Discuss among yourselves

Hello Hokitka.  Hello whomever reads this in San Antonio; wish you'd comment!  I really like San Antonio a lot, been there several times and always find some fun. 
The Peerless Bunny Hop has been shipped off to its new owner & intended recipient, Princess T.  I sent it inside another gift for her (& for Sis, sort of), a storage bench that is, if not spot on, a really close match for the off-white furnishings of the Princess' room.  See, I usually sleep in her room when I visit -- it's full of toys, and some nice girly furniture, but the bed is super high (I'm only 5'1") and unsuitable for seating, and the only chairs are all tiny kids' chairs with the seats about 1' from the floor.  It's kinda hard for a "traditionally built" gal to use those chairs while trying to get into her trousers or socks & shoes.  So...I bought a sturdy storage bench for T's room.  Shipping cost about two thirds again the price of the item, but it  was quite a bit less than the Postal Service wanted. 
The Plaidman has been under the weather since mid February, having been hospitalized twice and had two procedures.  Dog, he's just falling apart since he retired!  And couldn't wait on this mess until his Medicare starts....oh well.  I think he's finally getting serious about his diet, at least.  Nothing like being kept fasting for long periods, with a threat of liquid diet only after, to make you think about what you put in your mouth! 
Hopefully, DiscoDame will be attending a job fair this afternoon.  Let's all think good thoughts for both her & The Plaidman, please. 

Home again, home again

Well, Texas & I have survived each other.  No monster (14” long, 1.25” wide!!) millipedes this time, and our dear Princess T is thriving.  Miss A has had some setbacks, mostly due to being a teen now (and just a bit of a drama Queen? Maybe).  The warm weather has officially moved into middle Tennessee, so we’re sleeping with the window open.  The other human members of the Plaid Patrol did not cook any dinners while I was gone, but still managed to dirty every dish in the house.  That’s ok, they’re the ones that have to clean it up! 

Exciting news: I finished the Princess’ Bunny Hop sweater!  I got some heavy duty fusible binding tape, same width as the ribbon facing for the snap closures, used it to press on the ribbon quite firmly – and totally stabilized the fronts of the sweater.  Then measured & marked (Dog bless washable markers!) placement for 11 snaps, and pounded on those snaps.  Whew!  Such banging and bashing!  But it’s done like dinner (love that expression, thank you Stephanie).  I’m waiting on some ordered presents to arrive, and will ship the sweater to our Princess as soon as I can put them all together. 

 

(pay no attention to the dates on these pics; every time the battery dies the $&^% camera resets to a random date.)

I’m using one of my birthday presents from Sis, some Kertzer sock yarn in very parrot-y colors, to make a Cat’s Paw Scarf (Elizabeth Lovick, Northern Knitting).  I started another pattern in this and then found my copy was missing one line, so switched to this much simpler pattern.  Right now it looks like someone spilled food colors in a vat of cooked Ramen noodles….but blocking will sort it out.  I did get the Knitters Pride Trendz acrylic interchangeable needle set (Haus of Yarn ordered it for me J) , which I mean to use for swatching the Gramps Cardigan – as Dog is my witness, I will get gauge! – but I’m using the size 10 tips for this scarf.  It’s quite loose; mostly air with a bit of string run through it.  It’s been good travel knitting, since there are only 6 rows and only 3 have increases & decreases.  I've been working on it off & on almost two weeks now, and I'm still only half way thru the skein -- this puppy's gonna be long! 

Dashed off

Again, gotta have a photo to start this thing up...sigh ... I have no idea what's in the pic, supposed to be more from Cheekwood but who can say.  Anyway, just wanted to update on the Bunny Hop sweater:  During my visit with the family, I actually bound off the front band, worked in the ends, and washed & blocked it!  Only to find that one front side is about an inch shorter than the other, so back to the WIP basket it went.  I decided the pick up & knit was wonky, possibly uneven between the sides.  Over the weekend I frogged the entire front band, and was picking up & knitting along very carefully with repeated counting of each section, and was halfway thru the left side (started on the right, over the hood, and down the left) when the worst possible event occurred.  Yes, friends, the cable broke off my Addi.  Stitches were dropped (but I scrambled to pick them up again), foul language was burning the air around me, and I was just stumped.  Because, you know, no spare needle!  Tonight I'm going to Bliss Yarns for another, and ask if they might have a copy of the receipt for the broken one, 'coz I've heard good things about Addi's customer service. 

From the stony land

 We're surrounded by stony hills here in this part of Texas; cell phone reception is dicey at best.  So when I became very ill while visiting the family, I had to decide if I might be well enough to fly out in a couple of days, or should I take some sick time?  I did go ahead and change my flight plans -- it's no fun trying to fly when your head's stuffed and you're coughing productively.  It's enough to make yer head asplode, plus previous experiences have shown me that I do not profit from flying congested.  One such trip resulted in an awful sinus infection, and another in an equally bad ear infection.  So, I've been here 3 extra days, and will be leaving tomorrow afternoon. 
 Now, to the all-important question:  Did I get the niece's sweater, aka Princess Bunny Hop, finished?
Almost!  I bound off the button band this afternoon, and wove in ends, and it's in the wash right now.  I've debated as to how to close this little hoody, since I really didn't want to make buttonholes and the Princess seems to be allergic to zippers.  I bought some ribbon and snaps, thinking that might be a good way to go.  Then I thought about making loops instead of buttonholes, but I don't actually have buttons picked out...  I guess the committee is still working on this aspect.  Otherwise, I could stick a fork in it and call it done. 

Once more, with feeling

Yes, they are.  Just wanted to let y'all know that Disco & I will be participating in the Race for the Cure for the Susan G. Komen Foundation again this year.  We'll be stylin' and profilin' in some hand-knitted accessories in PINK-is-not-my-favorite-color.  She's scaled back her ambitions from last year, 'coz the 5-K walk just wore her out.  So we'll be walking together on the 1-mile loop!  And I'd love all of you to join us -- there's almost certainly a Race for the Cure in your area, if you're in the US of A.  Or you can skip the hard labor, and just open your wallet.  Google "Susan G. Komen Foundation, (Your town)" and find them locally.  The great thing about the Komen Foundation is that so much of the funds raised are used locally -- we're helping our neighbors, folks.    News on the knitting front:  two days ago I finished the other sleeve (actually, the other other sleeve...) for the Peerless Bunny Hop, looked around for the first (erm, actually 2nd...) sleeve, and could not find it at all.  Knitter meltdown ensued.  I have been looking everywhere for that #&$%%*# thing!  Disco found it last night, about 15 minutes before my bedtime -- too late to start the joining row, but hey at least all the parts are in one place!