'' For the same reason anyone sez 'aha!' when they jumps out from ahind a tree ''
No, I don't know what it means; it's something my father says, so now when I think or say 'Aha!', the rest of the saying follows automatically. And now you too can suffer enjoy and ponder its quaint Caribbean quirkiness. I defy you to check all that punctuation, while we're at it.
So anyway, my Aha! moment came while I was browsing the patterns on Ravelry. Having received the gorgeous specially-dyed-just-for-me 4-ply superwash yarn from my friend Mimi for Christmas, as I'm sure you recall, but here's a picture anyway, as almost-gratuitous Yarn Porn:
it has been quite taxing me as to what to do with it, a problem simmering along in the background of my mind, so to speak; having been gifted the yarn specially for me, I couldn't - and didn't want to - use the yarn to make something for someone else. But I am not a socknitter, for which this yarn would be perfect. I was leaning towards making a cushion cover - the colors would be lovely, I could have fun designing it, etc - but I just felt that this yarn could be ... More ... yanno ?
And then I was thinking how it is ridiculous, that as a knitter, not only have I never made myself something, I also wear in winter a fleece scarf and a sheepy looking fleece hat. Nothing woollen or even knitted, let alone stylish. Oh the shame. But I am of an age where Style and Practicality ie. warmth do not acknowledge each other as the most distant of relatives: it's most definitely one or the other, it seems to me, and never the twain shall meet.
Until now. I have found the perfect hat pattern , by Diane Kostecki, for this yarn: a brim/peak to keep the rain out of my eyes, a slight slouch to the crown to allow for my hair, and a pretty, feminine stitch. I shall sleep soundly tonight, no more tossing and turning, moaning for the lack of pattern and purpose .... one more of the world's great problems solved.
as coincidence. Yesterday was my mother's birthday - she would have been 74, if she hadn't died almost 10 years ago. And she would have been hating it with a vengeance - she had already been resenting how age was making her body gradually give up on her.
I didn't get married for the second time until after her death, and didn't have children til then either - which had an emotional effect on me that I wasn't expecting at all.
I still find I miss her; I still occasionally see or hear something that makes me think, ''oh, I must just call Mum and tell her''. And then I feel really stupid. But I have also found that when I have had her on my mind more frequently or intensely than usual, I will hear something that I absolutely know is her letting me know she is here.
Last night, after I put out her candle and was going upstairs to bed, on Mini Diva's radio was playing this, totally appropriate. But what I usually hear - and have heard on the radio as I am writing this post - is this:
And I quite often will also hear consequently, this:
Well, having nothing better to do yesterday, I changed the batteries in my camera, and - Lo ! - a miracle ! It worked for about 10 minutes: long enough to rush outside where it was grey but dry and take pictures of 2 out of the 3 FOs. I couldn't take pics of the 3rd because I'd forgotten I hadn't weaved in the ends yet.
So here is the cabled sweater for Jasper's 1st birthday present, knitted in Stylecraft Special DK in blue marl as selected by Destructo Boy, brilliant value and machine washable too:
Having bought two balls, I had tons left over, so found a lovely pattern for a cabled hat (SmarieK's 3am Cable Hat) , which I adjusted for size, casting on only 96 stitches instead of 108. I also knitted it flat and seamed it, which meant adjusting the instructions somewhat backwards for the even rows, as the pattern is written for knitting in the round. All done and lovely, I think, ready to be wrapped and taken down to Kent the first weekend of half-term for his birthday party:
I feel that the cabling is a bit lost in the marl of the yarn, but seeing as how Destructo Boy chose it, what could I do ? Well, yes, I could have knitted a really plain design, but how boring that would have been ....
I had a lovely surprise yesterday - Mini Diva had gone to tea at her friend's house, and when she returned, she was bearing this:
My friend Karen felt sorry for my plan-less, celebration-less birthday, and had made this marvellous gooey chocolate birthday cake for me. We had some for breakfast today, simply because. I'm blessed to have such thoughtful friends.
Destructo Boy asked me a few days ago, would I be moving out on my birthday ? ''Where to ?'' sez I. ''One of those places where old people live when they get smelly and old''.
Since old people need their sleep, I am going back to bed.
'' Aha ! ''
