Wurm!

In the past month, I've knit the same pattern twice.

This is the Wurm hat. It was a fun knit, both in Noro Yuzen and in a Savers-score alpaca.

this is Hannah's version, inside-out.
I'm not one for a lot of color, but I kind of want to steal her hat.


Mine has less color and more slouch.




This was my first time doing a knitted hem, and I'm kind of obsessed now. It's so neat and satisfying.

In doing a google search for "wurm hat", I came across this neat blog. One hundred hats in one year- yikes!

Happy 30th, Mr. F

and this gem:

from November 3rd, 2005.
Apparently I left this little note for my husband and then I took a three hour nap.

Aha!

I've been wondering how long it's been since I've been a knitter. I had a vague idea, but no solid date. I was scrolling through Chris' old Photo-a-day looking for pictures I'd like to hang in the house, and I came across this one:

From August of '05. Now I know.

Yesterday we received a birthday party invite for a fellow homeschooler. Part of the party will be making hearts for Hearts That Help. Unfortunately, we'll be unable to attend.

I found a pattern on Ravelry for a felted heart, and Hannah and I have a heart assembly line going on.



Another set of homeschoolers created their first little company, HOPE cookies. I wish I had a link, but I think they're really small-scale. They're selling 5 cookies for $5 and donating all of the proceeds to Doctors Without Borders. They've already raised $600. These kids rock.

Mostly Hats

I've decided to spend this year knitting hats. I've tried sweaters and scarves and mittens, but I really love knitting hats. The other day I actually found myself listing the reasons why I like knitting hats. It went something like:

a. instant gratification and increased likelihood of a finished object

b. no-guilt ripping out

c. the winter is cold

d. bad hair day solution

e. gauge matters less

f. i have a habit of buying one or two skeins of yarn

The desire to own this pilot cap is the reason I started knitting, and I've come back to it at least 20 times, for my own children and as baby gifts.

Some other patterns on my list for this year:

Windschief by Westknits

Habitat by Jared Flood

Wurm by Katharina

Odessa by Grumperina

Botanic by Westknits

Very Warm Hat by Elizabeth Zimmermann

I am also anxiously awaiting the release of Twisted Wooly Toppers, which will round out my list.

This is about it for my New Year's "resolutions". Knit more hats.

Not looking

Both the library books and the armwarmers were found within 2 days.

The library books were under a blanket, in a wagon, in my in-laws' garage. The armwarmers were under a couch cushion at my grandparents' house. Tearing apart my own house was completely unnecessary. At least I got some cleaning done and saved the $32 library fee...

Looking

It seems like I'm always looking for something. Right now I'm searching for 3 things: two (overdue) library books and my new knitted armwarmers. My superstitious side believes that if I post this, I'll find them. It also believes that the word "quiet", uttered on a L&D floor, will bring a shitstorm of nightmare patients. Not entirely rational.

XMess

This Christmas was... interesting. I worked the 7a-3:30p shift, and it was one of the worst shifts I have ever worked. Whenever anyone says to me "oh, you have the best job", I try to smile and agree. What I'm really thinking is, "it's a good job when everything goes well." When things don't go well, it's a terrible job to have.

Anyhow, I ended up having to stay an extra 1.5 hours to do paperwork, and when I got home the kids were practically drooling with anticipation. They waited ALL DAY to open the presents with me. :)

Chris got me some really thoughtful gifts, including microwaveable socks and an "I heart grapefruit" shirt. He got some pretty boring presents, but went out the next day and bought his real gift: a pair of Bruno Maglis. His right to make fun of me for having two pairs of the same Keen shoe in different colors has been revoked.

The kids have been sick since Dec 23rd. First it was Enzo, then Annabelle, and then Hannah was discovered to have an ear infection while her siblings were at their pedi appointment. It has been the most hectic holiday. Enzo ended up with spasmodic croup, and I have like 17 more gray hairs. I am looking forward to everyone recovering so we can have a peaceful furlough vacation week in Maine.

Year in review (photo-heavy)

How did time go by so quickly?

Things have been rather busy lately. Somehow I still haven't finished my holiday shopping (after Christmas). A few weeks ago, I made photo calendars for my mother, my grandparents, and a few others. Unfortunately, I found out about the buy-one, get-the-rest-half-off sale the day it ended. I spent an entire day uploading pictures to a very cranky Shutterfly, then I stayed up until 2:30am doing the calendars. It left me entirely unenthusiastic about taking or uploading pictures.

Going through the last year's stock of pictures reminded me that my kids have an okay life. The next time I feel like Bitch Mother, I'll remember that my kids spent the year going on field trips, gardening, and playing on the beach in Maine.

Here's a little (big and photo-heavy) year-in-review...