Kiss My Knits!

I seem to have developed a blister on the side of the knuckle on my second finger, right hand, where my finger encounters the cord on my circular needle. So I switched to another project tonight.

Then my left wrist started giving me twinges.

Seven hats in line, hands protesting… this is not a good sign. My left wrist already gets me when I’ve got a wedding going on. Looks like I’ve got to treat it better.

Taking it easy tomorrow, and I can wear my wrist brace and put a Curious George bandaid over the blister if need be.

Y’all were right – the gray hat sold first. Go you! I take it to mean there’s a desire for more unisex/masculine stuff. As for me, I made a little purchase – some lip balm with a name I can’t repeat here. Ahem.

Next! I am considering offering some Jayne hat kits, with proceeds going to the American Red Cross for Katrina relief. The kits would include a pom-pom with tail for attaching to finished hat, four stitch markers, enough yarn to make a men’s size large hat and a pattern (exact stitch and row counts for various sizes, a couple of tips on cast-ons and joining colors, etc.). Purchasers would need scissors and needles. The pattern would assume you could knit and purl, and knew what things like “without twisting stitches, join into a circle” mean. I would happily offer technical support via e-mail.

I’m thinking about 10-15 bucks, including shipping (domestic or international would be fine). The pattern would be for non-commercial use only, as my other very similar pattern in this thread is.

I need a test knitter! I’d need you to follow the pattern exactly and tell me of any inaccuracies, confusion, etc. and to tell me how the finished product turns out. I need very honest feedback – my skin is quite thick. Any takers?

(Psst! Dragonrealms Plat! I haven’t forgotten about you, I’ll definitely be altering there, it’s just a matter of getting time. Don’t tell Dragonrealms Prime, but you’re my favorite.)

Fallen! Stop pwning your sister! So help me, I will turn this server around and take us all back to Gemstone!

The hat that nobody picked as their fave? It’s getting double the looks of the other two items on Etsy’s CraftRevolution shop for Katrina victims. Either people can’t stop looking, rubberneck car-wreck style, or crafty folks have a different take. Go figger. We’ll see what sells first.

I’m thinking of making a rainbowy loopy scarf to go up there, too. A scarf to put the Crazy Hat to shame! (Safety note: Please do not look directly at Crazy Hat.) Many thanks to for being a good sport about my continued use of an outdated image of him.

Sharp-eyed viewers may note that leftover yarn from the Crazy Hat is used in the center of the carousel hat. It’s hand dyed Colinette Point Five, which apparently has magical powers that compel people to watch! Look away… if you DARE!

Donations to the wearwithstyle Donors Choose contest are into three figures. I may dig into my stash and see what other primo goodies I can find.

Using a dremel tool, a length of 1/2″ PVC pipe, and free instructions from doctordirt.com, I have created a PVC niddy noddy. The pipe was only sold in 10 foot lengths, so I’ve got a lot left over. I also bought a few extra T-joints so that I can make more if need be. This was an exceptionally cheap project.

A niddy noddy is a tool for measuring yarn. Spinners also use them to create neat skeins, which is also useful for dyeing. One wrap around this niddy noddy covers exactly 7 feet. I’m using it to measure out how much yarn it takes to create the individual sections of a Jayne hat, so that I can get a standardized measurement for potential kits.

In a rare moment of grown-up fun, I went out tonight to a lovely party hosted by a friend of mine, for another friend who was in town after a long absence. It was great to see him again, someone whom I remembered from the days when I was an Addy award-winning TV producer and could carry on a conversation which did not involve Disney princesses. I must do it more often.

The good: I just got Jayne hat order number 50!

The bad: I just sliced my finger on a hidden knife while doing dishes.

ARRRGGGGHHH!!!

So, I’m trying to choose which to sell for Katrina. Any opinions?

ETA: I decided to do all three. In for a penny, in for a pound, eh?

I’m changing the focus of the Donors Choose yarn contest, at least for a while. The kids in the Bronx will get by okay without learning how to knit, I believe Katrina is a bigger challenge.

I read a post from a former colleague of mine, , who is a teacher in Texas. She posts, “I almost bawled in class today. 2 young boys arrived into my classroom during 2 separate periods, dressed in the uniforms that they used to wear to their schools in New Orleans. You could almost feel the pent up fear and loss that they carried. They are too young to have to deal with these things.”

Donors Choose is putting all general funds toward Katrina proposals for the next week, and that strikes me as a good use of time and money. So donate, probably get some yarn, definitely help a kid.

Handcrafters across the internet are donating their goods for sale, with all proceeds going to the Red Cross Hurricane relief. I’m going to go through my stuff and see what wear with style items might be good to donate. They’ve already raised about two thousand bucks.

It’s all gathered in one place for your convenience. There’s some gorgeous stuff here – neat jewelry, clothing, purses, stuffed animals, and… well, more cool things than I can count! So shop! Buy quirky, cool accessories and help hurricane victims!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=3146