Hat-a-Thon

 

  The evolution of the Worry Worm bead eyes:

•   The first three had the beads/buttons pre-strung and sat in front of the stitch.  It didn't hold the bead well and they shift a lot.
•   My fourth one I strung the bead on at the stitch but kept the yarn over for the double crochet.  That left a length of the yarn on the outside and was very tight.
•   The fifth had the bead just get threaded onto a chain 3 instead of a double crochet and that worked, but it's a little loose and the eyes keep flipping to either side.
•   The sixth through eighth is where I figured out how to get the bead into the post of the double crochet and get better at it.
•   The star beads on the nineth were tall enough that I just used the chain method again, though next time I might only chain two because those are a bit taller than the double crochets.
•   For the last two I went back to the double crochet method.

  My friend Tammy is participating in the February Hatathon being hosted by the Ravelry group Stash Knit Down.  The thread for the event, along with the rules can be found here: Feb Hatathon 2022.  I'm thinking of joining because I seem to either be making Worry Worms or hats.  I even have a fun idea for something for the blog, but I need to work through some of my stash before I can make it happen without feeling bad.  This will help inspire me to get some fun hats done and some yarn out of the house.

Little Things

  His eyes are a bit hard to see, but I think I like the version on the far right the most.  I've actually figured out how to put a bead around the post of a double crochet without there being any yarn on the outside of the bead.  I'll work on making a picture tutorial at some point so I don't forget how I did it.

  Here is one with the same eye style in a color of bead that is much easier to see.  I think I'm going to stick with this style for the ones I do with beads as eyes.  I will probably use the old technique when I use buttons as eyes.  I had Bill pick up a few cards of buttons because I didn't like how the beads were looking at that point.

  I bought these little friends from Cary's Cuttlefish back when you could preorder some of the ones with mistakes.  The green one's butt-stamp got a bit messed up and my rainbow one looks so angry!  I love them both and being able to get random ones let the universe decide instead of me trying to get onto the website for a launch and missing out.

  I think Vox Machina was my favorite campaign played by the Critical Role cast so far because this group felt more like the D&D groups I've been in.  Who knows why or how this band of hooligans work together, but they do.  I feel like the Mighty Nein fit too well together as a group from the beginning.  The third campaign is giving a more VM feel so far.

  Bill and I got to see the first two episodes before the general public because we backed the project on Kickstarter and I love it so much so far.  I'm glad that I watched it with Bill, even though timing meant that I had to get up for the 6:30am showing.  The speakers also didn't want to work right, so while we watched it on the big TV in the basement, the sounds were coming out of the laptop.

  It was interesting that there was no Tiberius, but that won't stop me from really enjoying the show.  I am aware of what all happened with them and don't blame them for their choices.  This makes me really want to buy the comics to get to see what all happened before they started streaming their sessions.

Forgotten Souls

Pattern: Wheat by Tin Can Knits (mostly) - Yarn: Red Heart Soft in Icy Pond - Needle: US 8

  I'm sure everyone remembers this scarf.  I finished it and then somehow lost it soon after.  It was near where a bunch of other finished items were being kept, but enough away that I missed it when I went to go and do the yearly recap.

Pattern: Worry Worm - Yarn: Various - Hook: 5.5-6mm

  I somehow also managed to forget to post about these little guys.  They work up super quickly and I was experimenting with making eyes.  A bunch of people just glue googly eyes on them, but I don't trust the glue with the yarn.  The buttons work the best, but I'm still trying to think of ways to make the beads work.

  I like how their little tails look almost tapered at the bottom if you only put 2 sc into the second chain and then 3 sc into the third before putting 4 sc into the rest.

  I'm also hoping for better days.  On my way to work I clipped a snow/ice with the back of my car and sort of lost control.  I ended up spinning my car around but there were no accidents.  There had luckily been no one in the lane next to me and the guy behind me had been giving me space.  I bet the guy behind me thought I was going to wreck.  I'm very glad I didn't.  I used up a lot of luck with that one.

His is on the bottom and mine is on the top

  I did the same number of pattern rows.  Then I did a plain row between each decrease row, except for after the row with only 1 single crochets between the drops.  I then did two rows with double-crochets as the drop with no single crochets between.  I did the half-double crochets around the post like in the instructions.  It might not have needed it, but I added one last row with 2 single crochets together around before cinching it.

  I want to try it with 81 stitches and see how it looks then.  I also want to try a new chaining technique I saw on Instagram.  It combines the twisted loop cast on from knitting with the chain.  You twist the yarn over your finger before sliding it onto the hook and pulling the yarn through both loops.

Day 4 - Time to head home

  The leftovers were some good eats for the trip to the airport.  The bread was a bit soft after sitting in the bags in the fridge over two nights, but I still liked them. There was one sandwich that got brought onto the plane with us.  Bill wasn't sure security would let it through, but I wasn't worried.

  Not our plane, but a cool one Bill and I saw while waiting for ours.  Mark and Elena were also on the same flight as us on the way back, though we weren't sitting near each other.

  When we got to our seats there was a lady in mine, she apologized for not being able to count and moved back one row.  She told me that at least my seat had been sanitized.  I offered her my United alcohol wipe since she already used the one she was given.

  I'm a big fan of the Device Holder and now I'm wondering if the plane we were on to head out had them too.  I should have used Bill's phone for the picture, but I didn't think of it at the time.

  I decided to not change too many things at once with the hat pattern.  I didn't have a food scale with me, so I wasn't able to weigh the yarn I had left.  I chained 61 stitches in hopes that I would have enough yarn to make the whole hat.

  Just a few sunset pictures from the sky.  It was a shorter trip on the way back and I didn't get as many podcasts listened to.

  It was a tricky landing with the winds sustaining at 25mph and gusting to 36, but the pilot nailed it.  People even started applauding once we had all 3 wheels down.  A kid on the plane had a balloon T-Rex and it somehow serviced the trip!  I almost forgot my hoodie on the plane, but I remembered it before I got off.

  It was fairly icy at home, but we made it back okay.  Tank was very happy to see us, but he kept making sad sounds by the front door.  Bill and I were in the dining room making noise, so it's not like we were hiding.  He's silly like that.  Time to get unpacked and to bed before I have to be ready in the morning for work.

Day 3: The Big Event

   On our Glacier road trip I had found two Travel Bugs and I had meant to get them into Geocaches at home so they could keep traveling, but I hadn't gotten to that yet.  So I figured I could find a Geocache out here to get them some more miles.  Luckily there was one right in the hotel parking lot.

  I had thought that there was no chance of hitting up the OC Goodwills because of our time restraints.  Turns out we had time!  We started with the Goodwill of Orange County Marketplace because that's the one I saw in the video.  No luck there, though some people think that they might save them up to put out around Halloween.

  After a quick lunch at In-n-Out Burger we tried one more, the one at 1800 N Grand Ave.  I did see the fun Christmas sweater above, but no luck again.  It was fun looking though.

Pattern: Crochet Showtime Hat by The Crochet Crowd - Yarn: Unknown Purple Acrylic - Hook: 5.5mm

  It was then time to head back to the hotel to fancy ourselves up for the big event.  I finished the hat.  This yarn looks totally different in different lights!

  I thought his looked more domed, but looking at the picture again I can see his has a fold in the front.  I'm excited to try my idea and see how it looks.

  The wedding party.  The ceremony included traditions from both sides and it was really beautiful.  I was warned beforehand that there was going to be a lot of food and they were not wrong.  Ida, the bride, went halfway down the isle, where she met her parents and then Ben met her and there was an exchange.  He then walked her the rest of the way.  It was really fun when the Rabi was read/singing the 7 blessings and then one of the family members from each side would read the translation.

Picture can be clicked to see each one better.

  Bill and I didn't have table name tags...so we got to pretend to be other people who we knew weren't there.  Does it count as crashing the wedding if you were invited?  Ben ran up to Bill to tell him that it was his fault we don't have name places.

  After the cocktail hour there was dancing and breaking the challah before the dinner.  Persian food is really good.  Then there were the speeches before the Bride/father and Groom/mother dances.  It was then more dancing, before we threw flower pedals at the happy couple.  Desserts were soon to follow.

  A few of us snuck off for some quiet time with some of the family around one of the fire pits outside before it was time to sleep.

Day 2: Busy-Busy

   I was on the lookout for some boots by the brand Demonia.  I've heard that you can find some in the Orange County Goodwills for fairly inexpensive, but Orange County is about an hour drive away.  Thought that maybe hitting one up near the hotel might get me something good.  I didn't find anything for me, but I did find something for someone else.

  We decided on some Del Taco for lunch.  I got one Del Taco and one grilled chicken taco all guac'd up.  The crunchy taco tasted like a typical drive thru taco, but the grilled chicken was really good.  Their strawberry lemonade is also quite nice, though Bill thought it was disappointing.

Image from: https://keyt.com/lifestyle/2021/02/22/giant-red-stiletto-gives-commuters-something-to-ponder/

  On the way to the brewery we passed the Red Stiletto Heel Art Piece.  I just happened to look up from my crochet as we passed it.  It's an odd sight.

  Bill suggested we go to Firestone Walker Brewery.  I wanted try their brussel sprouts when I heard one lady say "If you think I'm sharing my brussel sprouts!" to her table mate when I walked in to order another round.  As for beers I got/tried: Big Mood, Cinnamon Dolce, Cali-Squeeze Mango Hefe, Cali-Squeeze Blood Orange Hefe, Sour Opal, Cali-Squeeze Blood Orange Hefe, and Velvet Merkin.

  As I've been crocheting the hat I've been thinking about how I would have done the pattern differently.  I probably would have done it as a top down pattern because that makes custom sizing easier.  I would also have added one more stitch to the last repeat so it makes working it feel more organic.  The way the rows are set up makes more sense for a row by row pattern.  Even just using 81 stitches instead of 80 would let you have a more consistent pattern.  After row 10 you end up with 3 stitches around the marker instead of the 4 you should have.

  I don't usually feel bad about changing a pattern, but I especially don't because the one I'm following now was originally designed by Misty Samuelson for Schachenmyr and then adapted by Michael Sellick to be a continuous spiral crochet.

  Our next activity of the day was the social dinner gathering.  There were supposed to be 25 people, but only about 12 showed up.  I said that we all just had to eat like we are multiple people, and it'll all work out.

  Bill and I stopped by a Ralphs to get some water for the room.  Bill wanted snacks but I had definitely eaten enough and took into account the leftovers we took with us.  I was super excited to see this flavor of Calypso.  I've never seen it before!

Day 1-ish: Heading to Warm Weather

  The knitting was too tight and the piece was too wide.  I ripped it out and tried to decide what pattern to make on the trip.  I was feeling some crochet.

  The first few ideas I had wouldn't work because they would have involved cutting the yarn a few times and you still aren't allowed to bring sharp items into the plane cabin with you.  I had stumbled upon Granny Square Mitts on Instagram and thought they looked really cute.  The page didn't list a pattern, but the ones by Sew Happy Creative and Lullaby Lodge were the closest I could find, though it looks like you can substitute any square motif.

  I looked at the Timeless Drifter Earwarmer but it also wasn't what I was looking for.  Not long after, YouTube suggested a video for me and I had found what I wanted to work on.

  Before we left Bill and I got tested for Covid-19 because the venue required it and though it cost us a pretty penny at the time, the nice guy told us that our insurance had to pay us back in full.  The place we went to is also one of the local labs, so they took our samples to the back room to process.   It was the lest invasion tests I've gotten.  Krissy told me that the law has gone into effect the day before that made our insurance pay us back.  We had good timing.

  Bill isn't a fan of these seats.  I do like that there is all the free room in case I need to go to the bathroom, but I don't like that there is no seat in front of me to hold things.  The arm rests also don't go up, so the seats are a bit tight.  I was joking that Bill could sit on the floor during the flight.

This plane is heading to LA, so I hope that's where you want to go because in 7 mins the doors are closing and you are coming with us." -Captain

  The flight people have apps on their phones to see which seats have checked in and made the guy who tried to sit next to us move back to his real seat.  He was on his phone and it look the poor flight attendant too much effort to get his name.  Hopefully the person he kept getting calls from found what they were looking for in the mint bag.

Pattern: Crochet Showtime Hat, Yarn: Unknown Purple Acrylic

  One lady commented on my crochet.  She said that she was going to bring hers but she was worried that the people at the TSA security check would have a problem with the hook.  I told her that I've never had any problems and she said that she was going to keep that in mind for next time.  Hopefully she doesn't have any problems.

Double-Double Animal Style

  One of my Must-Dos is to go to In-n-Out Burger.  Bill keeps saying it's less good than Five Guys, but I don't agree with that.  We got our burgers before taking the scenic route to the hotel.  People say that California drivers are really bad, but it's not too much different than what I see at home.  There's just more of them and more palm trees.  Lane splitting is legal here but not at home, so I normally don't see that.

  Whenever we are stuck in traffic I try and see if I can spot any YouTubers.  First time I was over here I'm pretty sure I saw Keith from The Try Guys driving a Prius.

  The Hyatt Regency Westlake is super fancy looking.  Though currently the kitchen is closed for dinners, it is open for breakfast.  The bar is not affected by any of this.

THE KARATE KID

  The Hyatt Hotel in Westlake Village was a filming location for this popular 80s film - it served as the Country Club.

  Over the years, it's also been a popular location for other shows, including Knight Rider, Dynasty, Knots Landing and Beverley Hills 90210.

  I picked Moody Rooster for dinner because I like a place with an odd name.  We didn't have a reservation and almost didn't get a table.  I got the Sautéed Spanish octopus with shishito peppers, chick peas, and yellow tomato sauce and Bill got the Sonoma Lamb Shoulder Ragu.  We got to sit in the romantic glow of the Open sign from the Subway next door.  The Toffee Date Cake ended the night for us.

Bill is fixing things

  Tank got to ring in the new year with his favorite toy.  It was behind some things in the dining room and I found it when I was clearing space for Tank'sgiving.  We found that strap outside at some point during the basement remodel and he loves it.

  Bill got around to fixing the switch that the workers somehow broke during the basement remodel.  We have no idea why it broke, but I just kept hearing "More pieces!!" coming out of the bathroom.  I'm guessing it's not supposed to have so many bits.

  He also put up some shelves on the other side of the door in the basement for the DVDs.  They still need to be stained, but it needs to be warmer and drier out for that.  The outside light in the back also got replaced with an LED one, so hopefully that will last a while.  The right handrail got nailed back together, so now it will be harder for people to fall over and hurt themselves by accident.  I also kept forgetting it was broken and getting confused when it would shift.

  He tried to help fix Ryan's car, but Ryan's timeline didn't work with Bill's schedule.  Though Bill did show Ryan how easy it was to change the fuses in his place.  It's always handy to know how to fix the little things around the house.

  Bill smoked too much pork and we also had corn casserole and the good yeast rolls.  They are Sister Schubert's Dinner Yeast Rolls and we get them from either Safeway or Sam's Club.  Everyone who tries them really loves them.

  I wore this shirt (but in black) in hopes to bring more kitty love into the new year.  We also watched  Murder by Death.  It's a pretty good movie.  Everyone but Shane and I fell asleep to it, but I would watch it again when everyone is more awake.

  The first snow of the year!  It wasn't a bad fall either.  It wasn't super deep, but it was enough to get Ryan and me a snow-day from work.  Tank got to go out in it and I thought he was going to hate it, but he only gave an annoyed paw shake every once in a while.  Ryan and I had to try and catch Tank when we both got cold.

  Yesterday was the first Wegman's trip of the year.  That lemon soda was so hard to open.  It took me four tools to open it.  I didn't have a regular rubber band but a small sharp knife finally let me pop the tabs and get it open.  It was really good.

  The hat is coming along nicely.  I think this yarn is helping to show the pattern more than the blue did.  I also noticed that I had made 21 things back in 2021.

  We haven't gotten too far into the year, but it's been pretty good so far.  Here's to hoping for more good stuff.

2021

Here is a quick list of everything I got done in the year of 2021.

Crochet: 1
Sweaters:
~~~Granny Square Sweater

Knit: 20
Hats:
~~~Lucky Bamboo Hat: 1-5, 6-11
~~~Two Color Brioche Hat: 1-3
~~~Purl Brioche Hat
~~~Waves of Hope Hat: 1, 2
~~~Scallop Lace Hat
Scarves/Cowls:
~~~2x2 Brioche Rib
~~~TikTok Loop Cowl

Others Work:
~~~Huggable Monsters: 1-12