Five in (about) one.

Last night was a "wintry mix" event with all sorts of things, including the Triangle Fiber Guild holiday party, cancelled or postponed.  So errands didn't happen.  That meant I had five or six to accomplish today, and at most a 90 minutes timeslot in which to achieve them.  Could I manage all the errands in an hour?

Not quite, but I tried.  Part of it was maximizing the route:

• First to the library, to return a book and drop off a couple jackets for the Welcome Baby collection.  As I did and turned to leave, I heard a happy "thank you, dear!" and over my shoulder responded "Absolutely!"  The guard and I then wished each other a happy day.
• I thought that if there was a close post office I could shave a bit off the route, and the car's navigator claimed there was, but after following the directions I didn't see one.  It could be that the gas station or another shop on the strip mall next to it had a postal kiosk or a courtesy station, but I wasn't going to spend time looking.
• Instead, I headed to the Durham Rescue Mission to deliver a duffel bag of mostly clothing, plus a lot of unused wallets that could be likely holiday gifts.  I wanted to be sure they would arrive as early in the month as possible, and we'd just located them during a drawer-cleaning.
• Then to the post office, and the automated machine was available and working!  Package was quickly postage'd and in the big rotating slot.
• Off to Kohl's to pick up another couple jackets, the result of rolling Kohls Cash credits.  While waiting for the item I realized I'd forgotten to grab my knitting, so I checked work email and dealt with a few things.  Which is how I noticed that a meeting was just beginning, less than an hour after I'd left.  Ooops!  A new addition to my calendar.  I joined, apologized, accepted the bag of jackets, and headed to the loggia where a bench waited in a sheltered spot.  Luckily the call was quick and I could continue on my route.
• Stop at the pharmacy for a prescription and an OTC ear-unblocking spray recommended by my PCP that I use before flying this week.  I have until tomorrow afternoon to figure out how it works.

So it took a bit over an hour, almost an hour and a half, but I think there needs to be some adjustment for the meeting and of course the stupidity penalty whilst hunting the snipe of a post office.  And a lot of extra slowness and stoppages due to construction on or next to the roads that took them to one lane in places.  So I came close.

This is the current knitting: I reached 99 hats for the big collection I've been doing (some were made by others, which I figure balance the ones I made and donated to the Blue Elves and otherwise) and stalled over the weekend for the final hat.  All the yarn was too thin, or too pink, or already used in other hats and I didn't want to make one more for this year, or........  So I started the scarf:

I knitted the first ten inches of the scarf in a knitting group
online gathering on Sunday.  Garter stitch moves quickly.

Then yesterday, a box arrived that included some mystery skeins, and one immediately spoke to me about turning it into a hat!  So I am doing that and may have it done before I leave tomorrow.  If not, it will be quickly finished when I return, then THAT box can head out too.

Some people may ask why I used hand-dyed yarn for charity work instead of cheap acrylics.  Well, I can afford it; the purchase helps a small business indie dyer; I get the pleasure of making something with the yarn; and somebody gets a warm and unique hat.  Wins all around!

Thirty in 30

It was a bit of a squeaker, and more than once I didn't expect to make it, but before I went to bed last night* I finished the 30th hat made in November.  Here's the list:

Some days I managed to complete two, especially the crocheted ones of worsted weight (#4) yarn using a USI-5.5mm hook.  I tried a number of patterns as noted in the details.  Here is a photo of 28 of the thirty hats:

Why are two missing?  I donated them to a Blue Elves collection, and too late thought I should have donated a couple that I made earlier so that I could photograph all thirty together.  The ones I donated are a flower one like the one in top left of the photo, and a striped one similar to the one in the bottom left.

Some of the hats look very narrow because they are knitted in ribbing all the way, so they are very stretchy.  Top right are the two "Giftable Beanie" hats, and the flower one next to them is Red Heart Flower Power yarn, following the accompanying pattern through Row 4 and then instead of changing it to a square, just working as a hat around and around.  On the bottom are two Triangle Granny hats, using yarn that I think is scraps of the rainbow yarn shown in six of the knitted beanies, but choosing which colours to put into each hat.

Next to each other, at the top, are the two hats using new-to-me techniques.  The blue-striped one in top left is another top-down knitted beanie, practicing how to start without a hole.

I counted the total number of hats and I am much closer to one hundred than I thought!

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* It might have been slightly after midnight, but not much.  I misjudged the yarn and had to frog to get enough to finish the top.

Thankfuls 21-30

Day 21 - Thankful to be able to enjoy an organ and clarinet concert via Congregation Beth Israel as a bit of a break in a long and hectic day.

Day 22 - Thankful that my mother felt like sitting up at table for supper, first time in a week!

Day 23 - Same as always, thankful for this guy! (He's bigger now and has less hair.  )

Day 24 - Thankful for kind and helpful and thoughtful neighbors.

Day 25 - Thankful to finally finish a major deal at work, so now I can get back to normal(-ish) work, at least for the rest of this week.

Day 26 - Thankful for people who are kind and friendly during everybody's frantic pre-holiday last-minute shopping. Also for a station playing classical music, not Christmas stuff.

Day 27 - Thankful for family, and that we are able to gather together and enjoy each other's company. Thankful for the food on the table, and that we can share it with others. And thankful that Mom made sure to get my great-grandmother's special pumpkin pie recipe!  [I forgot to take a photo before we ate it, but it was YUMMY.]

Day 28 - Thankful that we do not need to try to get anything from a Black Friday sale, and that I can stay in the office and home, watching football and eating leftovers for dessert. Also that I was finally able to catch up on some very tedious administrivia because of the quiet at work.

Day 29 - Thankful that my parents are still as compos as they are, with spirits and brains willing even as their bodies decide that a nap is the better way to spend an afternoon. Well, semi-napped and directed my willing hands and feet to help clean out closets and reorganize the master bathroom - thankful I can help them!

Day 30 - Thankful to reach the end of another month, and another year, and have things to look back upon and forward to and more adventure ahead that I haven't anticipated yet. As Stan Lee always ended his messages: EXCELSIOR! 🚀

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By the way, I heard this short video about how gratitude and thankfulness can change your attitude and even how you think overall. I'm not sure it has this year, but I do try to focus on one good thing a day, whether it's the glow of autumn leaves against a deep blue sky, or family, or other things. It might be worth continuing beyond the Thirty Days of Thankful in November. Am I up for continuing in December and meeting the speaker's challenge?

Continuing the theme.

Hats, and I am getting rather tired of them.   I made or finished nine this week, partly because I finished two class ones, and partly because I crocheted a few, which goes faster with worsted weight (#4) yarn and a large (USI-5.50mm or USJ-6.00mm) hook.

The two class projects are a snowflake-patterned hat from the two-handed colourwork class I took at DFW Fiber Fest in September:

And the top-down knitted beanie hat from the Triangle Fiber Guild meeting earlier this month, when we had a virtual lesson from The Knitting Fairy:

In progress, showing how we start using a technique that
leaves no hole to be closed later!  Using up bits of yarn.

The handy thing is that since I wasn't sure how much yarn I had from these two colours, because they were part of a donation bag of leftovers, I could just work until I ran out.  Which I did, having just a couple-few yards of each yarn left, not enough for another row.

In addition to some plain crocheted beanies of ombre yarn, I made one of a new yarn called "Flower Power".  The idea is that you follow the instructions, and the yarn is coloured in a way that it makes the design without you having to change colours.  Instead of turning the item into a square once the flower is done, I worked straight to make it a hat:

There are enough colour repeats to make twelve squares, so since I used three for that hat, I can make four other hats of this style.  I may try doing a top-down hat instead of one both for practice and so that I won't have to worry about ending at the top in the middle of a colour.

Thankfuls 11-20

 

Day 11 - Thankful to all the veterans.

Day 12 - Thankful for the U.S. Postal Service, and a tolerant delivery person who still gets my mail to me despite all the times a neighbor blocks my box.

Day 13 - Thankful for the opportunity to study Torah with Rabbi Salem of Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life - ISJL.

Day 14 - Thankful to be able to finally shut off the work computer and unwind with a movie and crocheting.

Day 15 - Thankful for kind and understanding paramedics, doctors and nurses and ER staff, and supportive home health aides. Also that the damage is mostly bruises and a lumpy head. (As it turned out once all the X-rays and scans were done, Mom has two cracked ribs. Thankful it was not more serious.)

Day 16 - Thankful for a calm Sunday, with nice weather and talking to family, and knitting, and THREE online fiber gatherings. (Plus the Bears beat the Vikings!)

Day 17 - Thankful for the doctor (routine checkup) telling me to "come back in two years".

Day 18 - Thankful for neighbors who can take great photographs of our beautiful sunset:

Day 19 - Thankful I could get out for a midday walk. It was warm and sunny today.

Day 20 - Thankful for food trucks when my day (which started with a 7:00am meeting) goes long and is jampacked and I don't have time to cook. Thankful for the small businesses and other people cooking.

Bits of Autumn

Just a handful of photos from various of my walks.

I love sunlight filtering through some of the leaves, and also clouds!

Thankfuls 1-10

 

I almost forgot this year, but saw a friend posting and was reminded:

Day 1 - I am thankful for LIBRARIES. Today I spent some time at the main library of my county, learning about local and state history, meeting other history nerds, and surrounded by BOOKS!

Day 2 - I am thankful for modern washing appliances, as I have a lot of laundry to catch up on after two weeks of almost nonstop travel.

Day 3 - I am thankful to have a friend to take the ticket to a play I cannot attend; scheduling is always a risk when I buy season tickets, but it's worth it to support local arts organizations.

Day 4 - The ability to vote. I know what some of my ancestors went through to escape oppressive regimes and come to the USA so they could vote. I know what it took for most Americans to be granted the right to vote, when they were previously denied because of gender, race, or socioeconomic status. I cannot understand people who cannot be bothered to vote.

Day 5 - Glad for music. Specifically tonight, an "Opera About Town" performance featuring four people with wonderful voices. Also for my library book club, but I've already cited libraries.

Day 6 - Thankful for Braver Angels and similar groups that are trying to reach across the political divides. I spent part of my evening in a group of people discussing political violence and ways to disperse or avoid it. We agreed that it affects both sides, but is avoidable.

Day 7 - Thankful to have professional organizations that boost individuals as well as the profession, and where I can contribute.

Day 8 - Thankful for a beautiful day and time to spend at the Triangle Weavers Guild Show & Sale, and the Triangle Twisters Sit-and-Spin. Lovely stuff to buy, good food to eat, nice to visit with people.

Day 9 - Thankful for excellent weather on a weekend day when I can get out and enjoy it.

Day 10 - Thankful for a working heating system. (Annual checkup was today, and it passed comfortably.) Also thankful for my community that has at least two "White Flag Warming Centers" for cold snaps like this one, and I see in news reports that many others have opened.