Something Strange is Going On

It’s cold. It’s been raining all week, (and it’s supposed to continue doing so) and it’s gotten cold. The sky is gray and overcast, fallen leaves are littering the sidewalks…what madness is this? When we woke up this morning, the boys I and got dressed in long sleeves, warm pants, and put on socks. I’m eyeing the heaters - and I’ve got a craving for gingerbread and hot chocolate. (Um, to be honest, there’s a batch of gingerbread cookie dough in the fridge even now…)

I’m starting to think Japan knows I lived in Texas for four years and is just messing with me. This is ‘winter’ weather, but just last week the boys and I got sunburns at the beach. Talk about mixed messages, Mother Nature. I can’t even tell if this is the beginning of autumn, or if it’s just a cold and rainy week and we’ll go back to normal after the clouds move through.

I used to be really good at reading the weather. Now - we moved here in February, right? But there was snow everywhere, so I suddenly couldn’t stop humming Christmas carols. (Seriously. I didn’t stop till the snow melted in March.) Then as soon as real summer hit, let’s say in June, everything was ‘normal.’ Now, though, I feel surprised every time the idea comes up that summer might end. Intellectually, of course, I realize that Japan has four separate and distinct seasons - I just still expect summer to be three quarters of the year.

Oh, well. I do find cooler weather pleasant, and it’s very nice to play with yarn in; the boys will love cutting out cookies, and they’ll make great refreshments for the friends I have coming over tonight. If anyone says anything about reindeer cookies in August, I suppose I could always break out the Christmas carols - I’ve always liked ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’…

Mushroom Fever

Hey! Don’t forget to swing by Inner Child Crochet, where you can now download a copy of the directions for the Happy Little Mushroom finger puppet. He’s happy! He’s little! He’s a mushroom! It’s free!

What’s not to like?

Ever Heard of ‘Slip Stitch Crochet?’

Because it’s pretty darn cool.

Slip stitch crochet is, simply put, crocheting made up entirely of slip stitches. I read up on the technique over on David Burchall’s blog. He’s done a lot of work with it. I’ve got a few ideas myself that I’m interested in pursuing, but I took notes on the hat I’m wearing in that picture. Interested?

Classic Hat

Materials:

• About 70 yds Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick
• Q (16mm) crochet hook
• N (9mm) crochet hook
• Yarn needle

Special Abbreviation:

iF: inverse front loop slip stitch (Hold yarn in front, insert hook from back to front in front loop only. Yarn over, pull up loop, pull loop through loop on hook.)

Directions:

Row 1: Beginning with Q hook, ch 15. Working in the back loop only, sl st in first ch and each across. (15 sts) Turn.

Row 2: Do not ch. iF in each st across. Turn.

Row 3: Do not ch. Working in back loop only, sl st across. Turn.

Repeat Rows 2 and 3 alternately until piece can encircle your head at just tighter than desired snugness. (I went until mine was 19″ long.)

To join, sl st last row and starting ch together as follows. Hold working yarn between the edges - behind last row but in front of starting ch. Insert hook through back loop of last row, front to back. Swing hook over yarn (it stays down in the middle), and insert from back to front of starting ch. Catch yarn with hook and pull through all loops on hook. Repeat across.

Switch to N hook. To gather top: Ch 1, *[insert hook (front to back) in next ‘V’, pull up loop] 3 times. Yarn over, pull through all loops on hook. Rep from * around. (If you have two Vs left over, do it with two; if you have one do a single crochet.) Finish off, leaving a tail of yarn. Weave tail through the stitches of the gathering row and pull tight.

With remaining yarn and four fingers, make a pom pom (tutorial here) and sew to top. Weave in ends. Enjoy your hat!

Remember me?

Things are fine here, by the way. I mean, after Greg left I spent the first week eating chocolate and watching old episodes of Ugly Betty on the internet, but we’ve got a lot of support and we’re settling into a rhythm that’s just for the three of us. (Of course, Greg will be coming home for a few weeks before leaving again, which should be just enough time to make the first separation a wash, as far as adjustment goes.)

Anyway, there’s a lot that’s happened, but I’m not in a mood to summarize. I just popped in to show off something I finished.

It was almost completely finished three weeks ago, to be honest, but I couldn’t decide what to do about closures, got frustrated and annoyed, put it down, something got put on top of it…I pulled it out yesterday and realized that I had the buttons for it. (10 buttons for 100 yen! Although I only used seven. Nice heavy metal-feeling ones, too, not plastic. I don’t know what they’re made of, due to my limited Japanese…but I don’t care. They’re nice.)

The fabric is just slightly lacy, it fits nicely, it was fast (excluding the 3-week hiatus), it was made from inexpensive stash yarn (Caron Simply Soft), it’s warm: it will be excellent for “chilling” around the house this fall.

All in all, a very satisfying project.