Sometimes I'm Irrational

I had no plans to brave retail hell on Friday. I was quite exhausted after a successful Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday. However, the cork basket was full. (Yes, I save wine corks- Mr. Beagle has had his heart set on a corkboard made of wine corks for quite some time and I'm not one to shy from a craft project.) The idea formed in my mind that the movers would be unhappy to move a random bag of corks (see post title). So, I decided it was high time to make Mr. Beagle's cork board. The movers couldn't quibble about moving a lovingly handcrafted wine cork board, could they? Thus a trip to purchase a frame.

The craft store from which the frame was procured was right next to a clothing store. While frame shopping, another idea formed in my mind: my life would be so much more complete if I just owned a velvet blazer. Off to the clothing store. No velvet blazer. Which by then I needed. So another store or three until a cute little velvet swing jacket was purchased. By then, I had managed to squander pretty much my whole day in retail hell. To add insult to injury, upon returning home and laying out my cork board, I found this:



Uh-huh. I don't actually have enough corks to finish the board. So the movers will have to move my bag of corks and the empty picture frame. My rational side tells me that the movers get paid by the hour and probably don't really care if they're moving empty picture frames and bags of cork, but my irrational side thinks that the movers will crush one of my lampshades to punish me for moving a bunch of trash. Le sigh.



In knitting news, the parade of accessories continues:



Kim's Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and Warmest Mittens in Manos to keep me warm in Wisconsin. Fast knits, both and super yummy in rustic Manos.

Pattern: Kim's Hat from Last Minute Knitted Gifts and Warmest Mittens Kris Percival

Begun: 11/07
Finished: 11/07
Size: Women's hat size; women's mittens size
Yarn: Manos del Uraguay, flame colorway
Needles: US6; US5 and US6

Two fast knits. Not exactly refined, sophisticated knits, but cute.

Pros: Gratuitous earflaps! Great fit. Nibbling on excess yummy Manos.
Cons: Not very dense knits. The top of the hat is kind of ruchy where the yarn is pulled through the remaining stitches. Won't go with my orange coat.



A little bit of Endpaper progress while on my trip last week.

So Tired

I've been up since 4:30 am central time. Early flight back from my apartment hunting trip- a tentatively successful trip (I won't relax until the lease is actually signed).

Now my attention is turned to Thanksgiving and my last two weeks in the office... and sleep.

Are We Moved Yet?

What's going on here at Chez Beagle? Not a hell of a lot. At least not much unrelated to moving cross-country. It seems that searching for apartments online takes precedence over reading knitting patters, sewing stuff, and my other hobbies. I guess the apartment stuff is pretty important since I have only four days in Madison this week to locate and secure aforementioned apartment. Solo. Mr. Beagle's dissertation takes precedence over keeping me company on my trip. Stupid priorities.

There seems to be some knitting going on around here, but it's really minimal. My self-imposed sweater abstinence is leading to:



Accessories! A pair of mittens in Manos which are almost done and will be followed by a matching hat.



Baby Sweater! Which is actually fully knit, but still waiting for a zipper and sunshine to get it's final portrait done.



More Accessories! Endpaper knits. Colorwork + Rebecca = scary.

Enough of this. My next priority is to make dinner. Lidia's Seafood Gratin. Mmmmm.

We Have a Winner... Kind Of

After querying the folk of Craftster, the grape overdye was the clear winner for Granny's Clapotis. The suggestions tallied up thus:
Grape...........76
Blue Raz......17
Tamarind....12
Strawberry..6
Lemonade....6
Plain..............2

So, C2 took a dunking with four packets of grape Kool-Aid. Upon rinsing and laying out for blocking, I found this:



Ech. ECH!!!!!!!

Actually, I didn't freak out. I contemplated the hole calmly, let C2 block over night and darned the hole up this morning. The fix is not perfect, but it's not too noticeable. I'm kind of wondering if the yarn was weakened by the repeated applications of Kool-Aid I subjected it to. I hope it doesn't fall apart after Mr. Beagle's grandmother receives it.

The overdye is significantly lighter than the swatch, it almost looks like a grey wash, but I think it turned out nicely. The overdye really tones down the original contrast. Mr. Beagle has given it his approval, so my Christmas knitting is done. Heh.

My project notes, apart from all of this dyeing nonsense, are basically the same as the first Clapotis, so I'll not bother writing it up.