habitat

I could use a win today, guys. Here are some highlights of my day:

1. Daniel hid behind the couch to draw a rocket ship ON THE LIVING ROOM WALL this morning. Then when I caught him, he tried to tell me he "didn't know where the pencil was going." It's the first time he's been this deliberately naughty (except when he's annoying his little sister) and definitely the first time he's tried to weasel out of something by telling an untruth. I was upset and disappointed. Then I confiscated all his art supplies, which led to a meltdown of epic proportions and we almost missed his preschool class because he couldn't calm down.

2. Actually, what led to him nearly missing school was a secondary meltdown because I got Anya's jacket out of the closet when he wanted to do it.

3. The most interesting place I went to today was the grocery store, where Anya whined for 20 solid minutes until I bought her (and me) a doughnut.

4. Anya threw a tantrum in the corner market this afternoon, where we walked to buy Jell-O because I forgot it this morning at the big grocery store (and by the way, I buy Jell-O exactly once a year: for the cranberry salad for Thanksgiving dinner). They have mini-grocery carts at the corner grocery, and I got the Wrong One out for Anya, so she lay down on the floor next to the paper towels and screamed while I got the Jell-O.

5. But the worst tantrum of the day was when I told Daniel to wash his hands and come to the table for pizza. Which he had requested for dinner. (Aside: I make really awesome pizza with homemade crust and freshly grated cheese and everything. It's a lot of work.)

6. I made some truly fugly yarn today. Daniel likes to help me dye yarn (another post on this is forthcoming), so we gave it a whirl this afternoon during Anya's [tragically short] nap. Lately I've been using Wilton's cake icing dyes rather than Kool-Aid because there are many more color options. We started out with a lovely celery green. But then I had to go and mess it up when I thought there were too many blank spots on the yarn, so I added some more blue, which was okay, but then there were some unseemly blue splotches on the yarn. That's when I really screwed up by trying to fix it with more blue, and the yarn was turning a sort of seasickly green. And the kicker was when I gave it yet another treatment of teal and a packet of grape Kool-Aid just to tone it down a bit and now it just looks like ass. Part of me wants to just call it a failure and throw it out along with the rest of today, but another part of me can't stand to waste good wool no matter how ugly. So for now it's sitting in the dye pot all limp and horrid and waiting for Judgment Day. I'm not even sure I can bring myself to take a picture of it.

This is, of course, the week of Thanksgiving, and I know I have a lot to be thankful for. I am trying to remember that. Being yelled at is part of motherhood; goodness knows I yelled at mine often enough (sorry, mom!). And making crappy stuff is just part of being a creative person. You win some, you lose some.

So let's end this post on a win, shall we? Here's a hat I finished over a month ago. I present to you: Habitat by Jared Flood.



The yarn is a wool/mohair blend of handspun! Not by me, though. I don't spin, and I don't intend to start. I bought this at A Stone's Throw Artisans in my hometown, which just closed a few days ago, another victim of the current economy. The owner's daughter spun this yarn, and it is just gorgeous and shimmery and perfect for the pattern. The mohair content makes the hat slightly itchy when I wear it in milder weather (like today in the mid-40s), but shouldn't be a problem when it gets cold. It's way nicer than Lamb's Pride, which has the same fiber content.



I started this hat while we were on vacation in Door County in August. Then I got to the part with the cables and put it down until I felt like I could concentrate on it, and when I finally picked it up again in October, I had it done in a few days. It's a wonderful pattern, not difficult at all (if you don't find cables difficult, which I don't) and interesting up until the last stitch. Classic Brooklyn Tweed, if you ask me.

Comments

kclblogs said…
pretty hat!

wanna share the cranberry salad recipe?
ann said…
You look very cute in your very cute hat.
Jessi said…
Dye it black. There is nothing so messed up that black dye won't fix it. Also, there's always something to be done with black dye.
Steph said…
This post was very funny...I guess because I didn't have to live it. :)
ann said…
dyeing it black does sound good. I was going to suggest trying for a pretty brown. But that could get really gross.

Popular Posts