Bits and Pieces, Odds and Ends

Before yesterday, I had two of these lovely Miss Babs sock yarn samples. Now, I have one. And the label for the second.

Did I make something out of the absent ten yards of sock yarn?

No, I did not. But Baxter, who apparently has very good taste in yarn (he seems to prefer 100% merino), did. He made a snack out of it.

I was re-organizing my yarn stash because it was taking up the entire floor of a closet where I also keep gift-wrapping supplies. I used to keep my stash in baskets out in the open, but Baxter found that easily-accessible stash of yarn too tempting to resist. So into the closet it went.

While I was putting the yarn into a hanging sweater holder, I heard a gagging sound and turned around to find just the tag from one of the samples hanging out of Baxter's mouth. GAAAAKKK!

The previous time Baxter ate yarn, I called the vet and he said that I needed to watch Baxter for signs of depression. In a cat???? How????

He said a depressed cat doesn't play and doesn't eat.

So I have given him several doses of Petromalt, a vegetable oil diet supplement, which is supposed to help the cat either barf (or otherwise extrude---I don't want to know how) hair and (I hope) yarn balls.

In the meantime, he is VERY active, and VERY interested in food. My fingers are crossed...

And now, for knitting-related news of the non-disgusting variety:

I finally finished both of the Flap Happy Hats for my two older granddaughters but I really need to learn to consider the consequences of my decisions. The four-month-or-so project that was my Sasha skirt comes to mind, and now these hats come to mind.

I didn't even put all the pom poms and tassels on these hats that the pattern called for because I got very impatient with all the fiddly bits.

But I did at least make them different: different colors, different numbers of pom poms and tassels. Now the girls will have no reason to argue over which hat is whose.

I can hear their mother laughing already.

Knitting

Suddenly I have several finished objects!

The Shaelyn shawl (in Creatively Dyed Yarn, Beaches, Miami color).....and the October Leaves fingerless mitts (in Plymouth Yarn Alpaca Prima, color 401).

And Susan B. Anthony's Flap Happy Hat (in Cascade 220)!

I have the pom poms and tassels left to make for the second hat and then that will be finished.

The fingerless mitts and the shawl have yet to be blocked, although I see no reason to block the mitts, and I only want to slightly block the shawl.

I Am the Boss of My Knitting!

said Elizabeth Zimmerman in her book Knitting Without Tears, and I, too, am the boss of my knitting! Yesssss.................I couldn't find anything on the internet or in my books to tell me how to fix the twisted stitches I caused when I joined the cast on row on circular needles. So I decided not to cry and start over yet again --- not that knitting can cause me tears, (well, there was that mohair sweater )--- and instead I made up my own solution.

I worked over to the first joined stitch and then used a crochet hook to take that one stitch back to the beginning of the piece. I flipped the knitting on the left-hand needle, switching the yarn strands to the side I needed them to be on (in front of or behind the needle; I can't remember) and remade the stitches with the crochet hook.

It worked!!! Can you see the repair? If you can, shh..................

I doubt that this would work on yarn finer than worsted weight and on smaller needles, but it has worked here, and if it doesn't spontaneously unravel, I call it a success. Fingers crossed, though.

And on the next hat, I'm following Sigrun's advice and knitting a row or two before trying to join the ends. It should be easier to make sure the work is not twisted with a few rows on the needle first.

Thanks, Sigrun!

Help!!!

I am trying to make this Flap Happy Hat, designed by Susan B. Anderson for Spud and Chloe yarn.

What I have made so far is a hat mess: I've put the flaps on inside out and I don't even know how I did it so that I don't do it again, and I twisted the stitches when I joined the two ends on a circular needle. I am now in the process of frogging, then ripping out the whole brim.

Sallyknit!!! You have successfully made one so......Help?