When Your Weekend Is Too Exciting

Pattern: Slippy Hat - Yarn - unknown - Needle: US 8

   I finished the last hat I said I would make for the Hatathon.  I'm going to try and get one more done, but I don't know if I'll manage to by the end of the month.

  I got a text and then a call from my mom on Friday evening that she had been in a car accident.  Some 16-year-old girl didn't know that you are supposed to yield to people going straight if you have the blinking left turn arrow.  My mom has two cracked ribs, a cracked sternum, and some cracked points in her back.  They have her in a neck brace and are waiting for the body brace.  I went to go visit today and brought part of knit group to her.  She couldn't move her one arm much because they needed the port for the dye for the MRI and she has tricky veins.

  They had planned on doing the MRI in the morning, but it didn't actually happen until about 4pm.  Once she was back they put her bed off to the side from where she had been before.  The nice trauma guy who came to give some poke and resistance tests was nice enough to put the bed back in the right spot.

  The day nurse was nice and came to check in a few times.  My mom complained about the lack of TV stations, and it seems that a lot of the TVs in that section weren't even working.  The visiting hours were 1-5pm but the trauma guy said that on the weekend there was some leeway because it's less busy and told me I could stay until they kicked me out with a wink.  I got kicked out when the night nurse came in to take over.  I left a bit after 7pm.

  She isn't in pain right now and is complaining more about how her 2002 Honda Odyssey is totaled and how inconvenient things will be at home with the braces on.  She is also concerned about Nezumi getting enough food and her medicine at the appropriate times.  I offered to leave some knitting for her to work on, but she declined.

  No one was sure when she would be released, so I left mine and Bill's cell phone numbers.  My dad is teaching again tomorrow and we want someone to be able to go get her if they discharge her when he's busy.  There's a good chance I'll go visit again tomorrow anyway.

Experiments and Katsucon

   I had a no bones day (A “bones day” means it's going to be a productive day) and I was all out of spoons (Spoon theory is a metaphor that is used to describe the amount of mental or physical energy a person has available for daily activities and tasks), so I decided to experiment a little.  All the clear glitter beads would have hard time showing up against the yarn for Worry Worms.  I didn't want to rule them out entirely though.  The light-colored transparent beads may also have the same problem.  I wasn't sure what paint would work best, so I figured I'd start with nail polish.  I'm worried that acrylic paint might not stick to the plastic and just peel off.

Pattern: Woven Lattice Hat - Yarn: unknown - Needle: US 8

  We got to Katsucon later in the day on Friday.  The at-the-door badge line was a lot shorter than the pre-registration line.  There were no panels we wanted to go to at the time, so we wondered around for a bit.  We saw some people we knew but everyone was heading somewhere.  We then headed back to the room where I finished the hat.

  Saturday was a blur of fun.  There were people yelling and slamming doors the night before, so I had a hard time falling asleep.  Bill was unaffected by these people.  The outfit I wanted to wear didn't fit because of the pandemic-pounds I have put on, so I just wore the fun t-shirt I brought with some leggings.

  We went to Bobby Mackey's Dueling Piano Bar for lunch.  I got the Katsu-Curry and it was really good.  Most of the rest of the day was spent going to some group photoshoots, wondered the hall to look at costumes, and we also bought some stuff in the dealer's room.  Dinner was with Jim and we had some good beers.

  I started to get a headache, so I didn't go to the J-Fashion show.  I was tempted to not go to the Lolita Roast and Toast either, but I went anyway.  I was so glad I went.  It was so funny and some of those dresses are very "interesting".  It needed to be a much longer panel because everyone was having such a great time making fun of the dresses.

  Sunday was a quick stop off in the Artist's Alley before a Critical Role group shoot.  I ate chicken fingers on the way home.

  For me, the After-Con blues can very real sometimes.  I have found that the best way to deal with that is to have fun things at home.  For lunch on Monday I made some really good butternut squash.

Butternut squash, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and cinnamon

The slices are coated in the olive oil and the spices are just sprinkled over the top on both sides 

Baked for 40 minutes at 400°

  I also looked into some really cute crochet patterns:

• Dumbo Octopus Amigurumi Pattern

• Mini Ami-Octopus

• Scraptacular Cat Amigurumi

   Also, for anyone who likes numbers: Happy 2/22/22 on a Tuesdays! (Twosday)

Third Hat Done and The Fourth is Looking Pretty Good

Pattern: Show Time Crochet Hat by The Crochet Crowd - Yarn: unknown - Hook: 5.5mm

  Apparently the ten extra stitches make a lot of difference.  On this one I did plain rows even with the single crochet between the drops, a row of double crochet drops with no singles between, a row of around the post half doubles, a skip every other half double around the post round, then sc2tog all around.  It's still a bit more dramatic of a decrease than I wanted, but I didn't want the top to look too open.  I think this pattern would also make a nice cowl if you put the same half-double crochets on the top as well.

  The shorter tan/cream one with the dark eyes in the middle is only shorter because I wrapped the spiral the other way when playing with it.  It also appears that I had three different purples that I was working with before.  I have started working on a post about yarn and hook combinations so that way it will be easier to keep track of all of that.  The post is also going to have the tutorial on how to add the beads for the eyes.

  I got a lot done on the fourth hat between the K&CC Group and going to a bar later in the day.  I should pack some headphones or something in my knitting bag because we were not expecting karaoke to happen, and it was pretty loud.  I was able to get some mental breaks from the noise by going outside, but I hadn't dressed for that, so I got chilly pretty quickly.  The Habanero Bloody Mary wasn't as spicy as I was expecting and was oddly sweet.  The Old Firehouse #3's hummus platter was pretty good though.  I'd go back, but more prepared next time.

I Got Distracted From My Plan...

Pattern: Lucky Bamboo Hat - Yarn: Red Heart Soft in Icy Pond - Needles: US 8

   Look, another hat done!  I wasn't sure I would have enough yarn because I've run short before when I thought I would have enough.  The variegation makes it a bit harder to see the pattern, but now we know that.  The yarn might have been better as a Slippy Hat, but it's too late now.

  My plan had been to work on a Woven Lattice Hat next, but the new chaining method I saw on Instagram has been stuck in my head.  It gives it more substance and would also make it easier to work into the back loop when needed.  You just need to put a twisted loop onto the hook and then pull the working yarn through both loops on the hook.

  As I was chaining I saw that there was another loop of yarn and that is made with the backwards loop.  When I held it up, I saw that it pushed the V part of the chain forward.  That was the part of the Crochet Showtime Hat pattern that I was still trying to figure out how to "fix" from the last time I made the hat.

  It took a bit of getting used to, but it's doing what I want it to.  Next time I would go into the center of the first chain to make there be less of a bump to hide.  Otherwise, it is looking pretty perfect.  You can also see my very expensive and professional looking row marker.  We'll see if the 10 extra stitches make a difference on the decreasing I tried last time.

One Down, At Least Four To Go!

Pattern: Purl Brioche Hat - Yarn: Red Heart Soft in Vanilla Swirl - Needle: US 8

   I know it's not a relay race, but that's how I picture this going.  I picture all of us on the sidelines cheering as MKmaineknitter is knitting/crocheting as fast as her hands will go, throwing hats into a basket next to her.  Once her third hat is in the basket she would then leap from the chair and we would pass her some sports drink and a cookie while Hollive then sits down to work on her two hats.

  I also almost had tragedy strike, so I hope it isn't setting a tone for the challenge.  I finished binding off and saw I had a strange loop.  I thought it had something to do with the way I did the bind off until I looked at the other side of the work and saw a live stitch poking up at me.  I didn't feel like undoing the entire bind off so I used the tail to secure the loop.  If you look really closely you can see where it looks a bit odd, but otherwise it looks fine.  I tied a quick knot, so it shouldn't come undone either.  I've tugged on it a few times and it seems pretty secure.

  I want to get the pattern published before I finish the hat so I can link to it when I post about it in the Hatathon thread.  I feel so silly for the pattern not being done sooner.  I finished at least one hat in each of the main sizes, weighted them, and then donated most of them back in April 2021.  I made note on the pattern of how much yarn I used on the sock weight, the worsted weight, and the bulky weight.  I completely skipped over the dk weight somehow.  I'm glad I noticed that it didn't have numbers in the materials section for that weight before I published it and someone who purchased it had to point that out.

  The purple hat from the previous post was made to get those numbers, which is why I wanted to get it done as soon as I could.  I have weighed it and have the numbers that I need, I just need to update the PDF and to make the pattern page on Ravelry.  I'm also considering putting the pattern on Etsy as well, but I don't have to worry about as many fees with Ravelry.

  I couldn't miss the special Meatloaf show!  I took a ton of pictures and will be getting them to someone on leadership who can decide if any are good enough to share at some point.  Some of the people who hadn't done any of the guest shows or the December show were really rusty, but we got through.  It was a lot of fun, even though I didn't know I was supposed to be there to do props.  Oopsies.  Maybe I should check my e-mail more, but I also haven't officially joined cast.... oh well.

The Hatathon Is a Go!

Pattern: Lucky Bamboo Hat - Yarn: Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed in Loganberry - Needles: US 6

  It's 2/2/22 and I'm excited for the Hatathon.  According to the rules the hats don't have to be started in the month of February, only finished.  That means that the brioche hat I have started will count since I'm now down to the brim but am not done with it.  I guess the level of "finished" is up to you.  Do you have to still have live stitches on your needles in February, or does weaving in the ends count?  That's up to you.  I don't have to worry about that because one of the hats I thought I was going to finish for the Hatathon I completely finished on January 30th, forgetting that I was going to do this.

  I'm hoping my team will win.  There isn't a prize for winning or anything, it was even suggested that everyone give a guestimate on how many hats they plan to finish to keep the teams balanced.  Here is the team I'm on:

 Melbourne Marathon (31)

•  MKmaineknitter (3)
•  Hollive (2)
•  companion42 (4)
•  gmilor (6)
•  RLknitter (6)
•  MinnieMay9 (5)

•  Craftistic (1)
•  DebO31 (4) 

  I feel like I'm off to a slow start because yesterday I had to work most of the day and forgot to bring my knitting in to work on while the meeting was happening.  I'll also have to remember to make Ravelry project pages about my projects and also remember to tag them with "febhats2022" when I do.  I'm planning on making a few of my own patterns and publishing the one I finished the test knit for during this time.  Hopefully it will bring more traffic to them.

  This is going to be my first finished hat.  I think the yarn made a huge difference when it comes to seeing the pattern.  I'm also going to have to be careful when weaving in my ends because my mom said that both sides look good.  I'm still wondering if the pattern, as a whole, is good to go or not.

  The goal had been to finish this tonight at knitting, but the day as a whole, had another plan.  I ended yesterday by going to bed this morning and not feeling very well because of how late I stayed up.  After sleeping poorly I started the day by not feeling too great.  When I went to mix Tank's food with his antibiotic I put "too much" hairball gel in there.  He didn't mind, but I didn't know how his insides would feel about it.

  When my mom got to my house we watched some Project Runway and then headed out.  She wanted some more dragon fruit and I wanted to look for Sumo oranges.  We were on our way and I realized I forgot my wallet.  It was okay because I have my Sam's Club membership card saved to an app on my phone.  We fund the fruit we wanted and went to check out.  That's where my mom realized that she didn't have her credit card.  I was able to pay for our food with the Sam's Club money we have earned so far.  We then had to figure out what to do.

  We stopped off at a bank to get some money out to pay for dinner.  I looked up the phone number for the Commissary, which is where the credit card was last used.  They had the card and we had plenty of time to get there.  It took about an hour, and when we got there the nice lady explained that they needed to do a refund because no one noticed the card was still in the machine until the cashier hit Total for the person who had been behind my mom.  One of the items off the receipt wouldn't let them return it because it was a item weighed on the scale, but they did a return without receipt and it worked just fine after that.  She got a little over $100 back and we were told that it happens all the time.  One guy got a $1500 refund for the same thing happening to him.

  We found dinner out that way and were at Mission Barbeque until it was almost time for them to close.  We then headed to my mom's house to give Nezumi her wet food with her medicine and then home for me.  Since I'm still tired from last night, I'm going to head to bed early.