Updates

You know how I was starting to get sick on Thursday? Yeah. I didn't manage to stave that off, despite drinking so much OJ I started to look a little jaundiced. (Not really.) Oh, well--it was a valiant effort, anyway.

So, as the Horrible Voice-Stealing Cold of Aught-Eight descended, I took up my needles and made myself a cunnin' Jayne Hat.

Samara and I both made Jayne hats, actually. Our colors and finished hat sizes differ significantly, but despite our differences I declare us both to be Big Damn (Knittin') Heroes.

I was really impressed by how easily Samara knit her first hat--her first time ribbing, her first time using circs, her first time using DPNs, her first short rows. And even though she's sick, too, she remained amazingly good-spirited throughout the process. I don't think she's entirely pleased with the way her hat turned out, but seriously--impressive first hat. Yay, Samara!

I'm not completely thrilled with my hat, either, to tell the truth. I'd be happier if it fit me a little better. (Note to self: You have the largest head ever. Accept it.) Here's a list of things that went wrong: First, although the pattern called for US 10 1/2 circs, I only saw 10s and 11s. The 10s were $2 or $3 cheaper, so I bought those. Second, instead of investing in Lamb's Pride Bulky for a silly, movie-inspired hat, I decided to use doubled Wool-Ease. Third, I knit tightly. Fourth, as previously mentioned, I have the Largest. Head. Ever. So, my hat is a little tight, but not so tight that it cuts of the circulation to my brain. I can live with it. I do like it, overall. Hooray for my Jayne hat!

Of course I don't have any pictures of our Jayne hats to share today; maybe tomorrow.

I have completely frogged the alpaca sweater I bought a few weeks ago and skeined up all the yarn. Whew! It was a big job. In the end, I got over 1450 yards of 100% handspun alpaca yarn out of it. Not bad! Now I'm in the process of washing my skeins, which will take me a little while as I'm not willing to devote my entire apartment to drying skeins of yarn. But it's not like I have anything planned for this yarn right now, so I'm not in a hurry. (All right, I confess, I'm thinking "sweater for me," but would it be too unbearably silly to frog a sweater only to knit the yarn into a different sweater? I'm undecided.)

I continue to make good progress on Ho the Second.

And as a wonderful treat when I got back to work today, these were in my mailbox.

Mmm, ebony DPNs, US2 and US4. They're very long--8 inches--but so very pretty! This was the last remaining "I can't resist ordering the sale merchandise I shouldn't buy, but maybe they'll run out before they get to me" order. And I'm glad they didn't run out--these are lovely. I can't wait to knit something with them! I don't remember if the leg of Ho the Second is on 3s or 4s--if it's on 4s, I know what I'm doing tonight!

Edited to add: I'm a huge geek, so of course I looked up ebony on Wikipedia, and here's something fun: According to the wiki article (which is, of course, the gospel truth), ebony is one of the few woods that's so dense it sinks in water. I plan to try it out later--I'll let you know what happens!