Hermione’s Hat

 

In the last Harry Potter movie, Hermione wears this cute cable and eyelet hat. I wouldn’t know this as I haven’t seen the movie. But I ran across the pattern, and it was pretty without being fussy or overly feminine. I knitted it for myself. It should have fit me perfectly, as I have a very small head and the hat was said to run a bit too small for the average adult. Unfortunately, I knitted the pattern exactly as written instead of going down a needle size. The result was a hat perfectly sized for a normal head, but not mine.

I mailed it to my daughter-in-law along with the Tardis case. It will perfectly match the fingerless gloves I made for her earlier, being made from the same ball of yarn.

The pattern I used is Hermione’s Cable and Eyelet Hat by Jackie Lauseng.

I will make one major change when I knit it again. I will relocate the eyelets to be in the middle of the cable’s straight section instead of immediately before the cable twist row. I may put 2 rows between the eyelets rather than one.

But isn’t this a very pretty hat?

The Tardis Kindle Case

My daughter-in-law is a huge Dr. Who fan, and she loves reading on her Kindle. When I saw this pattern for a Tardis Kindle case I knew I had to knit one for her. And so I did.

I mostly used the pattern by AmericanWitch on Ravelry. I didn’t do Judy’s Magic Cast On so I had to sew the bottom shut. Guess I had better learn that cast on soon! Now I just hope it will fit her Kindle!

Sleep Compatibility

Jim and I are lucky to be sleep-compatible. This makes sleeping in the same room and bed easy. I feel sympathy for any happily married couple who are not sleep-compatible. What I mean by this is preferring, or at least tolerating, the same conditions for sleep, in terms of temperature, touch, light and sound.

Applesauce Walnut Muffins

I made a new post on my food blog, TF Diabetic. Check out the sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free yumminess! Applesauce Walnut Muffins.

The Seemingly Gay Guy

Ladies, do you trust the seemingly gay guy behind the brand-name cosmetics counter at the upscale department store? I have always believed I could, even should, trust him. The ladies there, not so much. Until today, anyway.

Yesterday I made a Major Cosmetics Shopping trip to Grand Rapids. All my cosmetics were so incredibly (and unsafely) old that I threw them out when we made the move here.  I have tried a few drugstore brands during this year following the move, but found them unsatisfactory. So hypoallergenic Brand Name it had to be. My skin is sensitive, and I think what mine senses is price tags – meet the price minimum or it will turn brilliant red, break out in a rash, and peel.

Ever since my hair has become almost entirely grey I have had a hard time choosing cosmetic shades. The old trusty colors don’t work so well. And when I arrived at the Brand Name counter, I found that the few shades that did still work were discontinued. I put myself into what I assumed were the capable hands of Seemingly Gay Guy behind the counter. And I accepted his choices of shade for me, after telling him I preferred soft roses and pinks.

This morning I played with my new toys  applied my new products, and I hate every single color. They are all brown-based shades. Plum-tinted brown blusher. Brown-tinted violet eyeshadow. Browned plum lipliner and lipstick. Brownish-violet eyeliner. Have I mentioned yet that I hate, hate, hate brown makeup? Seemingly Gay Dude was not even able to look at my pink-alabaster skin and choose the right shade of powder! No, he gave me a shade of powder that goes on darker than I am when I am suntanned, with not a touch of my natural pink. Worse, he gave me 2 products that were not even the ones I requested.

It’s not that it doesn’t look okay. Jim likes it. But it’s a very made-up look, a fakey-tan look that is using the colors that might be natural on somebody with skin 3 shades darker than mine. I hate it, and now I have to drop yet another 3 figure sum of money on replacement shades that I do like.

The Beautiful Blogger Award

My husband, Jim, has nominated me for the Beautiful Blogger Award. He thinks it’s a nice way for bloggers to recognize the heart and soul their colleagues put into their blogging, and to build a strong sense of blogging community. I think he slightly misunderstands the Beautiful Blogger Award. I did some online sleuthing, and it appears that we do not nominate others for this, but that we actually award them this.

I thank him for this token of respect and admiration. Jim, you are my most faithful blog reader, as I am yours, and I hope it will always be so. Now go read his blog: No Stolen Cat Pictures. Then come back here.

As with any good chain letter or Facebook repost there are Rules.

1. Place the Beautiful Blogger Award in your post. (done!)
2. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them. (done!)
3. Tell 7 things about yourself. (see below!)
4. Pass this Beautiful Blogger Award on to 7 more bloggers. (see below!)

Telling 7 things about myself is hard. I don’t share truly personal information much. I thought I did not know where to start, but suddenly I did know.

1. I am a recluse. I rarely leave my house and yard except for grocery shopping.
2. I remember the days before polyester and perma-press, when all clothing had to ironed. Even brassieres.
3. I don’t much care about shoes, but I have a serious handbag weakness. Think Coach.
4. I am the Alpha Geek in my family, to whom falls the job of setting up networks and helping the random friend who is having computer trouble.
5. I spent 12 years in the Air Force as an Aircraft Maintenance Tech, reaching the rank of E-6, and had tested for E-7, but got out before I got my test results.
6. I am a Licensed Practical Nurse, or I was until I let my license expire in 2006.
7. I hate beige. The carpet in my house is a lovely gray that will be stunning with the white molding and trim and blue walls after our house interior is painted later this month.

The bloggers I wish to nominate for this award are:

1. Writing about writing: A Way with Words.
2. A female Jewish convert who has just moved to Israel: Just call Me Chaviva.
3. About belief in general: Grome Soapbox.
4. Delicious gluten free, dairy free food blogging: The Nourishing Home.
5. The transition from career to homemaker: Happy Homemaker, Ph.d.
6. Um, some knitting here, but mostly just life sharing: Try To Be A Bit Less Rubbish.
7. And another knitting blog: Knitting to Stay Sane.

I am NOT going to do this twice, once for each blog. Definitely a copy and paste job, so if you read it on one blog it’s the same on the other.

In Which I Make Cables

Like every other user of the Boye Needlemaster interchangeable circular needles, I love the needle tips and hate the cables. I have tried to do Magic Loop on them, and succeeded, and hated every miserable minute of it. The cables are too rigid, and will not cheerfully flex into those small magic loops that let you knit 7 inch circumference mittens on 36 inch circular needles. They fight back every round, doing their best to force ladders into your work.