Red, orange, and yellow

I am really enjoying this journey of creating a Jayne Cobb hat for T. If you haven't been following, and are interested in the process , you can read the series of posts:

Yarn for the Jayne Cobb Hat:
http://smariek.blogspot.com/2007/11/red-orange-and-yellow.html
Jayne Hat started:
http://smariek.blogspot.com/2007/10/jayne-hat-started.html
Jayne Hat earflaps:
http://smariek.blogspot.com/2007/10/jayne-hat-earflaps.html
Jayne Hat earflaps continued:
http://smariek.blogspot.com/2007/11/jayne-hat-earflap-shaping-continued.html
Pom-Pom minor update (scroll down):
http://smariek.blogspot.com/2007/11/zara.html
Pom-Pom completed:
http://smariek.blogspot.com/2007/11/jayne-cobb-pompom.html
Jayne Cobb Hat completed:
http://smariek.blogspot.com/2007/11/jayne-cobb-hat.html

These are the Highland Wool colors I've chosen for T's Jayne Cobb hat (ruby, burnt orange, & freesia). I know I've mentioned this before. I only just got around to taking a photo of the yarns I will use. They seemed to be the closest matching colors I could get from the Highland Wool collection. This yarn is a great stash staple to have on hand and it comes in a gazillion colors. Make sure you get one of their Shade Cards, it's a necessity for project planning. I think my casual goal is to collect most of the colors offered. You just can't go wrong having this in your stash. The problem is where would you put it all?

Now I just need to find a second circular needle so I can start the hat. I've got a missing needle somewhere, I just need to figure out which box or bag it is in. Needles are such elusive things, they slither away when you're not looking.

I'm thinking about trying the Long-Tail Cast-On (video here and here, photo instructions here) for this hat. This should give me a pretty bottom edge and I wonder if that will make it easier to pick up stitches for the ear flaps. My usual cast-on is the Cable Cast-On (video instructions here and here, photo instructions here). Can't say why I use this, it's just what I learned to do when I started knitting so it sorta stuck with me.

I have an idea for how to do the ear flaps. What worries me is the pompom on top. I've never made a pompom before. I've looked at instructions for making a pompom, and still can't visualize how it is supposed to work.

Pacific College Mom left a comment on this post asking whether I was, "going to make all the holes and dangly bits like the original one." Well, I had planned on adding the dangling yarn to the ends of the ear flaps. I wasn't sure what she meant by the holes. I've seen that episode a few times and don't remember seeing any holes. I'll have to pop that DVD in again and try for a better look. I'll also ask T for his thoughts on the holes.

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I've been thinking about knitting a hat top-down instead of the usual bottom-up fashion. All of the hats I've worked have been knit bottom-up, with the exception of this one I did a long time back. I am thinking of adapting this idea and knitting from the crown down to the brim. I remember V once told me that crocheted hats were made top-down. That made so much sense. It's easier to know when to stop when you make it top-down, you can just try on the hat and see! I already have some ideas for a few basic top-down design, I just need to scribble them down on paper when I get a chance and then knit them up (or would that be down?). I've got the general idea in mind, I just need to work out the details. Of course it won't have Yarn Overs in it. I'll do my initial increases as Kx, Inc1. Haven't yet decided which type of Inc1 I want to do. Bar increase? K1-fb? I usually prefer K1-fb into a stitch over any type of increase involving lifting the strands between stitches.

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This is the replacement Terminal Adapter for my digital camera. We lost the original one when we moved to the new house. I was thrilled when the FedEx guy came by with the box, I had to plug it in immediately to download photos. Now I have quite a lot of photos to sort through. The camera plus into the "tail" on the left side. The white cable is the USB cable that connects to the computer. And I have a separate AC adapter cord that plugs into the Terminal Adapter on the right side next to the white USB cable.

This came in a large box for such a tiny part. I had to dig through peanuts to find it. I was surprised to see peanuts in the box, but it was a godsend as it provided Miss M with hours of entertainment along with her sand toys ... scooping peanuts into a bucket or other vessel, then pouring the peanuts into another vessel or onto the floor. Ah, the joys of being a toddler...

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I mentioned missing out on an eBay auction a short while back. Well, I saw something else I wanted (an old Latin language book), waited until within the last 5 minutes to place my bid, re-bidded several times, and got outbid before time ran out. I think my computer blinked. Sigh. I don't think shopping on eBay is my thing.

I would like to get back into learning Latin. When I think of Latin, the first word that comes to mind is always frumentum (which means "grain"). It was probably one of the early words I learned a few years back.

I've got a handful of Latin books, I really don't need another one. So I guess it is just as well that I did not win that eBay auction. With the M&F Latin: An Intensive Course book, plus two Lingua Latina books and two Cambridge Latin Course books, surely that should be enough to learn a little bit of Latin if I actually found the time to study! Oh, I also have a copy of D'Ooge's Latin for Beginners, another great resource for learning the language.

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The "wildlife" at the new house is really getting to me. Bugs bugs bugs everywhere. I'm not used to being surrounded by so much of this. It must be a suburbs thing. I didn't have this problem at the old house in the city. Or it might be a living on the ground floor thing, since we were on the 2nd floor at the old house.

I mentioned the tiny jumping bugs in this earlier post. It's gotten better, most stay outside now. We only get a handful inside the bathroom now and then. It's not as bad as before. Adding the door seal thing I mentioned before plus sweeping the fall leaves away from the exterior bathroom door has helped. I think these tiny critters like the dried, dead, dying leaves outside. I was sweeping up the leaves the day after it rained and a bunch of them were visible when I disturbed the pile of leaves.

The pantry moths are annoying, however tolerable compared to the pinpoint bugs, ants, and spiders. I have a moth trap, no chemicals, just some attractant and a sticky surface on a tent shaped paper trap. I love this trap as it is safe to keep around the kitchen and Miss M (not that she can reach up to the kitchen counter top yet).

We have ants outside. I'm fine with them being outside. However they sometimes find their way inside. I think I disturbed the balance of nature one day when I disrupted their path outside the house. Shortly afterwards I found a couple dozen ants marching in through a corner of the family room. Eeks! I sprayed. Not my preferred method, but I had to stop them quickly. Fortunately the corner was behind the large TV where Miss M doesn't go. Ever since that day, I only find a couple of stragglers in the family room once in a while. I try to leave the ants outside alone, but sometimes they're not too happy when I sweep over the brick patio out there.

Now the spiders really get to me, mostly because I have a phobia. I don't mind if they're outside. I don't mind the daddy long legs inside the house because they pretty much keep to themselves and don't move around much. It's the quick moving big thick short legged crunchy ones that I fear.

Last week while sweeping up dried leaves outside, I almost ran into a nearly invisible spider web that was extending outwards from a post holding up the patio cover. I only noticed the web after spotting this BIG orange spider. You can see a blur of it in the photo above. Sorry I couldn't get a clearer picture due to a wimpy 3x optical zoom and my fear of getting too close to the bugger. Oh, I forgot to mention that the spider was moving about on its web so he's a bit fuzzy in the photo. This was not your average ugly black or brown spider. This one was a bright orange with stripes at the end of its legs. It was actually quite pretty if you can call a spider pretty. I was just so glad I did not walk into him though.

Today while walking down the hallway in my house, I spotted a crumpled up spider on the wall near the floor. It was medium sized. That was not good. Miss M walks up and down the hallway and could easily bump into it or try to play with it. I wasn't sure if it was alive so I spritzed it from a safe distance with Windex (I attack from a distance due to my fear of spiders), it moved. Oh no! And it looked so much bigger as it walked, with it's legs stretched out. It kinda looked like a robotic spider thing you might see in a really bad SciFi film. I didn't know what to do so I grabbed the ant/roach spray. Spray, spray, spray. Why is it still moving? Spray some more. Ok, it stopped moving away, but it's still alive. Run to the recycle pile to grab a newspaper. Whack! Spider taken care of. Unfortunately I sprayed the bug spray on the wall and hardwood floor. That was bad of me. I tried to wipe the area to remove the stuff. I didn't want Miss M picking up all that chemically stuff as she walked up and down the hallway afterwards. I also opened the front door and windows to ventilate the area.

Shortly afterwards (same day), Miss M and I were getting ready to go out. We're sitting on the step near the door leading to the garage so we can put her shoes on. I pick up the diaper bag which was on the floor and spotted a big spider with a bulbous derrière. Instant reaction was to pick up Miss M and move her away. Then I was off to get another newspaper. Whack! Little resistance from this guy. Ok, 2 big spiders in one day is just way too much excitement for me.

Then later (same day) after we have returned from our errand, I notice another big spider in the hallway. This one is is sitting in the corner where the wall meets the ceiling. Way too high for me to get to. Haven't figured out what to do for this one. :-( I have this irrational fear of taking a napkin and using my hand to squish them. I have a fear of missing, and Mr. Angry spider jumping up onto my hand and walking up my arm. This probably doesn't really happen, I mean, they're probably as scared of me as I am of them. Anyhow, I really don't want to feel them squish or crunch in my hands either.

The last thing that bugs me about the new house is the odd droppings I've found outside in front on the driveway. I've only seen it twice. Worm shaped poop of some sort, of course covered in curious ants. I don't know what creature leaves this type of poop, but it is an annoyance.

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I keep thinking it's Friday because I'm expecting a little white box. I picked up some Filati merino and Cuzco. The Blackberry Wine Filati flew out the door. It was a deep purple. I was good. I didn't order any. I made a point of not ordering any purple Filati. I have way too much purple in my stash. Although I think I did pick up Cuzco in a purple shade. I can't remember, I think one was red and the other was purple. Yes, I know I only ordered it two days ago and should remember what I ordered. I suffer from CRS...

OK, time to go get Miss M from her nap...

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