One Hat Down Some Unknown Number To Go.

  I couldn't put it down and finished the hat soon after I finished the last post.  The decreases didn't turn out how I pictured in my head.  The decrease rows where there were also cables on the same side were a lot trickier than I had thought they were going to be.  I think I am going to try again, this time I will use the single purl on each side to do the decreasing so that the cables will still pop out.  I also want to make the breaks between the cables one row taller.  Something more in the middle of the two cables I tried on this.

  This is all that is left of the skein.  I usually make it a challenge to myself to find a use for the whole thing, but I think this one is going to go back to the K&CC pile.  It still has a few parts that are spun a bit thinner, but it had been a while since I had run into my last break.

  This is neither a good nor complete picture of all the things I dropped off on Monday.  Some of you may remember the make-up bags I was putting together around the end of last year.  Since I hadn't heard from my contact as to where to bring everything, it had been put on hold.  I was recently able to get ahold of her and got an address and hours I could drop stuff off during.
  I put it into my GPS and found out that it was only about seven miles from my house.  Super easy!  Before heading over I stopped at Dollar Tree to get the last few things.  I wanted to wait to get the face wipes until the last minute because I didn't want to risk them drying out.  I was going to pick up hand cream while I was there but couldn't find it.  Instead I picked up some lip gloss and deodorant.
  I drove to where my GPS said I could find my destination.  There was a sign when turning in at the end of a dead-end street that said there were buildings with numbers 20-50.  Well, I was looking for a 10.  The building that the GPS took me to, and that the map said was where I could find it, was a 50.  I drove around some more and didn't see anything more useful, so I decided to see what they said.
  I was told that they were not the right location and had no idea where to find them.  One suggestion they had was to check out the 20 building because there were some small businesses in there.  Most of the office areas in there looked empty, but I kept walking to see the rest of the building.
  As I rounded a second corner I saw another building and it was the 10 I was looking for!  I hurried back to my car and drove it to the correct building.  I was also told that they were in suite 305, but turns out they were in 304.  That one was a lot easier to figure out.
  The location is now in my phone so I can easily find it again.  The lady seemed shocked at all the items I was brining in.  What can I say, I like shopping for make-up and don't need any more of it.

  Since I am on a hat kick I decided to see if my Heart and Waves pattern was written correctly.  When I made it the first time I was kind of winging it and not totally paying attention to what I was doing.  The second was also a success and I tried to write it down as I made it.  Now it has been long enough that I won't remember what I did before and will have to rely on the pattern.  I already found one mistake and one thing to modify, but it is easy enough to fix and change as I go.  I'm also pretty sure that the cable portion is divisible by 8 + 6.  This will be helpful if I use yarn in a different weight and won't be able to use the same number of stitches as I'm using now.
  I will also need to figure out how to do decreases if I end on a second cable instead of the first.  So far I've made the few hats work with doing three cables, but I know my luck will run out at some point where it comes to that.
  The picture also doesn't capture how bright and bubblegum pink the yarn is.  It also doesn't show how shiny and slippery the yarn is.  It is Aura by Austermann and is 78% rayon and 22% nylon.  It is so pretty and soft, but I know the stitches would go running off the needle if I don't pay attention, especially once I get to the cables.

  I also sort of saved a puppy the other day at work.  I was driving to buy some ice for the Membership Meeting and saw a puppy on the sidewalk with no leash or person nearby.  I did a u-turn to see if maybe the puppy had run ahead and its person was coming along.  I still didn't see anyone.  I pulled my car over and slowly approached the puppy.  I saw it had tags with an address on it.  I tried to pick up the puppy because I didn't have a leash and he jumped free.  I then followed him as he kept itself about five feet in front of me.  He went into the yard of the one house without a fence and then went up the stairs to the porch.  Hopefully that was his house and he won't get close to the road alone again.

Testing.

  I'm testing a pattern for a friend. I don't know what it is, but it makes me feel special to test a pattern.  Maybe because I get to see it before the general public?

   This is mine after I finished the hem and also the first three cable rows.  Anyone who has been around here for a while knows that I have a real problem sticking to a pattern.  For tests I am a lot better at it, but when I saw this I wondered why she did the top of the arrows the way she did them.

  Maybe she wanted to keep them simple?  I wasn't sure, so I asked her if she was up for suggestions on the cables or if she really liked them.  I didn't want to go in and tell her to change things if she had gotten them exactly the way she wanted.  Most testing isn't about telling someone how to make their pattern but to tell them if the numbers work out or not.  Like in my shawl pattern where I had you go from 28 stitches to magically needing 32 on the next row.

  She said that she was up for suggestions so I worked out a chart for her.  They are just easier for me to get out of my head than trying to do written directions.  She tested out a strip of just the cable pattern and said she really liked the changes I made.  She also mentioned that she might make a few tweets to the changes I made, but it is her pattern and I would have been fine if she hadn't used any of my suggestions.

   I also feel really silly for not posting this a while ago!  This was my big order to e.l.f. where I got all the eyeshadow brushes and eye-lid primers for the make-up bags.  I had planned on finishing these a lot sooner than I am, but I am still working on it.

  I also have the rest of the tinted lip balms coming to me in the mail.  There was some kind of mix-up between me and the person who offered to send them all to me, but I think we are all set now.  I can't wait to show those off next!

Happy Back to the Future Day!

 

  I also have an update for the make-up bags.  I heard about similar eye-shadow made by this company on Instagram and went to Walgreens to check them out.  I didn't find them then, even though the person said she found them on the very top shelf.  I didn't know she meant the overstock top shelf.

  The ones I saw before were only four colors.  When I saw these I knew they were going to work perfectly.  I think the sizes of each shadow are bigger and will be easier to use than the ones I was looking at from Dollar Tree.

  Why, yes, that is the display of them.  Why, yes, that is the display in my house.  I had to get someone to get them down for me, then I just decided to get all of them.  While that means I will have four extra pallets, I could always save them for later.

   Here is my shout-out to Back to the Future.  Today is the day that Marty and Doc Brown are supposed to show-up.  I am seeing tons of cool pictures online of people posing with a DeLorean and it is so cool.

And I smell nice too.

I have been trying to find a new perfume for a while now.  There are a few I like, but the problem for me is the price tag.  They cost a lot of money for some scents mixed with water and alcohol.  I think I have found a good solution for everyone.

  I never noticed before that little blurb on the box.  That's probably because I have just dealt with the test rollers.  If you try them in stores, I will warn you, the alcohol smell right out of the roller is really strong.  It doesn't last long on the skin and you will get to enjoy the real scent very soon after putting it on.
  I got mine from Ulta where they seem to be on clearance, so if you want some from a store go and get them now.  You can also order them online with no problems.  I got most of mine in the Honey Nectar fragrance and I got one in dew blossom.  The Honey Nectar starts out very floral and light, but as you wear it you get more and more of a warm honey smell.

  So as of the minute I'm typing this, we are at 12% of our goal and 30 shares for the make-up bags.  This is very exciting!  I have done a bunch of research so I'm pretty sure I know what I will be getting for the bags and will be able to get more bang for our buck.
  Here is my updated list for the bags:

• mascara
• eyeliner
• neutral eye-shadows
• tinted lip balm
• eye-shadow brush 
• sensitive skin make-up remover wipes
• non-scented lotion

  Here is the cowl.  It is so close to being done too.  I just need to figure out if I want to do one more row and bind off or bind off this coming round.
  The secret knit is all done blocking and just needs some buttons before I can fill out the survey for the test knit and send picture to the designer.

Make-up Bags

  I have been obsessed with make-up lately.  I have been buying more, wearing more, and watching a ton of YouTube videos about it.  It got me thinking of things I could donate besides warm things I made.  I was thinking of pricing things and getting a price point to see how much this idea would cost me.  I could start a Go Fund Me, or something similar.
  Since I don't know what other people feel are "must have"s for make-up, I did some research online.  Unfancy has one opinion on the matter and Huffington Post seems to agree on a lot of things.  I know I will be able to get a lot of things from the Dollar Tree.  They even have tiny mascaras!  I was also thinking of getting some stuff from e.l.f. because I love them.  They have some great stuff for very good prices.
  As of right now this is what I am thinking of putting in each bag:

• mascara
• neutral eyeshadows
• tinted lip balm
• eyeshadow brush

  As of right now I am looking at about $4 for the contents of each bag.  I was considering maybe putting in some unscented face lotion as well.  Now the hard part...where to get a bag.  I am thinking of making some, but I could also do some searching online.  I know I could try and reach out to various places to see if I could get a deal on bags, but I'm not very good at that.  I never know what to say to them and feel like I end up sounding unprofessional.
  Also, let me know if you think I should add anything else to the bags.
  I also wanted to add that I was thinking of having these go to women's shelters.  I know this might seem like a silly thing but I feel like it might help some people.  Some people might have needed to get out and couldn't take things that they use everyday and might find some comfort to be able to fancy themselves up.

Here are some warm fuzzy feelings for anyone who was majorly bored by the rest of this post: Featherless Bird