Disney, Day 1

The Colorado branch made it to California with only a slight flight delay. Addy's a seasoned flyer - she's easily flown a dozen times by now - and most people didn't even know a youngster was on the plane.

Addy knew she was going to "Mickey's house" but at 2 1/2, she really didn't understand what that meant. She was more excited that our hotel* in Anaheim had a pool. Disneyland opened Monday at 10 and we were there by 10:45. We headed back to the hotel for Addy's nap during the hottest part of the day (genius! We missed the most crowded times too.) and closed the place down at 8.

In between, Addy rode the carousel - a big hit - had her picture taken with Mickey - and Minnie - another big hit - played in ToonTown - and we discovered that Addy does NOT like rides that are dark or loud or involve riding into a whale's mouth. Pinocchio, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and the boat ride around the miniatures (can't remember the name of that one) all involved crying and hiding of eyes in daddy's shoulder.

Overall, the day was a huge success. Addy perfected her favorite mode of transportation - and picked up a variety of the latest headgear, both girly and tomboy. The pirate hat came with dinner at the Blue Bayou (the restaurant inside the revamped Pirates ride). Addy got a little bored towards the end of dinner, so she and grandma went outside to scope out the stores. Addy put on a little impromptu dance, to the amusement of those passing by.


Can you tell she thoroughly enjoyed her day?

*Rachel made reservations at the Annabella Hotel. Wonderful find! Newly remodeled, hard-wood floors, granite bathrooms, great beds - all at $65 a night. And the on-site restaurant is fantastic. We would definitely stay here again.

Ribbit, Ribbit

I've started this bag twice and I'm about to frog it yet again - for the same reason. It's the size of a friggin' suitcase! I was planning to felt it but still, this thing will be huge - and take forever to finish.

I took Lois's advice (note: when in doubt, listen to your LYS* owner. Just like mom, they do know best.) and crocheted a sample to felt. I measured before and after, then calculated the rate of shrinkage for both yarns. Now I'm going to come up with my own pattern to meet the dimensions I want in a project bag. It'll give me something to do when we take Addy to Disneyland for the first time Monday and Tuesday. Want to bet not much crocheting gets done?

*Local yarn shop

Not Pretty

It's not especially graceful, but Leia is crawling. Last week she had to get mad - and loud - before she could get going. This week she's a little hesitant but she's figured out that she has control of those silly things called 'limbs'. She's also started pulling herself into a standing position. I figure by this time next week she'll be walking the neighborhood.

I got to babysit tonight while everyone went to see X-Men (hold Leia or see a movie . . . hmmm, no contest.) After we talked to Auntie Rachel and Cousin Addy via Skype (super easy to use - and FUN) we broke out the camera and got these videos. Enjoy!

Newborn Baby Hat

Newborn Baby Hat - with 2 different edgings
By Elisa Purnell

Copyright 2009

I created this hat for my local yarn shop's celebration of Knit (and Crochet) In Public Day. It's available as a free pattern for participants in the charity knitting/crocheting challenge to benefit Tender Life Maternity and Beanies4Buddies. If you use this pattern, please consider making a hat for charity too. (A printable pdf version of the pattern is available here.)

For both versions of the hat, work Rnds 1-6. Continue straight through for the picot trimmed hat (pictured above) or skip down for the shell edged version (pictured below).

Materials:

• Aran, worsted or light worsted weight yarn
• Size H hook

Gauge: 7 double crochet = 2”; 4 rows = 2”
Size: approx. 5" - 5.5" tall, and 5.25" - 5.75" across at the base.
Stitch Guide:

• Picot: chain 3, slip stitch in vertical bar and side bar of single crochet before chain 3.

Start here for both hats:
Chain 4, join with slip stitch in first chain to form ring.

Rnd 1:

• Chain 3, then make 15 double crochet inside ring.
• Join with slip stitch in top of beginning chain 3.

Rnd 2:

• Chain 3, double crochet in same stitch.
• * 1 double crochet in next double crochet , 2 double crochet in next double crochet ,
• repeat from * ending with 1 double crochet in last stitch. (24 stitches including chain 3)
• Join with a slip stitch in top of beginning chain 3.

Rnd 3:

• Repeat Rnd 2 (36 stitches including chain 3)

Rnds 4 - 6:

• Chain 3; double crochet in same stitch,
• Double crochet in each double crochet around,
• Join with a slip stitch in top of beginning chain 3. (Stitch count increases by 1 on each row.)

*** For Picot Edged Hat (pictured above) ***

Rnd 7: Working in Back Loop Only

• Chain 3; double crochet in same stitch,
• Double crochet in each double crochet around,
• Join with a slip stitch in top of beginning chain 3.

Rnd 8: Working in both loops

• Chain 3; double crochet in same stitch,
• Double crochet in each double crochet around,
• Join with a slip stitch in top of beginning chain 3.

Rnd 9 - 10:

• Repeat Rnd. 7 (working in back loop only)

Rnd 12:

• Chain 1; single crochet in same stitch
• *Single crochet in next 3 stitches
• Work Picot (see Stitch Guide above)
• Repeat from * around, ending with slip stitch in beginning chain 1. Fasten off.

*** For Shell Edged Hat: ***

Rnd 7- 10: Working in Back Loop Only

• Chain 3; double crochet in same stitch,
• Double crochet in each double crochet around,
• Join with a slip stitch in top of beginning chain 3.

Rnd 11: Still working in Back Loop Only

• Chain 3, 2 double crochet in same stitch,
• *Skip 2 double crochet, slip stitch in next double crochet,
• Skip 2 double crochet, 5 double crochet in next stitch,
• Repeat from * around, ending with 2 double crochet in same stitch as beginning chain 3. Fasten off.

Copyright 2009 by Elisa Purnell. This document is free for personal use and may be shared and distributed so long as it remains fully intact including this copyright notice, and no profit is made from its distribution or use. The pattern is intended for personal, charity or humanitarian use only. A lot of time and effort goes into producing patterns, even when they are “free”. Please respect the copyright.

Doors of Dublin

Our trip to Ireland had its ups and downs, but our hotel was definitely one of the high notes. Located right in the heart of Dublin, within easy walking distance of the major attractions - half a block from Merrion Square, Parliament, and four major museums - the Davenport was originally built in 1863. The exterior is ornate and stylish and the interior beautiful, with a 3-story skylight just inside the front door. Our room - was much bigger than I expected (European hotel rooms tend to be smaller than American rooms; sometimes much smaller) and everything was in pristine condition. I loved the huge crown molding around the ceiling; Dick loved the plasma TV, although we never got around to watching it.

Leprechaun alert: (we enjoyed the trip but everywhere we went, little things kept going wrong. Like little leprechauns were following us around, causing mischief.) We had the only room in the hotel where the wi-fi (and ethernet) wouldn't work, even after the helpful staff came up to assist. And we could never figure out how to turn on the air conditioner, only the heater. Fortunately, we had a window that opened to cool off our room.

Dublin residences are built like row houses, narrow, tall and almost identical. This row was about a block from our hotel, facing onto Merrion Square Park. So how do you tell one home from another? By the distinctive front doors, which are also one of the things for which Dublin is famous. Most are Georgian in style, with vivid colors and beautiful, often ornate, fanlights above. We saw doors in red, blue, green, black, purple, white, and more. So beautiful.

Bookworm

The towels are off the loom and in the dryer. I was going to post photos of them today but then Leia came for a visit and I couldn't resist taking a few shots of her in her new sweater. Ok, about 55 shots. But hey, I edited them down . . .

(click to enlarge)

Leia couldn't make up her mind which was more fascinating - the cat or the books. She'd reach for AJ, then get distracted and pick up a book. Then she'd remember the cat and repeat the cycle all over again. My favorite photo - shows both of them fascinated by a passing airplane. AJ was amazingly tolerant of little hands and Leia, so far, has been very gentle.

Sample This

The next step in the towel project was to roll on the warp threads and tie them to the front beam. I love how fresh and clean a new warp looks. So many possibilities, so much potential. In a first for me, I decided to weave a few inches with five different weft threads, cut the sample off the loom, wash it, dry it, and see what worked and what didn't.

The warp is brown 3/2 organic cotton (unmercerized). From bottom to top, the weft threads are: (the pink threads on the very bottom are waste yarn)

• 1) teal 8/2 cotton;
  
• 2) softball color-grown cotton (about a 2/2);
  
• 3) pink 10/2 linen;
  
• 4) brick-red cotton chenille (2500 yards/lb)
  
• 5) pink 10/5 linen (about twice as thick as the 10/2).

Pre-washing, the sample is about 14" tall by 14.5" wide - with big bulges where the chenille pulled in and the 10/5 linen pushed out.

Post-laundry, it's 11.5" tall by 14" wide and the difference between the linen and chenille is dramatically reduced. (18% shrinkage. Formula: Length 1 minus length 2 = difference; difference divided by length 1 = % shrinkage. Cause I'm a math bonehead and won't remember this next time.)
My plan is to weave 3 towels, each about 30" long on the loom. One will use the brick chenille - one will have the color-grown cotton (top sample) - and the third will be the teal 5/2 cotton. I'm setting the linen aside to use in another project.

I especially like three treadlings from the pattern gamp but I haven't decided whether I'll do one pattern per towel or a combination. Guess I'll let serendipity (and my interest/boredom level) decide.

Tying One On

Five warp chainsplus seven hours

and one special knotequals 240 new warp threads tied on and ready to weave.

I want to make a set of towels using the same threading as the pattern gamp I just finished. Rather than starting again from scratch, I tied the new warp on to the old one.

Looking back at how long it took to put the first warp on, I think I saved about three hours doing it this way. Plus, it's brainless and almost mistake proof. Now, on to weaving!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

Laundry Rules

• If my clothes (or dad's) are in the dryer and you need to use it, you have 3 – and only 3 – options:

#1: Let me know, politely, that you need to use the dryer.

#2: Come back later when the dryer has been emptied.

#3: Neatly fold or hang up whatever is in the dryer.

You’ll notice that ‘dump everything in a heap on the counter’ is NOT an option.

• When you finish doing laundry, take your stuff upstairs and put it away. Do NOT leave it tossed/abandoned on the counter, floor, or anywhere else.

• If it has holes, doesn’t fit, or you don’t plan to use/wear it again, THROW IT AWAY, do not leave it to compost in a hamper or on the counter.

• Your assistance is sincerely appreciated. Or there’s a pay laundromat in town that will appreciate your business.
  

Your loving mother and landlord.

Think the boys will get the not-very-subtle hint? Nah, me neither.

FO!

I started this as a refresher before I taught the hexagon jacket class Wednesday night, not intending to do more than frog it when class was over. (pattern link)Loved the look and the feel of the yarn, so . . . . Leia has a new jacket, complete with little flower buttons. It's probably big on her now, but she'll grow into it soon, I'm sure.

Cake Recipe

I had a request for this recipe so thought I'd share it here. I got this from a co-worker back in the '80's, while I was still working as a dispatcher (a long, loooooong time ago.) It's been a family favorite ever since.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cake

2 cups all purpose or unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/3 cup dairy sour cream
2/3 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon (I use 1 tablespoon of cinnamon)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I usually double this)

• Heat oven to 350 F. Grease (not oil) 13 x 9" pan.
  
• In large bowl, blend first 9 ingredients at low speed until moistened. Beat 3 minutes at medium speed.
  
• Pour 1/2 of batter (about 2.5 cups) into prepared pan.
  
• In small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon.
  
• Sprinkle 1/2 sugar mixture and 1/2 chocolate chips over batter.
  
• Repeat with remaining batter, sugar mix and chocolate chips.
  
• Bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
  
• Cake tastes much better if you let it cool before eating. Enjoy!

Finished!

I finished weaving the pattern gamp last night; today I hand-hemmed the ends (I must really like this thing - I hate sewing), washed, dried and ironed it (see note above - hate ironing too) before setting up a photo session. AJ was sound asleep until she heard the click of the camera - she had to be in the center of every picture after that. I'm really pleased with how this project turned out. So many pretty patterns to replicate in towels or shawls. When I cut the pattern gamp off the loom, I was careful to leave the threads in the reed so I can tie on a new warp and weave another project. I think a set of four towels, using the same teal and violet 3/2 cotton for warp and a cream 8/2 cotton for weft. Should be interesting. Since I was photoing - and ironing - I took pix of the color gamp I started last July and finished this past Thursday, only because I needed the loom for the weekend workshop.I had a lot of broken warp threads and other frustrations with this project. Great as a learning experience; not so great for my irritation level. I wasn't that crazy about how this looks when I first washed it, but it's growing on me. I think I'd like to do another one using a firmer fiber - maybe pima cotton - so the colors don't fuzz into each other so much. How about that - I've got two weaving projects for Guild show-and-tell this week!