Well, this IS exciting. More new yarn!

Remember when I said how much I loved the Harvest Cardigan in the new Color Style book?

Well, I decided that (since I had already had a bag full of Dark Brown Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool), that that yarn would be a perfect substitute … I hope … and since I had to place an order with Webs the other day anyway…

These are the colors I’ve got. Not perfect on the screen, mind you, but I did a mosaic with the four colours sandwiched between the dark brown to give you an idea. It’s not a perfect match–and I really DO love the colors in the original–but it will do, I think. (I borrowed these yarn pics from the Webs site–I figured, they sold me the yarn, they could lend me the pictures, too, right?)

This, of course, is assuming that I can get anything resembling correct gauge.

The best part was that, since I already owned a whole bag of the brown, I only needed to buy one skein of each of the contrasting colors … so I don’t have to feel TOO guilty about buying yarn that I can’t really afford, especially the week before Rhinebeck.

Really, the only pity is that it’s too late in the day for me to skein up those five hanks of yarn into balls so that I could start knitting the swatch!

Why did I HAVE to buy yarn, you ask?

Because I needed something pink. Well, it’s a pinkish-lavendar, anyway. My friend Julie, who is a freelance writer who lives on Martha’s Vineyard and is good friends with Susan from MVFF (talk about living my dream!) has a pair of two year olds. In return for giving me some advice on launching this freelance thing (instead of charging me mentoring fees), I promised to make her kids a pair of hats with earflaps.  And, naturally, since one of them is a girl, her favorite color is pink. (Of course!) But that’s not really a color I have in my stash, so I ordered this pretty pinkish yarn for Sophie, and some blue for Jack, with green (no, really, it IS green) to use in both hats. Cute, no?

I have a question for you all, though:

Since I’ve never knitted hats for two-year olds … I’m not worried about the pattern, but How much negative ease should I knit into these hats?  I’m told that both children’s heads are 19″ around … Do I make the hat 19″ so there’s room to grow into them? 18″? 17″? Smaller? Bigger? With adult heads, I know what to do, but I haven’t had a two-year old in my life in a while, and forget how quickly they GROW.

Okay, a couple more things.

One of our clients at work did something so sweet and nice today! He sent an email to the president of the company, singing my praises. Just out of the blue. Not just a line like, “Deb has been really helpful.” No. This was the kind of letter that makes you blush. An excerpt:

So often, all the things that inevitably go wrong in business and life take so much of our attention that we neglect to recognize the things that go right.  Some things run so smoothly, so consistently, that we tend to take them for granted at times. I thought it appropriate to take a moment to let you both know that as a client I believe that Deb is a really valuable asset to your organization, and should be commended.  She’s sharp, very accurate, super-responsive, and her great sense of humor (Sarcasm and English are the only two languages I speak) really make her a pleasure to work with, no matter how much nonsensical crap I dump on her, or how busy she is when I call or email. I believe (and hope) that I’ve sent along praise for Deb in the past, but there is no such thing as too much recognition for a job well done – especially when it’s well-deserved.

Wowzer. How about THAT, huh??

I wonder if he’d let me use that letter as a “happy client” testimonial over on my Freelance Writing site? It more than makes up for the nasty client last month who refused to work with me because I had the audacity to ask her what size envelopes she was using on a mailing so that I could make sure to design the letter layout so that the address would correctly show in the window. (What was I thinking, questioning her like that??)

Okay, switching gears.

Who else remembers the song “Take On Me” by A-Ha, from the 1980s? It had one of the most creative music videos–and, somebody has taken it and replaced the group’s lyrics with literal, or narrative, ones. Lyrics that tell exactly what’s happening in the video as you watch–and the person singing sounds remarkably like the group’s lead singer, too! You must go watch.

I was having a great hair day this morning, so I TRIED to take a self-portrait in the mirror. Um. Well, the hair looks good, anyway. There was no way I was going to use a flash while pointing the camera at the MIRROR, and my dresser light is really quite yellow in tone. It’s got a wooden shade, you see, so I never get pure white light. Although, part of that is the bulbs, too. But, anyway, the light’s a little weird, though I adjusted it a bit in Photoshop, but still, I wanted to share.

And, besides, Chappy wouldn’t let me take HIS picture.

Okay–time to go take my shower, make some tea, and sit with my knitting, AWAY from the computer for a while. It’s astounding how much time I spend in front of the computer each day!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Soon to Swatch! //