Learning Curve

I present to you...the (almost) finished Maltese Fisherman's Hat!

In my prior post of this morning, I showed you a photo of the hat in its halfway completed state. After that shot was taken, I trawled ravelry for the versions created by others with far more skill than I and realized that I'd badly screwed up the decreases. So I frogged to the beginning decrease and began anew. The one thing I did not correct was my treatment of the part across the brow. EZ calls for two purled rows, but I like the softer, more organic look of the rolling stockinette, so there it stayed.

The one issue I have with the Knitter's Almanac is the lack of detailed photos. Her pithy directions are a joy to behold, but this old hooker is a visual sort, and needs such confirmation along the way to ensure a successful project. That said, ravelry came to the rescue: I saw the errors of my ways and fixed them.

But there's more. When I ordered my interchangeable circular needles from KnitPicks after the great breast debacle of January, I'd also accidently ordered a wee booklet, "The Magic Loop." Now, I'd heard of the magic loop before, and watched videos of it in action on YouTube, but I really needed a solid reference to be happy. And the Maltese Fisherman Hat was just the project on which to learn the magic loop technique. And by gum, it worked! I got down to the prescribed 8 stitches on a 42" circular needle and comfortably worked till the bitter end!

And this new learning gives me some of the tools I need to feebly attempt a Pi Shawl. (Let me pause as you mumble admiringly amongst yourselves...) Yes, that's right. I really want to try a Pi Shawl. But my fear of multiple double pointed needles has kept me in my place, not daring to attempt such a work of art. However, the magic loop has rescued me from my fear by giving me a way to work the opening salvos without facing those nasty DPs.

It is just so damned luscious, isn't it?

Okay, back to the Fisherman's hat. While the basic hat is complete, I have plans to make this a bit more special. Because of its inherently goofy look, I intend to push the envelope a bit and turn it into a Seussian masterpiece. Oh, is that too much hyperbole for a Saturday afternoon? Okay. I want to make this silly-looking hat even sillier. Ta for now!

Bread and Breasts

This week's carb report will seem familiar, but looks are somewhat deceiving. Yes, there is a loaf of bread, but I got a wild hair up my ass and decided to make it whole wheat, with wheat germ, oatmeal, and pumpkin seeds added for good measure. And it is deeeeeeeelish!
The muffin things are actually weightwatchers banana oatmeal bread in a muffin format for portion control purposes. I snuck in some whole wheat flour there, too, for a slightly richer flavor and a bit more nutrition. Again, a successful output for a Sunday.

But where do the breasts come in, you may well ask?

They don't, at least not in the bread.

But here's the story.

Every year since I started getting mammograms, I get crap results. There is ALWAYS something wrong. There have been awful surgeries, repeated squishings, needle biopsy this, lay face-down with a boob in a clamp that. You get the picture. On the plus side, it's always benign. On the down side, well, I've described the down side. Plus, no matter how low your risk factor is (and mine is low), it is terrifying to go through. Even on the odd occasion that they said all was clear, I always receive a letter within a couple of days saying, "uh, not so much."

Another plus: I have a doting husband who recognizes that, though he is powerless to allay my fears, he understands that retail therapy is a great start. So when I had my mammo last Thursday, complete with repeated squishings to get the earlier surgical markers in the picture, he knew exactly what I needed: SHOPPING!

Now, as you know, I've been diving face first into this knitting thing. And I like to perform my needlework in public, say, on the subway. With a hook, this is no problem, but needles are tricky at best. So as all public knitters realize, circular needles are the way to get around the elbow space problem. Unfortunately, I have been buying cheap-ass circulars with cables made from unyielding plastic. It is unpleasant to use them under the best of circumstances and impossible in most others.

So, connect the dots.

Yep, as my breast appreciation gift, I ordered a brand new set of hoity-toity interchangable circular needles (plus some accessories) from KnitPicks (couldn't quite splurge for the Addis)! I cannot wait for them to show up! I have such plans for them, I do!

Ah, but I did not finish telling you my story, did I? So on Thursday, I got squished, again and again. I was already scheduled for bilateral sonograms immediately after the squishing. But the technician came out and said to me the words I hoped to hear, "You don't need the sonogram. Everything looks good."

I was joyful, but guardedly so. As we know, this is always followed days later by that ominous letter from the radiologist. And it showed up, on schedule. But this time, it said my results were normal.

Halle-freakin-lujah!!!!