Catching up...

I've been doing a fair amount of knitting lately. I finished my square for the Pratchgan, a bobble sheep for the Tiffany Aching series of books. I wanted to do Mabel the Mock Cable Cow, but I couldn't get it to fit in the parameters I needed, so I went with Plan B. I finished blocking it and sent it out Priority to Scotland. I hope it makes it in time. The lovely lady running the show is looking for it and said it would be OK if it's a couple days late.

I also very nearly finished my first Jayne hat. It was supposed to be for my husband, but when I drew in the last few stitches at the top, it seemed to really pull the top in. I'm not sure it will fit him anymore, but both the nine-year old and three year-old have voiced their willingness to "take one for the team" and claim ownership of the hat. (Of course they like it, it's a cunning hat, quite possibly the sweetest hat ever...)
[I just had my husband try it on and it fits fine, at least as well as Jayne's did. Of course, he may still have to fight the kiddos for it.]

I swatched for Hat Attack and came fairly close to gauge. Actually for the first swatch, I figured I could measure the Jayne hat I had just finished to get some idea of which way to go. I used US 10's and needed one more stitch per inch so I figured I would try 8's. I picked up a pair at Never Enough Yarn (a lovely store with a fantastic proprietor. I really just can't say enough about these folks.) and came home to try again... and again... and again. After three tries, I finally admitted that I just wasn't going to get gauge with my new needles. A bit disappointing since I could have used that money elsewhere. Then I remembered that I wasn't sure I liked the way the Jayne hat came out with the 10's, so I'm going to use the new Plymouth needles for the next attempt. I finally dug out a pair of metal needles that I've had for donkey's years. I think they are US 5's, but I'm not positive. I don't really care what size they are, they are the right size for me to get gauge. Woo Hoo!!! I swatched this yarn so many times, I was afraid it would rebel at the thought of knitting into anything other than stockinette. As it turns out, however, it wasn't a problem. I had to cast-on three times, but once I got underway, everything was fine. I even got my hat finished and mailed before my assassin's hat reached me. Woot! I took someone else down with me!

While I've been knitting, I've been catching up on Prairie Home Companion broadcasts. One of my favorites is the joke shows and I've been going through the archives. Of course there are lots of laughs to be had, but one that struck me as particularly funny was this boat rental one...

"Boat 99, you'll have to return to the dock immediately or I'll have to charge you for overtime."
"Hey, Boss, there is no Boat 99. We only have 75 boats."
"Ummm... Boat 66, are you in trouble?"