Kaethe saved this sweater . . .

I was at the tail end of knitting this sweater when my neighbor friend Kaethe called and invited me over for a "sewing circle" night at her place. The sweater was finally complete, and I just had to weave all the many ends into the sweater. With so many belt loops, that called for a fair amount of weaving. Sidenote: weaving in all of the loose ends is probably my least favorite part of any knitting project. Once it is all pieced together, I just want to wear it already!

So, armed with crackers, cheese, and several bottles of red wine (you may see where this story is headed...), I made my way across the street to Kaethe's. When she saw the sweater, she got so excited, and asked me to model it. While she poured me my first glass of wine, I was more than happy to show it off. I kid you not, after my first sip of wine, apparently, I was a little too excited as well, and a small dribble fell onto the front of my sweater! Catching the stain in time, a calm and collected Kaethe poured a small amount of salt onto the stain, and voila! The salt absorbed all of the wine, and the stain was literally gone within a few minutes.

I'd like to report that I wore this sweater to a party hosted by her a few weeks later, complete with a glass of red wine, and didn't spill a drop. See, you can dress me up and take me out.


P.S. This was a cheapie to make. A Patons pattern that I actually found at a Michael's store (I usually don't find much there that agrees with me.) And only 4 skeins of their Divine yarn, which ran me around $5.00 a pop.

There's nothing like losing...

Whipped up a cute little hat just before the holidays. Pattern from Louisa Harding's book Gathering Roses: Accessories. I've had the book for a few years now, and made several projects out of it - a purse and two hats. Romantic designs for hats, scarves, purses, and gloves. A lot of Harding's designs appeal to the "pretty girl" that I never get to be in my daily life. But hell, I can knit purdy if I can't look purdy all the time. Got the hat knit in short time. Wore it to Christmas down at my in-laws. And promptly lost it. Or maybe I should just pretend I have misplaced it. All I know is that it didn't make the trip from Plymouth back up to Boston with me. I got one good shot of it here, so I have proof it existed!

This is the same hat, pictured in the book, I believe in Louisa Harding's Kashmir DK yarn. It's done in a moss stitch, which gives the hat some heft, allowing you to play with the brim.

On a girls weekend down to Jersey to visit my friend Jess, we both decided to knit the same hat. We started the hat together, going over the pattern to determine any "bumps" before we left each other to complete it solo. Last Monday morning on my way to work, I got a picture mail on my phone from Jess, asking me if I knew any coneheads who needed a hat. Gauge gauge gauge, I guess. This hat runs a close second to my favorite funniest moments: people slipping or falling down.