I now love hats!

Another FO, and I absolutely love it.  It’s a Purl Beret, knit up in some lovely hand-dyed sock yarn from Dharmafey.  The colourway is called Josef Kostan, after the ancient/perpetually horny vampire on the now cancelled show, Moonlight.  That show was awesome…

I love this yarn.  It’s super soft and all the different shades of blue are stunning.  The pictures really don’t do the colour justice.  The pattern was a bit harder to deal with.  It was easy enough, but it involved loooong stretches of stockinette, and when done in fingering weight, can make you go nuts!  I love the finished product though, so the pain was worth it.

I took this photo before I blocked it (doh!).  It now has a bit more drape to it.  Blocking is kind of amazing.  This thing went from lumpy to sleek overnight – awesome!

I now totally love hats.  I have a couple more (similar) patterns that I want to make and wear, once I finish some of my other WIPs.  Back to my knitting!

A random perfect moment.

I went to the mall today, and I decided to grab a coffee while I was there.  I was sitting at a small table, which happened to be in front of a store that sells musical instruments.  Inside, an older gentleman in a nice suit sat down at one of the pianos on display, and began to play Moon River.  It was beautiful, and so unexpected.  I love moments like that.

Twilight and cables and mittens, oh my!

My obsession with all things Twilight continues, this time in knitwear.  There is this fantastic pattern for cabled mittens, based on the pair Bella wears in several scenes in the movie.  All you Ravelry people, go check it out – the pattern is so clear and easy to follow, I love it.  This was my first attempt at mittens and cables, and I am thrilled with how they turned out.

They’re done in super bulky yarn, a definite plus.  I was able to churn these babies out in just over a week – unheard of with my current work schedule.  Unfortunately, these aren’t for me, but for a good friend currently battling the winter chill in northern Alberta.  I mailed them out today – I can’t wait to hear from her!

They’re so pretty…  Have I mentioned how much I love this pattern?  I can’t wait to cast on again.  The next pair are going to be for me!

Why my TomTom is the best thing since sliced bread.

I’m the type of person who gets lost while driving.  A lot.  I’ve lived in this city for almost my entire life and I still don’t know my way around.  I tend to follow set routes to my usual haunts, and I rely a lot on visual cues, such as stores or restaurants.  When I find that I have to drive to new places, I get stressed out and sometimes even ‘pre-drive’ the route with a family member, creating directions along the way.  It’s all related to my learning disability, and it makes me feel really inadequate most of the time.  This is why I love my TomTom.  My job requires a lot of driving to new places, sometimes on short notice (one of the joys of home care).  I bought a TomTom a couple months ago, and it has really saved me.  I now drive around town (and neighbouring cities) without worry.  I actually feel free.  I can’t even begin to describe how great of a feeling that is, without sounding like a complete dork.