The Tale of the Super Secret Project

     I have been working on a super secret project, for my future daughter-in-law, to give to her at her bridal shower. It has been quite a journey! I found a pattern that I wanted to make, and found what I thought was the perfect yarn. 


    So I started crocheting. After a while, I realized I should probably check with her about the color of her wedding dress. The yarn I had chosen was WHITE white with silver sparklies, and I didn't know if her dress was WHITE white or one of the many other options that are now available. 


    It's a good thing I checked. Her dress is ivory. Back to shopping for more yarn. With help from a knitting bestie, she found and I ordered an Ivory yarn with much subtler sparklies. Again, I started work. I like it, but it's still not quite what I had in mind. The end result is too heavy, and I want light and airy. I've decided to finish it, it could come in handy as a gift someday. 


    Once again, I am yarn shopping. I was looking at LYS really expensive super shiny, beaded and sparkly yarns. To get the yardage I need would cost more than $150. So it really wasn't an option. Then I came across what turned out to be the perfect yarn. I bought enough for my project, and once again started crocheting. 


    This time the problem I had was with the teeny tiny hook. First of all, I am most comfortable with great big size N hooks. I am currently using a size E hook. That's 10mm versus 3.5mm. The hook I had was a Boye. The heads on those are rounded and I was having trouble keeping the yarn on the hook during the many many chain 5s in the pattern. I decided to try using a hook from Susan Bates, as the heads on those hooks aren't as round, and they have a nice deep notch that should hold the yarn in place during those pesky chain 5s. The only problem is that I don't own one in size E. 


    Off I go on a playdate yesterday with my knitting bestie. Once again she saves my butt. I was able to purchase the hook I was after. Once I got home, I was able to crochet much faster with the new hook! The yarn stayed on the hook. It still came off occasionally, but about 10X less than with the old hook.  


    I am very happy with the results of the newest yarn and new hook. The only problem is that the final yarn is not sparklie at all. I think I can live with that. 


    There are no photos, as after my laptop crashed and was fixed, the photo app doesn't work. We still haven't tried to uninstall and reinstall the software for my camera. Another absolutely lovely and totally fracking frustrating thing, is that since the "fix" after the crash, the stupid cursor jumps around all over the place when I am typing.


     It keeps putting words and parts of sentences in the wrong place, and has even highlighted everything I wrote so that when I hit the space bar, IT"S GONE!!! It just did it while I was writing that it does it! 


    That's one reason I am writing about it here, as there is a really great "go back" button and I can bring back what got erased. Facebook doesn't have that feature. 


    I am also not mentioning what the project is because the bride-to-be reads my blog. I want this gift to be a surprise.  So if you know what I'm making, please keep quiet about it! 

an amusing knitting related story

    To begin with, my Hubs had surgery on his hand in December and spent nearly three months home with me recuperating. I was concerned that it would drive me crazy having him home with me. It turned out to be a really wonderful time.


    So, while he was home, he was able to take care of some things. Nothing physical, which really frustrated him, but stuff got done that needed doing. One day, he and our son had to go to the local County Clerks office. As soon as they got their ticket, their number was called. They went up to the indicated window, and the woman behind the counter was occupied counting dollar bills. My Hubs, being essentially evil, began counting, just loud enough that she could hear him. He was trying to mess her up.


    Over her glasses, she shot him an evil look. He laughed and told her that he does that to his wife all the time, when she's trying to count her knitting stitches. The woman was not amused. When she was done with her counting, she looked at Hubs, and told him " You, I will not be dealing with!". Then she turned to our son, and said "What can I do for *you* today?" 


    When Hubs told me that, I laughed! He can be so shameless! But I was grateful for the support of someone who was obviously another crafter. That anonymous woman has my deepest thanks. And I'm sure I have her sympathy! 

a few things that I've been pondering...

    There are some people that I have known over the years, who every fair complected. They have absolutely gorgeous, porcelain skin. Some had red hair, and some were blonde. Really striking young women. At some point they need to get glasses. It happens to the best of us. But can anyone out there tell my why these delicate, beautiful creatures decide they need to get big, heavy BLACK frames?? 


     I find it so confounding, it's like putting on a Batman helmet, or wearing a Lone Ranger mask. These big black frames are all you see when you look at them! I think a pair of small, light, or even rimless frames wouldn't detract from their looks. OK, that rant is over. Thanks for listening. 


    Now onto the big one. A while ago, Hubs and I went vehicle shopping. For me. We were just going to look. (Sure). We started at our local Jeep dealer. I have driven a Wrangler for about 9 years and I love it. We started out looking at the Wranglers, and while Hubs talked to the salesman about what we were looking for, I started circling the Cherokee that was there, right next to the salesman's desk. 


    Long story short, I ended up with a Cherokee Trail Hawk. It has many bells and whistles, but what sold me was the heated steering wheel, and seats. I loves me a warm tushie. Considering that this is my very first brand new vehicle, I think I did OK. 


    In my whole life, at least since I've been old enough to notice, I have not liked white cars. They just didn't appeal to me. And, they didn't appeal to many other people either. White cars were the last to be sold, usually at rock bottom prices. It seems that this has changed in recent years. Since my Cherokee is white, now I'm noticing how many white cars there are on the roads. I think a revolution has quietly begun. I also think that only cool people drive white cars.... Among those, I can name myself, my son Jesse, and my friends Kim and Bonny. And recently my Hubs, who is considering getting a beater car for better gas mileage. The one he's considering happens to be white... 


    So the next time you are out and about, around town, really look at the other cars on the road. I think you'll find that a significant portion will be white. 


   And lastly, I do miss my Wrangler. My left leg is bored now. The new Cherokee is an automatic. What I miss the most is the Wrangler Wave. I posted on facebook recently about that, and someone commented that a Jeep is a Jeep, and I should still wave. The silhouette of a Wrangler is so distinctive that it can be recognized from pretty far away. My Cherokee? Not so much. 


    I've been looking, really looking, in these last eight weeks, and every single car company, from Hyundai, Ford, Chevy, Honda and Kia, all the way up to Cadillac, Mercedes and Audi have vehicles with the same silhouette as the Cherokee. I see a familiar shape coming at me, and by the time I can decide if it's a Jeep or not, it's too late to wave. So I've decided not to try and start the waving thing for Cherokees. 


    I do get to see my old Wrangler, the kid who bought it works at a local pizza joint. When I drive past and see him (the Jeep) in the parking lot, I smile and wave to him. His name was 8. The new one is 9, because he's the 9th car I've ever owned or driven. If I can remember them all....