WILD AND WOOLY

What would I do without my
straightening iron?

I often grow my hair long and there have been times when I thought how nice it would be to have it cut and donate my tresses to a group like Locks of Love to provide hairpieces or wigs to those fighting cancer.  Then I take a good, hard look at myself in the mirror and decide that would be a cruelty to a person who already has enough struggles.  My hair is thick, frizzy, has a lot of natural curl, and I generally look like Rosanne Roseannadanna...on a bad hair day.  How could I further torture a child by making her go out in the humidity with my hair planted on her head and watch it expand like a giant wad of cotton candy?

I directed my impulses elsewhere and decided to take part in Debbie Macomber's Knit One, Bless Two project, this year benefiting Halos of Hope, a group providing chemo caps to low income folks.  This week I packed up about a dozen caps and sent them on their way.  I primarily used two patterns.

Foghorn in the Hug Cap.

 

The first was from Debbie Macomber's book A Charity Guide for Knitters.  It's an extremely simple pattern, designed for childrenn called the Hug Cap.  My Ravelry notes can be found here.

Foghorn in the Odessa cap.  Why does she
make me think of Rhoda Morgenstern?

The second pattern I found online and it turned out to be my absolute favorite.  Many a hat was knit while watching Ryan Lochte show his gorgeous chest swim his little heart out at the summer Olympics.  The pattern is the Odessa by Grumperina Designs and can be found for free on Ravelry here.  It's a simple pattern to memorize but with enough stitch changes to keep it interesting.  My own Ravelry notes are here.


While wearing a hat may not be quite as good as having actual hair, when you're comparing my locks to my knitting skills, I think the recipient is better off getting something yarn-y from me, don't ya think?


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YARN ALONG -- MOTHER'S DAY SHAWL AND CHEMO CAPS

Wednesdays over at the Small Things blog is Yarn Along day, where knitters and crocheters share what bit of needle goodness they're working on and what they're reading. Time for this week's installment.

I've been involved with quite a bit of super secret knitting lately which can finally be revealed.  In addition to my Easter knitting, this week I finally presented my mom with the Mother's Day shawl that had been under construction during the spring.  The pattern is Henslowe by Beth Kling (available for purchase on Ravelry here).  Since I wanted it bigger, so it could really drape over the shoulders, I went with a size 9 circular needle.  This special project called for my favorite yarn from Roving Acres.  I used their merino/wool sock yarn, custom-dyed in robin's egg blue.  I wanted something light and lacy for spring/summer, but with enough warmth to actually be functional.  I'm pleased with how it came out.  (I first saw the pattern on the Woolythyme blog.  Thanks, Steph!)

 

Now that I can knit under my mother's nose again, I've moved on to a charity project.  One of the three charities chosen for Debbie Macomber's Knit 1 Bless 1 project this year is Halos of Hope.  Halos of Hope provides chemo caps to in-need cancer patients, both adults and children.  I'm currently working on child-sized caps using Deborah Norville's Everyday Soft Worsted in "Nursery".  This is a very soft acrylic yarn, so it's suitable for the purpose, but once these skeins are gone I'll probably look into some nice, soft cotton for future caps.  For the kids I'm using the Hug Cap from Debbie Macomber's A Charity Guide for Knitters book.  Free patterns for other styles are also available on her site here.

On the subject of my bookish pursuits, last week I finished up The Hippopotamus by Stephen Fry.  I really enjoy Fry's work in general and this was his typical style.  It is not, however, a book suitable for those easily offended as events in the book, as well as dialogue by the characters, can be quite graphic.  I've now moved on to Eighteen Acres by Nicolle Wallace.  The title is in reference to the eighteen acres on which the White House sits and the book revolves around three female characters, one being the first female president.  Having been a huge fan of The West Wing and the type of person who salivates when there's a new Supreme Court confirmation to watch, this book is right up my alley.  A little on the soap opera-ish side so far, but still an enjoyable read.

So, what are you reading this week?


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