I thought it would be fitting to use a Caron Cake for it.  I only have two of them, so not as much as I had for the crochet granny blanket in oranges and reds.  I'm just getting past the part where it goes really fast and the rows start to get longer and longer.  At least I have the lace to look forward to.
  It must be nice or odd for everyone, that this post has two projects that I can link to a pattern for!  Don't worry, I'm still thinking of new patterns, but I need to get the hat one finalized before I work too much on the shawl.
  I'm also considering starting on a Caron Knit Shawl on the Bias before I start working on my own pattern.  This time of year means I'm super busy with work and some pretty mindless knitting is usually what I need.  Something that is fun to knit but won't distract me from getting any work done because I can hear it calling my name from my knitting bag.
  We are also going to go to the Zoo Lights later today, so I'm hoping to try and get some fun pictures from that.

Fiona Is A Very Pretty Lady

  I tried to do like I normally do after teaching a class with a stitch pattern that I really like.  I tried to make a hat out of it.  I think this yarn was way too slippery because you could see that there was texture in the stitches, it didn't show what was really happening.  I was feeling lazy and decided to try and do the spiral hat again.  I didn't bother to count my stitches for how it would turn out for the second stitch pattern, so I ended up with the same problem I had before where it needed four more or less stitches.

  Don't mind my messy floor, just look at the cute kitty.  Her name is Fiona and she is my house-mate's cat.  She doesn't really like other cats, but Tank has managed to become friends with her.  They chase each other around the house and will steal each other's food.  It doesn't matter that they get the same food, they both know that the other gets the better stuff.

  The universe has decided that one ramen restaurant near my house wasn't enough, so now I have two.  Marumen opened first, but is a bit farther out.  I saw that Umai Ramen and Rice Bowl was opening soon and went during their first week during their soft opening.

  The menu at Umai wasn't as big as Marumen, but I don't know if that is because it was during their soft opening or if they are just going to focus on a smaller menu.  I got the Curry Ramen that time, the one pictured, and have been back again to try the Tonkotsu Ramen.  It is really good and smaller portions than Marumen, so I don't feel as uncomfortably stuffed at the end and feel like I could get an appetizer to share.

  I thought I was in the mood to do more two color brioche, but I got about this far and got distracted by some granny square style crochet.  I almost finished a shawl and am working on an eight point star blanket.  I keep bringing this along with me, and will get back to it at some point.  The yarn is just so slippery that it is a bit tricky to work with at times.  I like it well enough, but I will be taking any leftovers back to K&CC.  It's the Lion Brand Microspun and is the same yarn as the baby hat at the top of this post.