Please say a prayer for all of Alex’s family today.  They’re going to need all the strength they can muster.

As it was so subtly pointed out to me by someone on Googlechat last night, it’s been two weeks since my last blog entry. I didn’t plan for it to go that long, but sometimes life has other plans, you know?

So, since we last spoke, hubby turned 34 (Yes, he’s two weeks younger than I am. And never lets me forget it.), my lovely SP figured me out and received her last package, and the hat count for this year has reached (drumroll, please) 227! That’s right – we’re only 23 away from reaching the goal!

Thanks to the generosity of Ellen’s Half-Pint Farm and Great Adirondack Yarns, there will be TWO places at Rhinebeck for people to drop off hats. Mary Beth Temple will be signing her book The Secret Language of Knitters from 1-3 at the Ellen’s booth (building 26, booth N) both Saturday and Sunday, and has volunteered to collect hats. If you miss MBT, you can stop by Great Adirondack Yarns (building 22, booths 2 and 3) anytime to drop off hats – I’m bringing them a box for the hats. I can’t thank these ladies enough for helping me out with this project.

Oh, and do you remember this? Charlotte’s Web V2.0? Started on 9/26, and I finished the knitting yesterday. It took me some searching to find an edging I liked, but I finished that at 3-ish this morning (yeah… couldn’t sleep, so I kept crocheting). Here’s where she stood as of this morning:

And now?

All pinned out on my blocking board, happily drying so I can wear her at Rhinebeck this weekend (The colors are a bit better in the first picture, because the blocking one is still wet). So yes – if you’re a Blogger Bingo-er and I’m on your card, you can look for Charlotte’s Web on Saturday or the Chrysanthemum Tea Shawl on Sunday. My first CW about doubled in size when I blocked it, because I blocked it pretty hard – I needed it to grow. This one I am not blocking nearly as hard. I doubled the number of repeats in the solid sections of the first three colors, and did 1-1/2 times the repeats on the last two (I was concerned I might run out if I doubled all five colors). Fresh off the needles, the top edge measured about 66″ across. Pinned out, it’s about 90″ (that picture shows it folded over – it’s too big for the board otherwise). I’m really happy – I wanted it to be big. It will be great to wrap up in.I got a lot of work done on the shawl this past weekend because it was Stitches East. My friend Stitchcounter came up from Florida for it again this year, and we had a great time. We both had classes Thursday afternoon and Friday morning and afternoon, and we hit the Market Thursday night for the preview, Friday after class, and Saturday afternoon. Wanna see what I got?

Thursday night:

BMFA Socks That Rock lightweight in Oregon Red Clover Honey – 5 hanks (with apologies to anyone else who was looking for that color.) It’s going to become Spanish Dancer, once I get myself geared up for a 401-stitch provisional cast-on and a ruffle that ends up with (gulp) 3256 stitches by the bindoff. The Tilli Tomas Rock Star in Ruby Wine is going to become the Twilight Capelet. We were standing by the Tess’ Designer Yarns booth when something caught my eye in the Dreamweaver booth. One of the women was wearing the capelet in the loveliest peacock blue-green color (I think it was Jade). I considered getting the same color, but I just loved the Ruby Wine, so I bought that and the pattern.Friday:

Having chatted with the absolutely lovely ladies at Just Our Yarn on Thursday night, we knew we had to go back there on Friday. Their yarns are gorgeous, and they had a kit for a Maple Tree Shawl that was just stunning – that’s two hanks of 100% Tencel and the beads on the right. And B and I both succumbed to their cashmere laceweight (the blue-green on the left), along with a pattern for it.Saturday:

OK, this was my slightly misbehaving day. Until Saturday, I stuck to my goal of not buying anything without a planned project for it (even if I may have only discovered those projects when I found the yarn). We stopped once again by the Neighborhood Fiber Co. booth, because Karida is just too cute, and her colors are SO gorgeous. I picked up some Studio Sock yarn in “Foggy Bottom” for Kris, because it’s almost Penn State colors, and one hank each of the Loft and Victorian Bulky in “Mt. Pleasant” to make a Scribble Lace scarf for me. (Karida names her colors for neighborhoods in DC). I also stopped at the Celtic Knot/StormMoonKnits/Eleanor Francis Designs booth to check out SMK’s sock yarns (gotta support the fellow Ravelers!), and picked up 2 hanks – one in “Mandragora” for me, and one in “Rockabilly Blues” for Kris. I was bummed to miss out on the “Let There Be Lips”, but I’m hoping she’ll have more sometime soon. And I had to stop by Ellen’s Half-Pint to say hello and thank her for letting MBT collect hats. And I succumbed to some really awesome baby alpaca/silk in purple. I need to double check the yardage, but that *might* end up being Icarus. I also (under the nefarious influence of B, Annemarie, Jas, and Sharon) found those awesome dragonfly earrings. Aren’t they gorgeous? (I have a bit of a thing for dragonflies. If/when I get another tattoo, that’s what it’s going to be.)The best part of Stitches, though, was totally the people. I’m going to save that for another post, though – I need to sit down and make the list of everyone so I don’t forget who I met. Because, erm… I’m a little fried still.

So, yes. That’s what’s been going on since my last post. I’m going to make every effort to blog more regularly, but with Rhinebeck this weekend, and SAFF next, well, I might not be quite back just yet.

Second – check out that Hats for Alex counter! Since Weezalana started her contest, I’ve gotten 32 hats! And today’s mail isn’t here yet, so I’m betting I’ll be adding to that tally again later.

Third, there was much curiosity over the cellphone charm I was going to make for Kris. Well, he was going to sacrifice a D20 (that’s a 20-sided die, used for Dungeons and Dragons, for you less-geeky-than-me types), but the more he looked at it, the more he realized that the ones he had were just a little too big. He did discover one on Etsy that was made with an older, smaller D20, but figured he didn’t really need it. Yeah, whatever. So, I convo’ed the seller, and she had some other colors available. She made two of them for me – the blue is for Kris and the green… yeah, that’s for me. Go check out her other stuff – it’s really cute!

I had a great weekend – Amanda decided a while back that I needed to have a birthday party, so she came up Saturday morning and we cooked and laughed (and, um, perhaps had some wine) and then some other folks came over for the afternoon/evening. There was lots of Wii-ing and we really had a great time. Sunday, we went over to the Maryland Renaissance Festival. Amanda and I both got henna tattoos (pics to follow when Kris uploads them), and we watched some shows, ate some food, and had a little mead.

So, a while back, if you were reading my blog (which was of course still on Blogger back then), you might remember some activity about blogstalking. There was a group of folks from the Knittyboard who decided to post according to a theme each week. It eventually died off. However, OLPP decided that it needed to be revived, and I figured I’d join in again. It was a lot of fun last time, and hopefully this will encourage me to post more than just WIP Wednesdays (lame as they have been lately) and Yarn Pr0n Fridays. Due to the parental visit and prep for the party, I’m a bit behind, so we’ll be doing two weeks at once.

So, Week One is “Who Am I?”

I am a wife, daughter, sister, cousin, niece, friend, but not a mother, which breaks my heart on a daily basis.

I am a very good knitter and crocheter, and a newbie spinner who knows she’d get better if she ever practiced.

I am a collector. I have collections of cookbooks, Wizard of Oz memorabilia, and Marvin the Martian stuff. I also have a habit of needing to complete collections even if I’ve lost interest (hence the continued purchases of Xanth books even though the series has been really repetitive for some time now)

I’m a geek. I love fantasy novels and movies, and I still enjoy the occasional game of D&D with my hubby.

Most of all, I’m happy. I really am. Are there things I’d change about my life if given the opportunity? Probably. But the truth is that I’m in a place where my life is good. I adore my husband, we’re healthy, my parents are healthy and happy, I have great friends, and I have opportunities to pursue my hobbies and interests.

Week Two is a much simpler proposition: Purse Guts. This one was kind of fun. And yes, I played honestly – I didn’t clean it out first!

My purse (Thank you, Target. I love a cute, cheap purse!):

The front pocket – my wallet, my fingerless gloves (thanks, SP!), my iPod, headphones, my keys (see the sheep key cover? Thanks again, SP!), THREE lip glosses (remember that…), a roll of Tums, a pen (which is usually clipped to one of the rings at the base of the handle, but got put in my purse at some point), and some stuff from the RennFest – my old horns (I bought new ones this year to match my hair), the program, and the care instructions for my henna:

The back pocket – lint remover stickies, a spare pair of contacts (I wear daily disposables, and I’ve had them rip at very inconvenient times), the silica gel pack which apparently never got taken out of the bag, some wet wipes from heaven knows where, my makeup bag, my travel container of Mineral Veil (love my Bare Minerals!) and my pocketknife with my discount cards from various stores.

You know how I said to remember the three lip glosses in the front pocket? This is why. Here are the contents of the makeup case – EIGHT more lipglosses, a mini mascara (DiorShow – way expensive, but damn it’s good stuff), a mini mirror, and a sample jar of Peter Thomas Roth Mattifying Gel.

I may have a minor lipgloss addiction. Someday I’ll have to show you the rest of it…And in the little back zipper pocket on the back side – 2 packs of gum.

And you might remember that whole “Which STR should I use for my second Charlotte’s Web shawl” thing. Amanda sat down in my craft room Sunday morning and played with my STR and came up with this:

Peaseblossom, Titania, Fire on the Mountain, Firebird, and Knitty Rocks.
I think we have a winner! As soon as I finish up the project I’m working on for my SP, I’ll get started on it. Yay!

You can see all the details (and the prizes she is offering) here, but let me just say this – Yarn Pirate sock yarn and Entrelac Dangle-free stitch markers. And all you have to do is send three hats before October 31, enclose a note letting me know you want in on the drawing, and give us an email addy to contact you.

I’ll keep the running tally updated here, and I am post-dating this blog post for the end of the contest so that it stays as the top post. Just email me, and I’ll let you know where to send the hats.

Again, thank you all for helping me make this project a success.

I posted the article from Omaha.com on the Hats for Alex blog here, if you want to read more details.

And to all of you who asked about sending more hats – yes, yes, yes! Keep sending them! Once I hit 198, I’ll get them to the hospital, and then I’ll start collecting for the next batch. And because I’ve decided to make this a continuing project, I’ve started a blog speccifically for it here: Hats for Alex. It’s still slightly under construction, but the basics are there. I will continue to post pictures of the hats that I receive over there. I’ve also set up a gmail account for people to write to for information about the project – hatsforalex@gmail.com

Today, one year later, I have a box of 170 hats sitting in my house, waiting to be mailed to the hospital that took care of him as he fought. Hats from all across the US, Canada, and Great Britain. Hats that show me just how much love and compassion are shown by knitters for a family they have never even met.

These hats:




The next picture contains 26 hats. All of them came from Magatha – it seemed like every few days, there was another package from her, with more hats. Her blog is called “Mag the Magnificent”, and I must agree wholeheartedly.
This final picture includes some very special hats. You will notice that most of them are not handknit. These were sent to me by two of Kirsten’s aunts, who heard about the project too late to have time to knit them, so they purchased some so that they could still contribute. The five hats across the bottom were knit by Kirsten herself.

Thank you all, every one of you who took time to knit a hat in the memory of this beautiful little boy, and in honor of his mother, father, big brother, and the rest of their family and friends. You have no idea how much your contributions have meant to me. Kirsten has been my dearest friend since I was in junior high, and she is the closest thing to a sister I have ever had. It broke my heart to see her going through this, but it helps to heal it knowing how many people took time to do something for her and her son.

I exchanged a few emails yesterday with the gentleman at the hospital who will be the one receiving the hats. He is thrilled with the response to this project, and is glad that they will be able to provide these hats to keep their patients’ heads warm. He and I also discussed the possibility of making this an ongoing project, which I would very much like to do. I’m going to hammer out the details with him after the holidays, and will post them here. So, if you wanted to make a hat and didn’t have a change (or you did, but you want to make more), I will be continuing to collect them going forward.

I love you all for being a part of this.

We also went up on Saturday to see Kris’s Mom and deliver her Christmas gift (one of them, anyway – the other one is in the mail to her. ) – the Cozy I knit for her. It is done in Schaefer Marjaana (50/50 wool-silk blend) in the “Renata Tebaldi” colorway – burgundys and browns and some purples and pinks (pics as soon as Kris gets them off the camera). She definitely seemed to like it, although she did read me the riot act a bit for taking the time to knit her something when I have other stuff to do. I tried to tell her that I wanted to do it, but she still insisted that I didn’t need to. Doesn’t she know that’s the point?

While I was going, Kris was keeping me updated on the hats that were arriving in the mail – there have been over 50 in the last week. I’m hoping to get a few more today and get them shipped out by the end of the week. So far, we’re at 156 – only 42 more to go!

And I need to catch up on a meme – I almost forgot Turtlegirl had tagged me. I considered whipping out Mimi, but decided not to this time.

A) Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. Grand Opening Coordinator
2. Retail Asst. Manager
3. Box Office Manager
4. Homemaker (hey, it doesn’t pay, but it’s work!)

B) Four movies I would watch over and over
1. The Wizard of Oz
2. The Princess Bride
3. Serenity
4. The Rocky Horror Picture Show

C) Four places I have lived
1. Pittsburgh, PA
2. Meadville, PA
3. Richmond, VA
4. Bowie, MD
(Interestingly, that’s it, other than college dorm life. 3 locations in Meadville and 2 in Richmond, but that’s all the towns)

D) Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Veronica Mars
2. Heroes
3. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
4. Battlestar Galactica

E) I have been on vacation:
1. Florida (Disney World, of course)
2. Wildwood, NJ
3. Myrtle Beach, SC
4. Las Vegas, NV

F) Websites visited daily:
1. Bloglines
2. Knitty Coffeeshop
3. My Yahoo
4. IMDB (almost daily, anyway)

G) Four of my favorite foods:
1. Spaghetti Carbonara
2. Meatloaf
3. Cheesecake
4. Beer (Hey, I consider it a food…)

H) Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In bed, asleep
2. Las Vegas
3. Hanging with my NC peeps – Cristi, Zonda, and Mary
4. Hanging with my MD peeps – Annemarie, Alice, Lila, and the rest of the B&N SnB

I) Four people I’m tagging with this questionnaire:
In the spirit of the holidays and giving, I’m not tagging anyone specific. If you want to post this one, go right ahead!

So far, I have received 45 hats. If you would like to contribute, I am collecting hats in preemie and baby sizes, in acrylic, cotton, or blends (no wool or wool blends, please). Email me, and I will send you the address to send them.

String Bean has written a pattern specifically for this project, here. You can of course use any baby hat pattern you have, but I have to thank String Bean for taking Alex into her heart.

To those of you who have already sent or committed to sending hats, thank you. And to anyone else who wants to pitch in, you have my gratitude forever. I’ve put a button and a progress bar over in the side bar. Feel free to put the button on your own blog and link to this post if you’d like. The more we spread the word, the more hats we can collect.

Alex was in the home of his day-care provider when he suffered the injuries that claimed his life. That woman was charged and arrested and will be tried for felony child abuse resulting in death. His mother has set up a blog to keep people informed of the status of the case – Justice for Alex.

So, if you could, take a moment today to say a little prayer for Alex and his family. It’s going to be a hard day for them. Thanks.