I'm gonna eat your head!

It's Sunday again, a wonderful time when I realize that all my high expectations of productivity for the weekend are going to fall considerably short again and so I just give up and have fun and rest and say screw it. So I'm going yarn shopping with V this afternoon and then we're going to watch the Marquette - Mizzou game, which I have bad, bad feelings about. But Gator is pulling for Mizzou (his MLS alma mater and current employer), so either way somebody in my marriage is going to be happy about the outcome, which I guess is something.

Gator is also quite happy with his more-than-a-month-late Valentine's present, which he received this week, just as it was getting too warm to warrant such an item. Of course. He really likes it, or at least he says very supportive things to me with great enthusiasm. Hee! I sometimes thing he's pulling my leg because I'm not sure any man can honestly be as freakin' awesome as he is. I wish I had pictures of him modeling it, but these shots are just going to have to do.

Yes, it's the wildly popular Fish Hat (Dead or Alive?) from the winter issue of Knitty! It's just Red Heart from stash, but since I had a bunch of purple and other manly colors, I think it came out quite well. Since Gator is a gamer from way back, I thought it apropos to make the stripes according to random rolls of a pair of six-sided dice. Fun, no? Here's the mini-gallery:

Fish Hat (Dead or Alive?) by Thelma Egberts
Red Heart Super Saver
Size US8 dpns

Now I'm off to burn another afternoon with fun rather than work. Sigh. I fear the day I'm no longer going to get away with this crap...

Oh, look! Shiny and wonderful ways to procrastinate!

So, I did something stupid. But fun! But something that captured my fancy and has the potential to derail my recent good job at staying focused on my research and spin me off into the lovely, comforting world of handwork, handwork, handwork! I played a game on Facebook where I promised to make handmade gifts for five people. And while the rules state that I can make a mix CD, or bake something, or glue together bits of whatever, I am and always will be two things: a) a handworker, and b) a perfectionist. So, you see how this could potentially tip the delicate balance of my life. But so fun! How could I refuse? I love making things for people, and I love an excuse to make something for someone I would not otherwise have a reason to shower with little bits of love. They will necessarily be small things, but still! Fun!

The first project is a hat, but it will be a silly, fun hat (the rules said the gifts could be weird) that I don't know if the recipient will actually wear, but I like to think that my bizarre sense of fun is contagious and will soon take over the world. So I don't worry about it too much. The basic hat is finished and I hope to embellish it and bring it to life this evening (even if I ought to work on a presentation tonight instead. ::sigh::):


It's a very basic hat pattern, but a very bright yellow. I hope the finished project is as awesome as it is in my head. Admittedly, things often aren't as cool in real life as they are in my head. But hope springs eternal and I soldier on. FO in a couple of days!

Last night, I knocked out this little coffee cozy. I had some Soy Wool Stripes left over from the bag I made last fall and this project was perfect for it. So simple, so basic, so completely useful! I love projects like this.


So, that's almost two projects down. I have the next one planned, but I may not start it right away. I do really have to put together that presentation and get a bunch of research done so I can make a poster for a conference next month. You know, little things like that...

Hope you had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day! I didn't do much (except make the coffee cozy) but that was okay because I went to the Milwaukee St. Pat's parade on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and I felt like that was my St. Pat's celebration. Even if I did go to Mader's for a late lunch. Maybe not very Irish, but very Milwaukee! (Mader's is a German restaurant and a Milwaukee institution.)
Yesterday was a gorgeous day, however, so it was a wonderful holiday and I enjoyed every minute of it!

Off to do more of that research stuff! Ta!

Break? What break?

Today is a lull in the stream of recent days of real or imagined meaning -- Friday was Friday the 13th, Saturday was Pi Day, yesterday was the Ides of March, and tomorrow will be St. Patrick's Day. But today, as far as I know, is nothing special. Except that it's the first day back from Spring Break at Marquette. Of course, as a grad student, I didn't have a break per se, just a break from TAing so I could do another big overnight experiment which I've just about recovered from. Boy, those just wear me out.

I haven't done a whole lot of knitting lately, but I did finish a fun project that I can't quite show you yet. I'm sending it off to Gator today, so in the next few days I'll be able to post about it. Since it's his Valentine's present, you get the idea of just how behind I am.

There has been some other knitting going on -- but I'm not overly excited about it at the moment. I've plugged away at the Breast Cancer Awareness scarf:


I've finished one half and finished the first chart of the second half. When the second half is done, the two halves get grafted together. It's a cool pattern, but it's going to have to be aggressively blocked when it's done. We'll see how this yummy yarn blocks up.

Yesterday, after I finished Gator's gift, I immediately cast on a new hat. It's just a basic watch cap, but will have some fun embellishments when it's done. I'll leave that as a surprise.



I'm still tired and preoccupied, so I'm not very witty or bloggie these days. Hopefully I will get my mojo back soon.

Have a great day!