I’ve been kicking the idea around and don’t feel like there’s a good reason NOT to do it, so sometime in the near future I’ll be opening an Etsy shop. I have been knitting a lot lately and have been pleased with the results of new things I’ve tried, so it feels like a good time to try this, too. I’m not looking to do this full time, but it seems like it could be a good side gig. 

Here’s the first item I made.  

One major thing I’ll have to figure out is how to attractively photograph my stuff, because I doubt that camera phone pics are going to cut it. 

Pattern: Chucko Hat by Courtney Buckalew-Kramer 

So I’ve been in a bit of a daze since the election. I’m still kind of shell-shocked at who this country elected, so knitting has been my refuge. I finished a sock that I had started in August, done 85% of, and then put down. Of course, I still need to make the second one, but that’s a post for another day. I also finished a pair of glittens, also known as convertible mittens. Those might get their own post, too. 
But this post is dedicated to a Very Boring Hat. It is a fast knit, but so very plain. My dad has seen the somewhat unreasonable amount of knitting that I’ve done, yet still had the nerve, THE TEMERITY, to ask my mother where she used to buy the cheap knit hats they wore during winter. SERIOUSLY? SERIOUSLY?! (That’s exactly how I started my rant when I heard him. I may also have said, “Why don’t you just shove a knitting needle in my heart, it would be faster and less painful.” 😂😂😂) 

My dad explained that he didn’t even think to ask me (not helping your case here, dude) because he just wanted a simple black hat. The implication seemed to be that everything that I make is fancy, which, thanks, but isn’t entirely true. I make boring things all the time (mostly for other people, the stuff I make for me is always the coolest). 

Coincidentally, I bought some boring ass wool when I was at the Lion Brand Outlet a couple of weeks ago, thinking that it would come in handy if I ever wanted to make quick hats, perhaps to sell. One of the colors that I bought was black. I picked it up, put it down, and then picked it up again. Thank you, universe! 

Anyway, here is the world’s most boring hat, which I hope my father wears for years to come. I’m making him a second one, though, because I feel like he will probably lose this one before the end of winter. 

I really like this pattern. Doing the color changes at the last DD of the round makes it practically impossible to see any jog. This pattern is pretty easy to memorise and knitting is a pretty smooth process. The only thing I’m worried about is that I have to get my tension right at the color changes; I’ve been leaving too much slack and then having to go back and fiddle with the stitches near the DD to make things look good again. That also might just be a side effect of not having knit much over the last year and a half.

A lot of time passed between home losses, and my brain hurt trying to figure out how much tension I should leave in the white yarn that I was carrying up the side, so I just cut it and reattached it when needed. Same with the away losses (which made sense at the time, but now kind of baffles me – midnight knitting, folks), so I hope the Mets only win on this road trip, or that would have been kind of pointless.

The Mets’ recent record (2 wins, 2 losses) makes for a visually interesting piece of work, but I’d like to knit monochromatic blocks of wins if it’s all the same to them.

This baseball season, I’m making the Crackerjack scarf/cowl/neck thingy, which is a visual representation of one’s favorite ⚾ (or other athletic) team’s win/loss record. I had a few false starts with this pattern, largely because I live in a desert and hardly ever knit anymore. To say that I’m rusty would be an understatement. I couldn’t even remember how to do the crochet cast on without a visit to Ye Olde YouTube. And it was my favorite provisional cast on! Oh, the shame. Also, because I’m me, I incorporated the Camptown Races cowl (WHICH I PAID FOR) so that my work had some visual interest and would be that much more difficult.

Thankfully, the third time that I started this project has proven to be the charm. I’m hiding the color change after the last DD, so they’re basically invisible. Like a boss. And also like other people’s Ravelry notes suggested. Now I just need for the Mets to cooperate and win so that I can go back to using brighter colors. FYI, gray = away loss, orange = away win, blue = home win, white = home loss. As you can see, my cowl is currently turning out to be as white as a Trump rally, with the last four games having gone poorly for the Metsies. Dear Mets, please help me make my knitting great again by winning some games.

It’s snowing quite a lot here, so I decided to stay in today, knit, and drink beer. Needless to say, um having a great day.

I made my Halloween costume (well, a lot of it, anyway). I was one of those Candy Button packs. Anywho, in addition to being voted best some thing or another at my drinking knitting group’s Halloween party, I was also featured on the Ravelry main page. Feels good