Puppy Porn

OK, today we're just going for some gratuitous puppy porn.....



Jo-Jo and Rosie having a little cuddle (aaawwwwww, how sweet).



And our resident "emo" Otto, contemplating the futility of an empty dog dish.



And Finally - what we affectionally call "The Black Mass" lounging on "their" bed.

Number Two

I've got a start on shawl number two now. A real start this time. After playing with about six different lace patterns until 1am Monday morning, I finally found one that struck just the right chord. It's just a simple zigzag pattern, but it's simplicuty is deceiving. I have made two dumb mistakes in the two repeats I have done already (they're corrected now), just because the pattern is so easy and lulls you into a false sense of security. I have to keep the pattern close by, until I am sure I've learned to read it right every time.



I wasn't so sure of the color, at first, thinking red might be too vivid. But the color really does compliment the lines and angles of the pattern. A softer color might not make the pattern "pop" like the red does.

Still, I'm anxious to get this done. I want to do other stuff. For myself and for others. The list of things I would like to get done this year is nearly as long as the list of books I want to read. Well......it might be longer

Finito-Completo!!

Finally finished Auction Shawl #1. I think it's great. I hope folks with money to bid on it feel the same way. It blocked like a dream. I think the color and the rawness of the yarn really works for an all-round wearable wrap. I can see it with a simple blouse and a pair of jeans, a floaty summer dress, or something dressy for evening.

Here are the particulars on the shawl - 21 inches wide by 75 inches long, knit in a mystery Shetland-like fingering weight Welsh wool, in a yummy lavender color. Cast on 84 stitches (9 - six stitch repeats, plus 2, plus 10 for the seed stitch border edges). Pattern is the Alternating Motif stitch from The Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns, page 207. Eight rows of seed stitch bordered the ends. Used about 5 skeins of yarn. There was no yardage on the ball band of the yarn but I figure they were at least 150 yards each.

Then I packaged it up all pretty-like. I figure you can get livelier bidding going on when even the packaging even looks nice. Even tucked in a little lavender sachet.



I started on shawl #2 yesterday. Originally my plan was to knit it length-wise. I cast on 387 stitches on to a 42-inch circular to knit it length-wise. But once I started on the actual pattern, I realized that I miscalculated, and ripped it all out. For efficiency's sake, I abandoned that plan and am going to knit it width-wise. But I am not giving up on that plan altogether. I still want to knit a length-wise shawl, but the time I have to complete this project won't allow me to do it this time. So after I get this one finished, I'll knit a new swatch, revisit my math (three or four times) and try again. One thing I did learn, however, those new Addi-Turbo lace needles ROCK!

Flickr-ing

Techno-Dork that I am, I am just beginning to learn about the really cool stuff that Flickr can do. Talking to my MIL this evening, it dawned on me that if I created a private Flickr group, open to my family members, that we could all share pics of the kids and the grands with "The Grandmas" who are totally scrapbook divas. Let me make it clear, my GIL (Grandma-in-law) Cha was scrapbooking before there was scrapbooking. My husband, his two brothers and sister, and all of our collected seven kids (and hubby's cousins and their kids), ALL have scrapbooks that date from their births to at least last Christmas. I am not shittin' you guys.......these ladies are serious scrapbookers. Probably one of the reasons I am the scrapbook anti-christ of the family. I take pictures, and then shove them in boxes, unmarked, unreferenced, never to be seen again.

The Flickr account is my way of making amends to the Grandmas for my laxity of sharing family pictures. If the pics are there on the inter-web for them to access, then I don't have to worry about getting hardcopies to them, ever....again. I believe a new photo-friendly printer and digital camera is in my mother-in-law's future. From then on, gift giving occasions can be used to replenish their photo-quality paper and ink supply. Oh boy! This could get way easy for me!

Thought I would share a pic from the long lost family archive of pics I've just downloaded:



I've gone against my normal policy of not showing any identifiable pics of my kids to show you this one. It's at least six or seven years old, and if you can recognize my son now, from his toddler shot, good luck. And hubby without beard. Believe me folks, I think this is one of the last pictures that was taken of my beardless hubby. He was cute then, but he is way cuter, now.

SOCK WARS!

The announcement of registration for the upcoming round of Sock Wars came out the other day. I immediately signed up! I will likely die in short order, but I hope I last a few rounds at least. I have one small advantage.......The day after the War begins, I will be on a cross-country flight. All that lovely knitting time! (as long as the TSA doesn't "disarm" me at the airport). Hopefully I can develop my two at a time sock knitting skills enough by that point, to knit strong and FAST! I have about two months to "train." I am so excited by this, it's almost unreasonable!

Auction shawl #1 is approaching completion. I think I have about one more skein of yarn to knit in to it. Takes me about two days to knit in a skein. I have no idea of the yardage of each skein. I am thinking they are about 175 to 190 yards each. No pictures just yet. Looks the same as before, just longer. I am itching to get started on #2 however.

Took away from my knitting time yesterday to get my 2007 household records in order. So now I am ready for taxes. Really can't wait to get the taxes done early this year. We're getting a REFUND! That happens so rarely, that it is a genuine occasion when it does happen. Looks like I get my completely remodeled family room this year!

Unfaithful

Knitting monogamy is a hard row to hoe, folks. Yes, I am sad to report that I broke down and cast on a pair of socks last night.



I swear! I couldn't help myself. The knowledge that I had sock yarn sitting at my bedside waiting to be made into snug little socks for my 10 year-old to wear inside his new hiking books, wore me down! OK, so his feet aren't that little. He can almost wear my shoes, I and wear a very substantial women's size 9. I'm OK with my youngest having feet the same size as mine, as long as he keeps his sweaty toes out of my little sparkly, strappy, high-heel sandals!

Along with the two auction shawls, I want to knit three pair of socks before we fly back to Kansas the end of March. And if that means I'm finishing sock #2 of the third pair of socks on the flight to Wichita, so be it.

Found some Trekking XXL in colors I actually didn't own for the socks for the big boys.




#2 son placed dibs on the blue stuff. So #1 son gets the browns. Gotta use Trekking or something like it for #1 son. Every inch of the generous 459 yards in a skein is needed to cover his size 14 feet. Now if the thought of buying shoes for that kid doesn't send a shiver down your spine, you are stronger than I am!

Monogamy/Monotony

I have been true to the Auction Shawl for the past week. Knitting exclusively on the lavender lovely. I have to admit, I usually have a pair of socks going at the same time, and right now, I don't. Even though two of my boys need new socks for the "Great Kansas Bird and College Hunting Trip of '08" The whole Fam Damily is going to Kansas in March to shoot birds (for me, read that "knit") and look at a couple of colleges for #2 son. Hubby swears by my handknit socks for warmth and comfort in the Kansas winters and early spring, so the boys need to be equally outfitted. Originally, I was not going on this trip, then hubby decided that I need to go. There goes my three days alone with just my knitting.

In preparation for the Safari, we trekked down to the new Cabela's store in Lacey to buy hiking boots. I have been told that it is the largest Cabela's store in the country....if it's not, it is missing a great chance to be. This sucker is HUGE! Imagine the largest Costco or Ikea you have ever seen - and add a second story to it! Oh yeah, there's a restaurant, a video shooting gallery, a gun library, a mountain and an aquarium in the store. They have a boat section....with six boats in one corner of the store - and they aren't crowded in! We spent four hours looking around in the store, and DH claimed we were "rushing" him. Of course, his idea of heaven is a Cabela's in his backyard.

I have to admit that I drew a few chuckles knitting while walking through Cabela's. I was not going to waste all that good knitting time!

But, I may have to cheat on the shawl soon........

WIP

So this is one of the auction shawl projects:
Yarn - some unpronounceable Welsh wool - fingering weight.
Needles US 7.
Pattern: Alternating motifs from page 207 of The Big Book of Knitting Stitch Patterns from Sterling Publishing, with a seed stitch border.

I've got about three and a half repeats of the pattern done. The picture is of the unblocked pattern, just pulled flat by pins. Not perfect by a long shot, but it gives you an idea of the finished product. The yarn is not the softest in the world, but it's slightly rough hewn quality appeals to me somehow. The funny thing is, the yarn is not soft, but I would not call it rough either. Just textured. I'm hoping some auction bidders will like it as much as I do.

Finally sussed out the pattern for the other shawl. But I do need to go yarn shoping before I get started (oh durn!). After trying all kinds of yarn in my stash, I decided I need to get some different stuff to work the pattern the way I want. It really calls for a smoother yarn. I've also decided this one needs to be knitted width-wise. This could be a nightmare, but I can't imagine it working as well any other way. Once I get started, I'll do a little more show and tell.

Project Socks

Finished my project socks from the "2-At-A-Time Socks" book over the weekend. No, these aren't meant to be a pair. The book suggests knitting with two different colored yarns to keep the different socks in your head while you're learning the method. The whole method was pretty easy, but I got lost around the heel gussetts for a little bit. The problem righted itself and the rest of the sock was a breeze. I'm going to knit another practice pair, and this time be more mindful in reading the directions. I couldn't tell if it was my sloppy reading of the directions, or a problem with the way they were written. I will report back on this later. These socks will go into my Afghans for Afghans collection to be mailed later.

I think I've got one lace pattern settled on and started for the auction shawls. The other one, I have the pattern chosen, but after several tries with several types of yarn, I've come to the conclusion that I need to visit a yarn shop! I think I want to knit the second shawl in Lavold's Silky Wool. I have some in my stash, but I stashed it for myself (LOVE the color), so I have to find another color that I can bear to part with to make the shawl.

A Day Late is Never Too Late

In honor of the third annual Silent Poetry Reading, I offer you all a poem from one of my favorite authors..........

Grief Calls Us to the Things of This World
by Sherman Alexie


The eyes open to a blue telephone
In the bathroom of this five-star hotel.

I wonder whom I should call? A plumber,
Proctologist, urologist, or priest?

Who is most among us and most deserves
The first call? I choose my father because

He's astounded by bathroom telephones.
I dial home. My mother answers. "Hey, Ma,

I say, "Can I talk to Poppa?" She gasps,
And then I remember that my father

Has been dead for nearly a year. "Shit, Mom,"
I say. "I forgot he’s dead. I’m sorry—

How did I forget?" "It’s okay," she says.
"I made him a cup of instant coffee

This morning and left it on the table—
Like I have for, what, twenty-seven years—

And I didn't realize my mistake
Until this afternoon." My mother laughs

At the angels who wait for us to pause
During the most ordinary of days

And sing our praise to forgetfulness
Before they slap our souls with their cold wings.

Those angels burden and unbalance us.
Those fucking angels ride us piggyback.

Those angels, forever falling, snare us
And haul us, prey and praying, into dust.

Puttering Around

Yesterday, I visited one of my favorite places - Packaging Specialities. If you don't have one of these stores near you, I pity you. PS is a wonderland of gift wrap, ribbon, and boxes; in short, everything you could imagine to create wonderfully wrapped gifts. I found this:



The only reason why I bought it, was because I wanted to figure out how to copy it! $3.50 for that! I had some cotton chenille left over from making washcloths, and have been wondering what to do with them. After some puttering around, these emerged:



I like the purchased one, but I like MINE better - mostly because I used my own scraps that cost me nothing. (I am not mentioning the beads, thread and pin backs I bought to dress up the flowers. Those don't count, you see.)

I also went to my LYS for a skein of Muench "Touch Me" (wool chenille) to experiment with what they would look like in felted wool chenille. Those are the dark purple ones in the above pic. Currently, they are unfelted and un-embellished. I hope to get around to playing around with those this evening when the Hub takes #3 to a Sonics game. Gotta get the high-maintenance males out of the house before I can get anything done.

So did I get anything done on the two auction shawls???? Of course not! But did you see my pretty flowers??????

Mine. All MINE!

These are MY new socks! I know it sounds stupid to be so excited about finishing a pair of socks for myself, but so much of my knitting lately has been for others. It's nice to finally finish something for myself. I started these things the end of October and finally got them done yesterday. That's just too damn long to take to knit a pair of socks. But Holiday Knitting got in the way. We all understand that.



The particulars -

Yarn: Trekking XXL ombre (wish I could tell you the color, I keep losing the ball bands on this stuff) It's a purpily to almost baby blue with a touch of grey mixed in.
Needles: US1
Cast On: 64
Pattern: My own dubbed "DT Diagonal Rib"

Next up: a pair of socks for son #3. I'm going to work on the two socks on one magic loop method - using this book, and want to knit the smallest socks possible. But since his feet are nearly as big as mine now (he's only 10), I won't be saving myself that much work. A glance at the book looks like it should be a breeze to learn. Keep your fingers crossed.

Speaking of projects for others, I have two auction shawls to knit. I got one started yesterday, using some nice Trekking Pro Natura (wool and bamboo). Should be fun. The other? Well, that one is still rolling around in my head......wrap or triangular shawl? That funky purple Welsh stuff I found in my stash, or something else? Decisions......Decisions......

Your Opinions Are Appreciated........

Just yesterday I was asked to knit pieces for two different school auctions. So out came the stitch dictionaries, and armed with yarn retrieved from Stash, I spent last evening swatching.

This is what I came up with...........



Now, I like this pattern, even though it is rather solid, as lace goes. The yarn is a fingering weight welsh wool in an awesome shade of purple. The color rocks. I just don't know if those wavey curves do the yarn justice. The rhythmic-ness of the curves strike me, somehow. I might need to go up a needle size to make the shawl a little more open, however.

I welcome your comments. I gotta make a decision on this ASAP.

Finished, Almost

Finished the first of the baby blankets I am knitting from "Blankets, Hats and Booties to Knit and Crochet" by Kristen Spurkland. The Rose Leaf Blanket. Well, it's finished, except for the blocking. Here 'tis:



As you can see it is hanging out on my blocking board. I've never blocked a cotton piece before, so I'm hoping that wet blocking wasn't a totally bad idea. It's January, it might take a month to dry now - as I happen to be kind of stingy with the heat in my house.

Here is a close up of the lace border:



I really liked knitting this, even though I've never really been a fan of cotton. The blankets in this book are changing my mind. I also feel a bit righteous, because this is the result of stash-diving. Now to just find someone to give it to....

Now, I did make ONE change to this pattern. When knitting the body of the blanket, the original pattern called for Kf&b to create the increases. The look didn't thrill me to the core, so I opted for M1R and M1L one stitch away from the corner for a more symmetrical look. Just a personal preference, but I like the way the corners turn out doing it my way. Besides, I hadn't done "make ones" for a while, and it is nice to get back into practice on that.

I also finished a hat that doesn't really deserve a picture. Hat was meant for Hubby, but ended up fitting #3 son. Either I have an issue with hat sizing, or the men in my family have HUGE heads!

So now that I am over my "startup-itis." I am on to the second of the blankets I want to make from that book. This one actually has a recipient in mind. #3's teacher's wife is having a baby in May. Gotta do a blanket for a new baby girl. I might try to find something cute to make for big sister, too. Maybe a new stuffed toy.

Yarn Crawl!

Saturday was such an adventure! A group of intrepid ladies - and one very faithful Husband - took the train from Seattle to Portland to prowl the Pearl District in search of yummy, yummy yarn. All I can say is MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Up at o'dark-hundred to be at King Street Station by 6:30am. Only the lure of Portland yarn shops - where they don't have sales tax - would get me out of bed at 5:30am on a Saturday! I had heard there were about 25 to 30 of us crawling to Portland. In reality, there were about 50! Fifty wonderful people bundled in handknits and outfitted in comfy shoes raring to get on that train. Massive props MUST go to Charisa - probably the most incredibly organized person on the planet! She organized the train, contacted the yarn shops to negotiate discounts and freebies, created maps, and kept us all informed about the trip. She is a wonder, beyond doubt. This woman could have organized the invasion of Normandy!

My first train ride. It wasn't what I was expecting, really. A lot slower than I assumed it would be. I knew we would be making a lot of stops, but hey now. Tukwila, Auburn, Tacoma, Yelm, Olympia, Centrailia, Longview/Kelso, Vancouver and THEN Portland. The Amtrak Pacific Cascades is a nice trip - sometimes it goes along the water and there are some nice views - but this wasn't no Japanese bullet train. Still, it was three and a half hours, where you got to knit and chat, and chat and knit; meet new people and find out about Kristen's (sorry, no picture), knitting injury. She jammed a 10.5 dpn into her foot......lengthwise! Need I say more? ACK! So all of us pussies that gripe about stiff necks and sore wrists because of knitting can hush up! Kristen has Shed Blood for her art!!

We arrived at Portland, and off we went! There are three, count 'em THREE yarn shops within easy walking distance of the train. We broke off into more manageable groups; with Alysa (nearly as intrepid and smart as Charisa!) in the lead, we headed off to Dublin Bay Yarn. The folks there were great, and the owner's mom had made scones and cookies for us. Mom makes some wicked scones! She's a keeper. They had a lot of lovely stuff, a bunch of yarns imported from Ireland. And the Handmaiden! Oh the Handmaiden! I bought a single skein of Seasilk....it's MINE, and nobody gets it but me! - my precious - I resisted the urge to buy something I had never seen from Handmaiden....Camelspin. Camel and silk amazingly hand-dyed the way only Ms. Handmaiden knows how. Beyond yummy! Next time, I doubt I will be as strong.

Off to Knit Knot Studio, run by Elizabeth Presiewicz - a lovely lady in a teeny tiny shop with some of the most decadent stuff around. Found a lovely skein of soft, browny, gold-flecked sparkly stuff. Elizabeth had a wonderful simple scarf/shawl pattern for this yarn (offically, Blue Heron Yarn Rayon Metallic in the chocolate colorway), that is now going to become one of the basics in my evening wear wardrobe. Now I just need to buy the dress to go with the yarn.



Then it was off to our final yarn stop, Knit/Purl, home of ShiBui yarn. Here I was introduced to the joys of ShiBui, Habu yarns (silk and bamboo, Yummy!) and the wall of KOIGU!!



This is the entirety of my yarn haul - Habu Bamboo Laceweight(lavender), 3 cones of Habu Silk Laceweight (mossy green), ShiBui fingering weight (the rust colored one - the green one I bought to go with it is hiding), the Blue Heron Rayon Metallic (chocolately), the Handmaiden (jewel colored hand-dyed); and the Zen Yarn Garden sock weight (pinkish/lavenderish hand-dyed). I guess I am knitting a lot of lace real soon.

Theoretically, I should not contemplate buying ANY yarn for quite a while......yeah, right.



Our final stop, was POWELL'S CITY OF BOOKS - otherwise known as "Mecca" to bibliophiles. Apparently, reading and knitting go together, because we ran into a lot of fellow-crawlers at Powell's. Amazingly enough, in the knitting books section! Go figure. This is the second time I have been to Powell's, and I have yet to make it to the second floor (unless you count the trip to the bathroom AND to take this picture.



Imagine.....this bookstore looks like this for three or four floors in a building an entire city block long! Next time, I'm starting on the top floor and working my way down!


Finally, walked, shopped and yarned out, we headed gratefully back to the train station for the return trip. Strangely enough, we were ALL back early. The Crawl was a blast and a half - but too much of a wonderful thing can wear you down.

So, ah, Charisa.....when's the next trip???

Baby Got Beer!

Last night, DH bottled batch #2 of his homebrew. This was an amber ale, and ya know what, even uncarbonated it tasted pretty good! In two or three weeks, We'll have a nice amber ale to sip - can we say Superbowl Party?

Here's my man bottling up his ale.



Doesn't he just look like a burly-outdoorsy-man. Well, he is, but the plaid shirt and the boots make him look like we live in the Yukon, not suburban Seattle. But it was snowy yesterday. And the beard covers the baby face. Not that I mind the baby-face, but I hate it when people think he's younger than me!

Snow. AGAIN?

It has snowed for the second time in a month. In most places in the northern United States, this would not be remarkable. But this is Washington, for Pete's Sake. It does not snow here on a regular basis - except on our ski slopes - where snow belongs! The kids had a one hour late start at school today. Not really a big deal, but not much help in the "waiting until it melts a bit" department either. If you were careful, driving was no big deal......except for being stuck behind an incredibly stupid woman that was driving up the rather steep hill up to the elementary school at FIVE miles per hour, while talking on her cell phone. Hang up the Friggin' Phone Bimbo!! I am not one of those cell phone hatin' people, but there are times when driving and talking is really stupid, and today is one of them! Now, it is cold, and the sun is shining, sky is blue, and it promises to get below freezing tonight. If you thought driving around today was fun.....wait until tomorrow morning, when the lovely sheet of ice is where the mushy snow is now.

But while I am comfy and warm and the snow is still pretty, I will share a picture of snow on my favorite Japanese Maple tree in my front yard.



The morning was spent watching Season 1, Disc 2 of The Tudors and working on some socks for ME! The work continues apace.



I love the colors in this yarn. Usually I'm not a huge purple fan, but that Trekking XXL just knows how to put colors together.

Why is it, once you get past the heel decreases on the first sock - the rest just blazes by? I am still working on the baby blanket, but I like the progress I'm making on these socks, too.

Just Noodlin' Along.............

Pretty much a quiet weekend. #3 had a basketball game, we had lunch at XXX Burger afterward. And NO, it is not a combination porn theater and drive-in. It is really called "XXX(triple x)Burger."

Sunday, #3 and I went to a reading by one of my favorite authors - Eoin Colfer. He is the sweetest Irish man who writes the Artemis Fowl series of children's books. He has a new non-Artemis book out called "Airman." Quite a fun read. #3 was hesitant to go to the reading, but a promise to eat lunch at Dick's Drive-in got him to go along. Now, he thinks Mr. Colfer is way cool, too. I just sat at the back of the room listening to him talk and knitting on the rose lace baby blanket. I could listen to Eoin Colfer talk all day. I am a sucker for a good Irish or Scottish accent! Successfully got the lace edging past the first corner and am ambling down the second side of the blanket. Granted, it's not terribly hard, but it is helping me understand about knitting on lace edges. I've done them before, but never with much confidence. This project is going a long way to increasing my confidence.

Also picked up the socks I started for myself months ago. Socks are perfect running around knitting, so I am hoping I will get quite a bit of this done in the next few days. I want a snazzy pair of purple socks!

Now I have to run off to the doctor to get my neck and back looked at. I have been having a bit of pain lately, and it is no longer fun.

All Over The Damn Place

After a highly productive holiday knitting season, I am now confronted with a bad case of "which way do I go." I had to go sit with my mom in the hospital yesterday - no worries, all is fine - so I stuffed my knitting bag with no less that FIVE projects. I just couldn't decide what to focus on. This is what I would consider "active" at this moment:




Bias squares to get my High School Charity Knitting group started on blankets for Afghans for Afghans. I've got enough yarn to do several blankets, so I'm hoping to get the kids all excited about this project. I inherited this beautiful wool from a cousin-in-laws mother. She would have liked seeing this yarn made into something to warm children in a struggling country, so I save this yarn for charity knitting. I don't even count it as part of my personal stash. I am it's custodian until it can be made into positive things.



A pair of socks for myself, that I started before the holidays fell on me hard. Maybe I can get them finished sometime soon. I need a new pair of socks!



A wonderful cotton baby blanket I started after I finished the holiday knitting. The pattern is from "Blankets, Hats and Booties to Knit and Crochet" by Kristen Spurkland. It has some great patterns if you are in the mood for some baby blanket knitting. I have the body of the blanket done, and have to still knit on the lace edging. Totally the reason for the whole blanket, IMO.



And this is one of two hats I have started. This is the boring hat my husband wanted. Three by two ribbing, long enough to turn up the brim, in a good hunting hat color. Yawn! The other is in such a nacent stage, it doesn't even photograph well.


And then there is THIS:

The Summer Shawlette I started for my mother, oh MONTHS ago, and decided I should finish. I had less than a dozen rows to finish, shouldn't take more than an hour or so, right?.......Do any of you who are familiar with this pattern notice something missing? How about, the LITTLE ARROWHEAD LACE panel that is supposed to be running down the back! Sooooooo that one has been sent to the frog pond. Besides, I found another faroese-style shawl that I liked the look of better to make for my mom, so I'm going to replace this dismal failure with something better. But I have to look on the bright side. If several people I know have girl babies, I am totally ready to make cute little baby sweaters with the five or six skeins of Blue Sky Organic Cotton that I had bought for the shawlette. Actually, if five or six strangers I know have girl babies, they might get sweaters!

Hopefully, I will have something finished soon to show you all.

Still Rollin'

Finished another beanie last night. It was made from the yarn remains of the earflap beanie. Even though I don't do browns much, these colors really strike me. The Pattern came from a search on Ravelry. It's the Solstice Hat, with a few alterations - changing it from a child's had done in a bulky yarn to an adult hat done in worsted.

Here are the changes, in case you are interested:

. Needle sizes 6 and 7
. Worsted weight yarn (I used Cascade 220 Superwash)
. Cast on 108 stitches
. Six rows of ribbing instead of 3
. Three rounds of plain knit before starting the fair isle pattern (three rounds
after, too.)
. Two additional rounds before starting the crown decreases.
. Start the decreases with K 16, K2tog - and work down to six, as the directions
indicate from there.

And here is the finished product:



And now on to a beanie for hubby! He feels so abused, not having a wife-made beanie. He will be better once I get a warm little cap on his head.