Ok, So It's Not Friday

Yesterday got busy, so no post. I did go to the doctor. We were right; I did tear a ligament in my ankle. It will, apparently, take longer than normal to heal because I tore that ligament before, about six years ago. Since there was no bruising this time (last time I had an amazing bruise!), the doctor figured I tore the scar tissue from the previous injury. As scar tissue has less blood flow, it will take longer to heal. And there's really not much that can be done, other than some physiotherapy, if I want it, anti-inflammatories for the pain, and ice for the swelling. I don't really want the physio, so it will simply be a matter of time.

Last night, I got a surprising phone call. I didn't recognize the phone number that came up on call display, but when I answered, it was one of my sisters, who lives out at the coast. She asked me if I'd like to go out for lunch on Monday, which just happens to be my...... ahem.... Anyway, I asked her where she was; she was visiting my parents, also out at the coast. She asked me again if I'd like to go out for lunch on Monday. Of course I said yes. She said, "Great; I'll drive out on Sunday, take you out for lunch on Monday, and head back home on Tuesday morning." Colour me surprised!

Now, on to the promised pictures and the story of the Butterfly hat's adventure. It looked just great when it came off the needles, but the brim (folded up to the inside) looked a little loose to me, a little too big. Everything else was perfect, if a touch on the big side. It would have been just fine for someone with a slightly larger head than mine. So I decided to wet it, perhaps block it a little smaller. But when I did that, it really stretched and I wasn't sure of how exactly I'd block it. I figured I'd throw it into the dryer for just a few minutes.

If you ever decide to try that, with a pure wool hat.... don't.

Don't get me wrong. I like how it turned out. It just wasn't supposed to look like it does now. I'm actually liking it more and more. The butterfly stitch, even though it's not as visible as I wanted it to be, looks kind of interesting after fulling it. The hat has a little more body to it now than it did before the fulling process. I'm calling it a happy mistake.

Another view, showing the top of the hat. John says it has an almost fez-like shape to it. I did intend for it to have a flattish top, so that worked out well. I blocked it, incidentally, over a coffee can, which worked perfectly.

And a close up of the butterfly stitch...

I really like the butterfly stitch. I like it so much that I made another hat using the same stitch. I'm calling this one the Butterfly Garden hat.



This was a fun hat to make. I had no idea how it was going to turn out when I started; I just knew I wanted to use the butterfly stitch, the Fleece Artist yarn and a strongly contrasting yarn, in this case Gjestal Superwool in black (navy would have looked good, too). I'm calling it the Butterfly Garden hat because the slipped stitch band reminds me of a picket fence, with the bobbles as flowers on either side of it and the horizontal stripes remind me of the rows and furrows of a garden, with the butterflies flying above it. I finished it off with an I-cord knot. It's fun and it's mine.

Instead of just doing the butterflies as the stitch pattern described, I decided to add a pebble bead to each. It just adds that little someting special, don't you think?

Now, I mentioned to John yesterday that I might bake some bread today, use up some of the whole wheat flour we've got languishing in the freezer. A little more knitting and I think I'll do just that. Bread's fun to bake. I like having fun. Off and running........ enjoy your weekend!