August is for hats!

Let's see what I have been up to lately.

Knitting hats, lots of hats.  So far this month I have knit five hats and am half way done a sixth.  Hats are super fast and easy to knit.  Oh I conquered my fear of the tubular cast on thanks to some good directions over at Knitty.  I like it but not as much as the long tail cast on.

Planning a birthday sweater.  Some one is turning 30 this year and despite what she is hoping for is not getting a moo-moo for her birthday.  I have been virtual yarn and pattern shopping and loving it.  I really like that itch you get when you set your mind to starting a big project.  We have decided on the Fairly Easy Fair Isle from the Stitch and Bitch Nation book by Debbie Stoller.  I fell in love with that book when I was a new knitter and still have a soft spot for it.

College shopping.  Nate is getting ready to start his senior year of high school.  I know don't get me started on that.  So we are looking at schools and  I am making spreadsheets and asking everyone I know what schools they like.  We went from 80 to 30 to 15 to 10 which we hope to visit in September and October before he decides what he wants. 

Watching Project Runway!  Love it but it made me realize how awful the Fashion Show was.  At the time I was deluded into thinking it was ok but compared to PR it sucks.  Sorry Isaac nothing personal.  I don't even mind that it is on Lifetime all though all those lady specific commericals and ads for Army Wives gets to be a bit much.

Reading and listening to audio books.  Since last time I finished reading The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner and The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler.  I am reading Catch-22 (which is kick ass funny) and listening to Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson (which is a nice collection of interconnected short stories)  I also scored a copy of Darkness at Noon.  So after two months I have a very respectable 8 out of 10 on the list so far. 

Here is the best hat of the bunch.  I made this chullo for my 4 year old nephew Luke.  He loves bright colors and hoarding things.  This should fit the bill.  I made hidden pockets in the earflaps for him to hid his candy and cars and stuff that boys like.  I made it out of RHSS so it can be washed and dried all winter long. 

PSA ladies Lion Brand has made all of the patterns on their website free so go crazy!

Luke's hat: Cozy Canuck Chullo (rav link)

Fairly Easy Fair Isle (rav link) Possible yarn choice Bernat Alpaca

Knitty directions for the Tubular Cast On and other great cast ons

Project Runway and Project Rungay now called Tom & Lorenzo still snarky!

Lion Brand Yarn website get those free patterns

A brief update

I have been knitting hats this month.  I already finished 2 droplet hats from Knitting Nature, a Toque for Nate and a Marsan Watchcap for Andrew.  Things are clipping along on a Chullo for Mr. Luke.  I am decreasing for the top and should be finished by the end of the week.  I am planning on two slouchy berets to round out the end of the month. 

I have also been reading and listening like crazy.  I finished Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man this week and started The Way of All Flesh by Samuel Butler.  I am also still working on The Sound and the Fury which is really good but I got bummed out by the chapters narrated by the brother Quentin.  So I have completed the first five titles in the Modern Library list.  Onward to the rest of the 95.

On a happy family time note we had family movie day today.  The ladies (myself, sister and Jazzy) went to see Ponyo and the boys went to see District 9.  I remember when family movie day meant we went to the same movie but that is what happens when you have teenagers.  The movie was very good and well done but what do you expect from a Hayao Miyazaki's film?  We then went to the buffet and had some sushi and watermelon!  Boy is it crazy hot in the city right now.  Poor J.R. is drooling and panting like crazy.  I gave him a haircut last week with the boss man's clipper and he looks great.

Here are some snaps of Nate wearing his Toque.  He really likes the hat.  I made it from bulky black wool blend that  I had in the stash.  I think it was left over from when I did the cabled purses a few years ago.
I made the two droplet hats from the handspun I won during the Mitten Month thing on Ravelry.  I got two hats one full size and one slightly smaller from the two skeins I had.  One will go to Amelia and the other to her mother for christmas.

Ponyo Trailer
Laire Toque (rav link)
Droplet Hat from Knitting Nature (rav link)

Molly Bloom is a knitter!

Wow today I finished Ulysses by James Joyce. What a roller coaster. I have to say that I really enjoyed reading it. I guess I was in the right place to be able to devote the time to get to know the novel and delve into it. Some parts were rough to digest but I dug in and kept reading. I have to say thanks to the internet I found some great analysis of the book and it did'nt hurt that I listened to the audio version and read the book at the same time. I was able to get more out of the book. Oh and Molly Bloom is a knitter she mentions knitting three times in the book. So let's take a look at the list and see where we are:

1. ULYSSES by James Joyce (done)
2. THE GREAT GATSBY by F. Scott Fitzgerald (done)
3. A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce (reading right now)
4. LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov (done)
5. BRAVE NEW WORLD by Aldous Huxley (done)
6.THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner (reading right now)
7. CATCH-22 by Joseph Heller (bought a copy)
8. DARKNESS AT NOON by Arthur Koestler (looking for a copy)
9. SONS AND LOVERS by D.H. Lawrence (done)
10. THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck (done)

So I am reading The Sound and The Fury right now and I am loving it. It is such a fascinating book. I also got a audio copy of Portrait of the artist and will do the same thing I did with Ulysses.

Here is a finished object from the WIP Wrestlemania event. I did this for my big brother for his birthday. He digs weird hats! Nate is modeling it for me!

Luche Libre (rav link) It's from Son of Stitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller.

Modern Library's 100 best novels

LibrVox (free audio books)

I'm on Facebook! No J.R. is not on there yet.

Ditto

Meet Ditto! I finished this today. Overall I am pretty happy with the way the pattern knit up. The only issue I have is the fact that it is too small for me. The last two Norah Gaughn patterns I knit the Ram's Horn and the Origami Cardi came out too big so I decided to make a size smaller. Now it is too small. Anyway I love it. The yarn is Red Heart Eco-Ways in Cinnabar. It is a recycled yarn that is very soft and smooth. I would recommend it.

Ditto from Berroco

Eco-Ways Yarn from Red Heart