Black Weekend

So yeah, I'm not getting much knitting done.

Still, I feel pretty good about the state of my projects. I'm behind schedule, but not so far behind as to cause much of a problem. I am going to pick up the needles after this weekend and really plow into the yarn.

The goal, remember, is to not be knitting on Christmas Eve.

Another Hat Gift Started

I started the One Row Hat as a gift for one of the guys who work at the store.

This is the ribbing portion. It looked a little big, until I tried it on Alpha Male. Now, I think it looks about right.

I'm using Bernat Satin in Forest Mist Heather. It's a nice dark, dusky green color that I think will look really sharp in this pattern.

Unfortunately, you will just have to take my word on that since 1) I'm not to the pattern portion yet and 2) you can't really tell the color in these photos.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving. The day when we Americans give thanks for all our blessings. Just like the pilgrims of yore. (Except, they probably gave thanks for not being one of the 2/3 of the population who died of starvation and disease. Or, Thank you Lord that by some dumb luck we were able to survive even though none of us had any real survival skills like farming or medicine.) We celebrate this in America by stuffing ourselves to the point of paralyzation. And taking naps. And watching bad movies on TV.

Or, at least that's how we celebrate it here in the Patwoman household. (And we also give thanks for all our blessings.)

As you know, I like to actually set a table for the Thanksgiving meal. Like with real napkins and the fancy dishes and all. Here is my Thanksgiving table this year.

That tablecloth is new. You can tell from the creases. I tried to put it in the dryer to get rid of the creases, but--as you can see--that had no effect. I suppose I could've ironed it. But, well, then I'd have to iron it, right?

New napkin fold for me. This is the Fleur de Lis. (I effin love the internet. You can learn just about anything online.) I love folding the napkins for these holiday dinners. Maybe it's because we alway used a folded over paper towel when I was growing up. So, folded cloth napkins to me are the epitome of elegance.

The centerpiece is an understated one this year. A three-scent candle on a crystal dish with some silk flowers.

And now for a nap.

Holiday Decorating And Winter Diorama

I love Christmas. Despite the fact that I hate snow and I work in retail, I really love Christmas. I especially love all the decorations that go up for Christmas.

Of course, there is one good reason why I don't put my Christmas tree up as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey is in the ziploc freezer bags.

So, I have to content myself with decorating the store for Black Friday and the Christmas Shopping Season.

I got a small tree for the front of the store. I really wanted a red one. Red is our store color. But they are surprisingly hard to find. I did, however, find this lovely white one.

I also made a little diorama in one of the cases up front. This one is kind of wintery.

You see what's happening here? The party is facing this Frost Giant. The fighters have run up to take him on in melee combat, while the archer and wizard hang back to fire at range.

The rogue, however, has come up from behind for a backstab attack.

Frost Giant is unaware.

Yeah. I enjoy my work.

Restless Leg Syndrome

I think I have Restless Leg Syndrome.

That's not the start to a joke. That's me just finally figuring some things out. Like, I can never get my legs comfortable when I'm trying to go to sleep. They always feel like they're almost there, almost comfortable, if I can only move them just... a... little... b-- Arrgh! That's too far. Now they're uncomfortable again.

It doesn't wake me up at night, but it does make it very hard to go to sleep.

I was telling someone about this they other day and their response was, "What? It just suddenly happened?" So I thought about it, and no. It's been like this for a long time. I was just not really paying attention to it before. I thought I just couldn't get comfortable. (Which, by the way, is a real issue. My bed is not really confortable any more to any part of my body and I'd like to replace it. But, this leg thing is something separate from that.)

And then, for a couple of months now, I've been getting these "purrs" in my right thigh. Like my phone is vibrating in my pocket. But my phone's not there. I thought that might be some kind of "phantom pocket vibration sensation." (No, that's real. And it's not the good kind, either.) I've been reading about how people in the age of cell phones get these phantom vibrations, even when they are not carrying their phone. It's apparently a real thing. Not bothersome. Just interesting.

But now, for the last couple of weeks, my whole right leg gets goosebumps. Like every 20 minutes for 30 seconds, my right leg from my hip to my ankle is covered in goosebumps. Feels like a million tiny ants are crawling over my leg.

Whoops. That was a horrible thought. I wish that image hadn't popped into my head.

Anyway. So, as I'm researching (and by researching you know I mean losing myself in an internet safari) RLS, I'm just solidifying my opinion. Like, I've read that it may be hereditary because there are usually multiple family members with the same issue. And I remember my mom had very similar issues trying to get her leg comfortable enough to go to sleep. Of course, she assumed it was some damage from when she broke her leg many years before.

Also, some sites suggest that people who have this issue exhibit some symptoms in childhood and puberty as well, but that these symptoms are passed off as "growing pains." And I remember I got them a lot. A lot.

Interesting. I may take this up with my doctor and see what he/she has to say. Oh yeah, that's right. My doctor left her practice after the birth of her child and I need to find a new one.

Hey. Who knows of a good doctor in the Indianapolis area?

Back To My Old Tricks

Sometimes you just can't get something. Know what I mean? It doesn't happen often to me, but sometimes I just can not wrap my head around something.

That's the case with this invisible cast on, apparently. I'm just not getting it.

So, I've decided that maybe old dogs actually can't learn new tricks (at least not this one, right now) and I will have to go back to my old cast on trick--which is just casting on both strands at once.

It's okay. It looks fine. Casting on with two colors gives it a twisted two-color effect on the edge. It looks fine. I'll just pretend that was the plan in the first place. No one will notice but me, anyway. (Or, I guess knitting snobs might notice. But I tend to avoid them anyway.)

And now I'm able to work on the body of the scarf. So that's a good thing. Double knitting goes pretty quickly, once you get the hang of it. I usually hold both strands in my hand, the front yarn over my thumb and the back yarn over my index finger. Then, the whole deal is just a matter of tipping my hand back and forth over the right needle. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty rhythmic and you can really knit quickly. (Of course, each row is actually 2 rows, so you're still going half as fast as you feel you are.)

This is about 6 rows (or 12 rows, depending on how you look at it). I'm hoping to get through the Dire Wolf Head part of the chart the next time I pick this up.

And, maybe later, when I've had time to dump all this frustration out of my brain, I will go back to the invisible cast on and try again to learn it. Because 1) I'm always up for learning new stuff and 2) I don't accept that whole old dogs/new tricks thing.

FO: Cabled Stocking

I finished the back seam of this stocking for M's bf. Let me just say that mattress seam is pretty awesome. I love the way it just matches up. It is kind of a a pain in the ass to keep switching colors, but not a huge one.

I have to say, though, I do like this two-color braid along the side. I don't think I've ever done a two color braid--although I understood how to do it in theory. It's pretty clever. And especially clever in red and white for a Christmas decoration. It definitely gives the impression of a candy cane.

I think he will be happy with this. I showed it to M today and she liked it. All the stockings will, of course, go up pretty soon. I always say I want to wait to put up the tree, but I end up putting it up about the same time every year. I just get excited about Christmas, I guess.

The stockings will hang on the mantle. And, hopefully, this Christmas we will also have an Advent Garland hanging on the mantle, too. (If I finish the last 4 or 5 ornaments. Yikes! I almost forgot about that.)

FO: Big Ribs

Or, as I like to call it, Giant Bulletproof Hat.

I've made this hat before, did I mention? Several times. It used to be my go-to hat pattern. The one I would use to whip out a hat during the course of a movie. I just haven't made it in a while.

I guess I forgot exactly how I did it before. But, now that I am thinking about it, I think I only ever used 2 strands of yarn at once and went down a needle size or two on the first couple of rows. Because, as I remember, those hats were perfect fits for an average guy's head.

This one turned out a little large.

Also, I really tried to give this an ombre look, going from dark to light. But, I really don't see a whole lot of difference in the (2 dark + 1 light) section and the (2 light + 1 dark section) section. And I definitely don't see a difference in the (2 light + 1 dark) and the (3 light) sections.

And then I ran out of the Taupe Mist yarn.

So the top portion is 3 strands of Coffee. Finally, a difference! But then, I screwed up the decreases somehow. I don't know how. But then I just decreased evenly and drew the final 8 stitches up to fasten off.

You can see from the pictures this hat is pretty big. And three strands of yarn makes it really thick. Like, bulletproof thick. I was worried that it was going to have to become an ugly purse or something. But, luckily, T has a pretty big head. (To encase his large brain, of course.) So, when he tried it on, it fit perfectly. And he likes a warm hat.

And it doesn't look nearly as ugly on his head.

Old Dogs Can/Can't Learn New Tricks

Literally and figuratively.

Today I tried to get Gengen to jump through a hula hoop. She stared at me and the hoop for about 1.5 seconds, then she walked around it. So I put it lower and in front of her again. Again, she paused, then walked around it. So I put it on the ground, right in front of her.

And she still walked around it.

That's just kind of a smaller version of my own adventure.

Today I decided to cast on for T's Christmas Scarf, which is double knitted. Now, I've done double knitting before. No problem. It's one of those things that look a lot more complicated than it is. The last thing I knitted using that technique was R's zombie scarf. Remember that?

When I made that scarf, I used a very simple cast on--which is what the double knitting tutorial used. Basically, I just did a regular cast on, using both strands of yarn at the same time. Easy, schmeasy, right? The cast on and bind off end had both colors on them, in kind of a twisted, braided looking edge. It didn't look bad, really. I kind of liked it.

Well, this particular pattern that I've decided to do uses an invisible cast on. Invisible cast on means the end would look it was kitchener stitched. And then, binding off with a kitchener stitch would make both ends look exactly alike. Hm. I think that maybe I might like that. Of course, I'd have to learn how to do that first.



Hello, Youtube? What have you got on "invisible cast on"?

The first tutorial I looked at was confusing. Wait. What's a better word than confusing? It was... @#$%^*(%^%!! Yeah. Let's go with that. I tried to follow it for about half an hour, but I just couldn't catch on. Jeez. I've never been so confused in my life! (And I took 4 years of Latin in school.) I mean, crap. The tutorial started off by saying it was a variation of long-tail cast on. And you know how much I hate long-tail cast on. Wait. What's a better word than hate? I @#$%^*(%^%!! long-tail cast on!

So I found another tutorial. One that doesn't rely on that horrible, horrible cast on. But, oh my God, I had to watch that thing over and over. Needless to say, I feel pretty stupid right now. Like, unable to learn, stupid.

But I did finally get it cast on and it looked just like it did on the video. Yay me. So I began knitting the pattern, according to the chart.


But after two rows, I examined the work, to make sure it was looking like it should. And I noticed two things:

1. This cast on does not look the way it's supposed to. Not even close. In fact, it looks pretty shitty. Damn it.

2. I've done this chart backwards. That is, I've put the dark where I want the light and the light where I want the dark. And that wouldn't make a difference, except that, since it's words double knitted, the wrong side is going to have the readable words.

Double damn it.

So, I guess I will be ripping this out, watching some more Youtube, and doing a lot more swearing.

The Future Is.... (wait for it)... Coming

Sorry. I just couldn't resist that pun. Just like I can't resist telling everyone I know about this.

Yeah. So, just like I've been telling you for years now, it was only a matter of time before the sex industry started investing in robotics. I just didn't think it would be marketed by a game company, is all.

Basically, this is software that interfaces with... uh... hardware (that pun was accidental) including a set of Virtual Reality goggles and a... erm... vibro tube. You're watching an anime girl give you a virtual handy while the tube moves in unison with her. So, you're basically doing it with a robot. Ha!

So, okay. I'm immature enough to giggle at that. But, you know, I don't really have anything against that. Not as is. (Although, I am a little weirded out by people who get aroused by anime. Mainly because there are so many "schoolgirl"-type characters.) The problem I could potentially have with this is just that--if this robot can simulate sex with anime characters, then what's next? Will there be the same kind of 3D porn for this device that there is in 2D on the internet right now?

Yes, of course there will be. And that's a problem. Because if the simulation is not real, what is the crime? Are we punishing people for what they think? Should we? What if a person who had urges but never acted on them was able to act on them using this software? And then they became emboldened enough to do it for real? Or became so numbed to the stimulation of the simulation that they have to commit the real act to get enjoyment out of it? Isn't it very much like people watching Faces of Death and then murdering people? That shit happens.

So then, what? Do we tightly regulate the industry so no software featuring children, torture, or violence is produced and sold? What then, about the imports from countries that are less vigilant about that? And what about the homemade stuff, done by any one of thousands of programmers who can do this kind of stuff? And what about when the graphics become so good it's almost real. (Think of how video game graphics have improved, just over the last couple of years.)

And, even if we have a "game" manufacturer that conforms to all laws and guidelines, will the retailers? I've got to say, most stores don't even pause if you try to purchase a CD with an Explicit Lyrics label or a MA-rated video game. And even if they did, who couldn't get an adult to buy it for them? (Think how easy it was to get someone to buy booze for you before you were 21.) And even if the game manufacturers and retailers are all playing by the rules, what if your friend's older brother or uncle or dad has a copy? (I know. That's gross. But that could happen.)

So what's the answer? I don't know. I don't think the "Handy Robot" is bad, in itself. No more than a can-opener would be to blame for the contents inside the can or for the relative health of the person who eats the contents. Should we have sex with robots? I don't know. A lot of people say we shouldn't eat mass-produced food.

But I do think these things are in the future and we need to think about them. We need to know how we feel about these things. Is there a line and where is it drawn?

Discuss.

Bulky Beanie

So yeah. I cast another thing onto the needles. I'm not very monogamous about my knitting these days. Plus I need to get a whole lot of stuff done.

So I cast on for this Big Ribs Beanie. I've knit this pattern several times before. For Blamey's BF John, for a couple family friends, and for T, of course. It's a great pattern for knocking a gift out quickly. You use 3 or 4 strands of worsted and just rib the whole thing.

I used two strands of Red Heart Super Saver in Coffee and one strand of Vanna's Choice in Taupe Mist. For about 2". Then, I changed to two strands of the Vanna's Choice and one of the Red Heart. After a few inches, I'm going to change to three strands of the Vanna's Choice. I'm going for an ombre type look.

I don't think it's quite happening, though. Still, it's a nice looking hat. I'm going to finish it as planned.

Okay, So Now It's Getting Cold

And I'm not prepared.

Yeah, I knew winter was coming. At least, that's what my friend Ned used to say. And I know this stuff could have been done ahead of time. But, I just haven't done it yet.

I need to find the tarp (or buy a new one) for the grill. And pick up all the summer stuff from the yard. And the bushes should be trimmed one last time.

And my yard is full of leaves. I need someone else to pick all these leaves up and put them in the composter. Because, if I do, in less than an hour, my throat will be so raw and my eyes will be running so bad...

Plus, I don't really want to do it.

On the bright side, I do have a lot of new scarves I've knitted this year that I can wear now.

Clandestine Hat

I've been having to do my knitting for T when he isn't around. So this is his hat.

Yeah. Doesn't look like much, right? Oh well. This is actually the lining of the hat. It's done in sport weight yarn on Size 2 needles, so it's slow going. But it is knitted flat, so that makes to make it go faster than I expected.

Here's the outside of the hat. Same construction. I haven't gotten to the chart yet, so this is actually just the outer earflaps and the cast on part of the outer hat.

But you just wait.

Just Needs A Back Seam

Check it out! Here is the cabled stocking, all knitted. The ends woven in. I just need to seam it up the back and add a hanger.

I'm pretty happy about that because that means this stocking will be finished in time to go out with the rest of the stockings and decorations next week.

If I put up the tree next week, that is. I love putting up the Christmas tree and would like to put it up the day after Thanksgiving, if it weren't for one thing.

No Shave November?

No. It's just the base of the Viking Beard for R's hat.

Wow. I look a little crazed in that picture. Sorry. I was trying to look normal. So I guess that's just something you can't fake.

I also cut the strands for the beard, but it doesn't look like it's going to be very full. I might just double the strands. Of course, that means measuring and cutting more yarn, which is a pain in the ass, but I think it will be worth it.

I'm pretty excited about this beard. I think R will really get a kick out of it. I don't know what he will do with it, but... Maybe I will make him a "normal" hat, too.

I'm also excited because I haven't crocheted in such a long time that it was quite refreshing to do it. You know I learned to crochet long before I learned to knit, right? I just prefer knitting.

But crochet is fun too. And, after crocheting this beard base, I got this incredible urge to crochet some other things, too. I didn't know what, though. So I cruised YouTube for some ideas and found some cute swirly coasters I would like to try and some Christmas ornament covers that, if I don't get time to do them before this Christmas, I will definitely do them for next Christmas.

I Suppose It's Time To Be Thinking About Thanksgiving Dinner

I should be preparing the menu and shopping list, and coming up with some kind of game plan so dinner can be put on the table on time. But honestly, all I can think about is "Who's going to clean this dirty house?" and "Not it."

Can you call Not It, if you were the one who said the house needed cleaning?

Actually, it needs a major renovation more than anything else. It's old and looks it. But there is nothing to be done about that. The house, like me, is not getting any younger.

So, I will content myself with planning the dinner. I'm thinking this year about making a cake to go with the pies. Or maybe cupcakes. And I'm thinking of skipping the vegetable tray and adding a salad to the meal. I'm crazy like that.

Of course, I will still keep the cheese ball. I shudder to think of the disappointed looks on the entire family's faces if I try and pull off a Thanksgiving dinner with no cheese ball appetizer.

I'm not that brave.

For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving, what are your Thanksgiving plans?

Ready To Turn The Heel On This B*tch

Okay. I guess it's not technically turning a heel, since it's knit flat. (Or is it? I'm not actually sure.)

But here I am with 14" of the leg knit, ready to boom-shaka-laka make a heel.

This two color braid has turned out really nice, I have to say. It really makes this stocking. And the corrugated striped cuff add a measure of playfulness. So, all-around, I'm liking this stocking a lot.

I just have to do the foot part, seam the back, and add a hanger and then I'm done. Oh, and weave in these ends. There are a few ends back here. Ugh!

Stay tuned.

Stocking #2 Progress

More progress on the cabled stocking.

As you can see, it's coming right along. This is all pretty quick knitting. The only things that slow it down are the color changes and the cables. Nothing too complex.

I'm hoping to get to the heel in another hour or so's worth of knitting.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

...or at least Clark Griswold's front yard.

I snapped a couple of pictures of Menard's Christmas display, but the photos do not do it justice. (Especially when a lot of these lights are blinking. You just can't get the full effect.)

My favorite display is the Christmas Peacock. A lot of people don't know the story of the Christmas Peacock. He was ridiculed by all the other peacocks at the North Pole because his tail lit up. They slammed him on Facebook and had the hot girls ask him out and then laugh at him. All kinds of stuff that the douche-bag peacocks are famous for.

But then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa was about to cancel Christmas because he couldn't see ten feet in front of his sleigh. (And it's dangerous to drive that way at any speed, so just think about how scary that would be at the velocity Santa goes in order to hit all the world's houses in one night.)

But then, Santa noticed the tail-lit peacock and said, "You know, if you guide my sleigh tonight, I won't have to disappoint the children."

And the peacock said, "Santa--dude--I really can only fly short distances at a time. I can't do a trip around the world unless you want to stop every 120 feet or so."

Santa was like, "Wow. That's pretty disappointing. No wonder no one likes you. Ok, then. I think I'll go ask that reindeer with the freaky glowy-nose, instead."

And that's why we put the lighted peacock on the front lawn at Christmas time--to remind Santa that, just because someone isn't exactly what you want them to be, there's no need to be a dick about it.

A House For The Traveller

It's been getting colder and colder lately. As my old friend Ned Stark used to say, "Winter is coming." And I still can't persuade Odysseus to come inside. (He only hisses at me sometimes now.)

But I worry about him being out in the cold and the elements. So T and I went and bought an outdoor house for him. It's one of those plastic things, but at least it will keep the wind off him and it will be dry. It's got clear front flaps to keep the air out, but that don't impede your view of the outside world. I'm thinking that's pretty important to an outdoor cat.

We tried to lure him to the house by feeding him right there, but he was pretty suspicious of it. He didn't come to eat his food right away. In fact, he went to the far edge of the yard to watch us shake that cat food bag and call to him.

Hopefully, he will get up the nerve to check it out once we have been inside for a while. I padded the floor with some nice thick blankets, but if he decides to stay there, I might get one of those floor warmers.

I was a little concerned that Odysseus would be offended by this being, technically, a dog house. But, you know. He can't read. I just have to make sure Achilles doesn't tell him.

FO: Off Center Hat

I'm working on some "manly" hats for some of the guys on my Christmas list. Now, I don't know about you, but most of the guys I know tell me they want "plain" hats with "plain" colors. Nothing "too fancy."

I'm not sure exactly what that means. So, I've chosen a yarn with a brown/grey/tan variegation and a pattern with a basic twisted rib stitch. (Although, this particular pattern does do a fancy little slant with the rib, but hey... whatever.)

This is the Off Center Hat. Knit on #6 circulars and dpns. The pattern is pretty easy, once you get the hang of it. You do have to watch yourself because most of these pattern rows look alike at first glance. Or maybe that's just me, since I chose not to use any stitch markers at all. (Not because I was too lazy to get up and get a bunch of stitch markers, mind you. Because I am just that good that I don't need stitch markers.)

The pattern cautions that this hat looks small, but is very stretchy. And I have to say, it does look small. It fits me fine, but on Alpha Male, it looks pretty tight. I'm not sure this is going to work as a man's hat, sadly. I tried it on Notpatwoman and it looks to be a better fit.

Then, I turned it inside out so that slanted portion would be more noticeable. I think I like it this way even better.

UFO: Stocking #2

One more stocking this year. This one is for M's boyfriend, Ryan. It's the Christmas Stocking #kwe-christmasStocking from Lion Brand Yarn.

I love this 2-color cable down each side of this stocking. I also love the corrugated cuff at the top. You probably can't see it in this picture, but this cuff does have a lot of interest to it. Not only is it red and white, framed by green, but it's actually 2X2 rib, as well.

This is worsted weight, so it's moving along pretty quickly. It's definitely some Vanna's Choice (white), but I'm not sure about the red and green. They were label-less in my yarn-stash. Firm acryllic, so probably Red Heart or Wool-ease or Vanna's Choice.

My Version Of Potpourri

I love California Cuties oranges. Love them. Like, I will eat them a pound at a time. Especially this time of year. I don't know why it is, but once it starts getting cold, I really want those little oranges. Luckily, Kroger seems to have them on sale every week. So I bought the big bag.

The thing about California Cuties is that they are so easy to peel. I usually play a game with myself--Let's see if I can take the peel off in one piece. (I can, most of the time.) So, I'm standing in the kitchen, peeling an orange, and before I throw the peel away (I don't want to put it in the composter because I've heard citris peels are not good to put in the compost), I think "I wonder if there's anything I can do with this? Like, can I dry it and make potpourri?"

I thought about how to dry them--on the counter, in the oven, in the microwave. But then, I just decided to try it without drying the peels at all. I threw the peel in a pot with some water (I knew one would never be enough, so I had to eat another orange in order to have another peel, darn it.), half a cinnamon stick, and a shake of allspice. (Don't use Old Spice. That's not the same thing.) Then I put the whole thing on the back burner and let it simmer all night.

The house smelled fantastic! Kind of like Earl Grey Tea, really. I simmered it all night. And I think I will do it again. In fact, I think I will make some potpourri packs with my orange peels.

I wonder what other potpourri flavors/scents I can experiment with?

Well, I Started Another Thing

...and I'm not going to make excuses about it. This is just the time of year when I will have a million things going at once.

It's a hat, so I'm not too worried about getting it done. Hats are pretty quick. This one has a nice twisted rib stitch and some Left Twist stitches, so it's not a complete

I will post pictures presently.

The One Where Patwoman Becomes A Robot

...A robot army, no less.

Well, actually, I didn't become anything. But I did finally learn to play Warhammer 40k. And I played Necrons, which are, basically, robots.

This was a very small game, since I was just learning. Tom, one of the guys from the store, was teaching me and he played two squads of Space Marines while I played two squads of Necrons. I got to place first, which suits me, since I like to play most games pretty aggressively. So I put my guys down in two formations on the board, with the hopes of making a pincer maneuver happen.

And that's basically what I did. Necrons have the advantage that they are living robots. So they're pretty tough to actually kill. You can "kill" them, but they have a good chance of coming right back.

Hm. What does that remind me of?

Oh. Right.

Anyway, Tom's Space Marines shot me up pretty good. But I just kept coming. The thing about Space Marines--they don't come back. So, it was not too long before I was able to overwhelm one of his squads and, meanwhile, force the other one into retreat.

And by the time the first squad had been dealt with, the second was in position for my pincers move.

(Okay. That's not what's showing in this picture, but I got excited by this point in the game and stopped taking pictures. You'll just have to imagine.)

I hadn't played any war games before, but this was a lot of fun. Of course, Tom went easy on me because I was just learning the game. He's been playing for a long time, so it was nice of him not to pull out all his tricks and just crush me on my first game.

This great game terrain board, btw, is another one T recently created--a desert terrain. You can't really see this from these photos, but it has a nice sandy, rocky texture to it. This dried riverbed/road has larger (to scale) stone in it, so it looks really awesome. He also created a really cool lava crust/meteor strike board and is working on a swamp board that I can't wait to see.

Knitting Along

I'm still working on all of my Christmas knitting, basically. I just work on something different, depending on who's here.

Last night T fell asleep on the couch and I finished off the black lining of his hat and cast on the white outer part. I also spent some time earlier today looking through the yarn stash to determine what I still needed to buy.

Yes, it's hard to believe--given how many skeins of yarn I have--but sometimes I don't have exactly what I need. Sad, but true. One thing is for sure. I sure have a whole lot of onsie skeins that are left over from some project or another. I'm going to have to take a look at all of those after Christmas and maybe make an afghan with a bunch of different colored squares.

Look at me... Planning after-Christmas projects. Ha!

FO: Rebel Princess Hat

Well, it's November 4th and the fourth was really with me tonight. (Ba-dum-dum!)

But seriously, folks. I finally got around to sewing the hair buns on the Rebel Princess Hat. It was not a big deal, really. I just whip stitched them on. The main thing was deciding where to place them. I kind of like the organic look of this one.

Here's a traditional bunhead placement.

And this one is just... No.

I will belay the obvious joke photo.

This hat looks pretty good. Maybe nothing you'd wear outside the convention halls, but still...