Autumnal Knitting: Lotus Hat

This is an autumn hat I made based on the Crosshatch Lace stitch. I call it "Lotus Hat" because the decrease at the crown forms a lotus-like pattern, while the lace on the body looks rather like stems and leaves. I made it beanie-style, designed to only cover the tips of the ears, but have included instructions for lengthening it.


TBL's Lotus Hat



Original pattern

Gauge:
5 st/in in stockinette

I used:
Pakucho color-grown organic cotton, worsted weight
Size 6 needles

CO 96 st. Join into a round, being careful not to twist.

Work in K1, P1 ribbing for 6 rounds.

Work Chart A (Crosshatch Lace) around 3 times, ending on row 8--24 rounds total. (For a longer, earlobe-covering hat, work one extra time--32 rounds total.)

Work Chart B once. Break yarn and thread through live stitches. Pull tight, secure, and weave in ends.



Gaugeless pattern (extrapolated from the original and NOT TESTED):

CO a multiple of 12 stitches. Join into a round, being careful not to twist.

Work in K1, P1 ribbing for 6 rounds or until desired band height is achieved.

Work Chart A (Crosshatch Lace) until hat is approximately 2 pattern repeats shy of total desired length (as measured from crown to edge), ending on row 8

Work Chart B once. If there are more than 16 stitches left on the needles, work row 20 again. Break yarn and thread through live stitches. Pull tight, secure, and weave in ends.

Apologies for the blurry charts--Blogger doesn't like the very tall image size. Click here to see the original image.

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Today's Reason

...to duck behind the couch, curl up into a ball, and whimper.

 

National Debt Clock Runs Out of Digits

NEW YORK - In a sign of the times, the National Debt Clock in New York City has run out of digits to record the growing figure.

As a short-term fix, the digital dollar sign on the billboard-style clock near Times Square has been switched to a figure — the "1" in $10 trillion. It's marking the federal government's current debt at about $10.2 trillion.

The Durst Organization says it plans to update the sign next year by adding two digits. That will make it capable of tracking debt up to a quadrillion dollars.

The late Manhattan real estate developer Seymour Durst put the sign up in 1989 to call attention to what was then a $2.7 trillion debt.

 

TBL's yarn stash is starting to look like a better investment than her 401(k), because we may just revert to an agrarian society by the time she's 65.

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Qwitcherbitchin'

There may be a Blackberry in TBL's future, as this summer she has found the vast majority of her "free time" on the bus. But she has valiantly carved some few moments out today because she simply could not resist remarking on this comment by Whine Sox pitcher Mark "World's Smallest Violin" Buehrle on the necessity of making up a previously rained out game with the Tigers:

"You play 161 games and today is supposed to be the last day of the year," Buehrle said. "Everybody is going home, a lot of people are going to the playoffs and here we got to play another game that matters for us and not for the other team."

See, Markie, the point is that you only played 161 games. The Twins played 162, and so must you. There are many words to describe this phenomenon, like "justice" and "fairness" and "schadenfreude". Perhaps you can meditate upon them as you ride the bench today.

Meanwhile, dearest readers, let us all cast our minds back to the Sucking Years and use the empathy we acquired then to whole-heartedly embrace those stalwart Detroit Tigers as they strive to end the season tied for last place, rather than in sole possession of it.

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Did Anyone Get the Plate Number?

Twins @ Boston
Twins 0, Boston 1
Twins 5, Boston 6
Twins 5, Boston 18

Baseball's a funny ol' game.  You're cruising along, winning seven series in a row, sweeping four of them, and all of a sudden, BAM!  Run over by a big red truck.  But as long as that doesn't turn you into cat food, it's all okay.  Really.

___________________________________________________

 Next up, Twins @ Tigers for four games. 

12:05 Thursday, 6:05 Friday, 2:55 Saturday, 12:05 Sunday

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When Hitting Isn't Desirable

Ugh.  Yet another incident in which a player physically abuses a team employee.  After the Astros' Shawn Chacon hit his GM in an argument over his removal (demotion) to the bullpen, we have Manny Ramirez shoving the BoSox traveling secretary to the ground when the man told him he might not be able to secure Manny 16 tickets for that day's game. (Aside:  way to plan ahead, Manny...)

C'mon, guys.  You're giving the game a bad name.  This isn't football, y'know.

Ramirez won't be released like Chacon was, because he's performing on the field.  Indeed, manager Terry Francona stated that Manny has apologized and that the incident has been resolved.  Keep in mind that Ramirez took a swing at teammate Kevin Youkillis in the dugout just a couple of weeks ago, and wasn't punished for THAT, either.  I guess hitting .289 with 16 homers and 52 RBI constitutes a Get Out of Trouble Free card with unlimited refills.

Ridiculous.

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Here's a Wacky Idea

Let's play interleague all the time!

Twins vs. AL: 31-33 (.484)
Twins vs. NL: 14-4 (.778)

Zounds. More interleague excitement:

Twins pitching vs. AL: 4.73 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 2.57 BB/9, 5.52 K/9, 2.15 K/BB
Twins pitching vs. NL: 2.44 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 1.89 BB/9, 6.61 K/9, 3.50 K/BB

Twins hitting vs. AL: .270 BA, .324 OBP, .389 SLG, .713 OPS, 4.63 R/Gm, 0.64 HR/Gm
Twins hitting vs. NL: .281 BA, .340 OBP, .433 SLG, .772 OPS, 5.44 R/Gm, 0.83 HR/Gm

So...did the Twins just happen to get hot as interleague play was starting, or will they return to the wildly inconsistent stylings of April and May as we resume AL-only play?

Time will tell. First up, the Tiggers.

Perkins v Gallaraga on Monday; that should be interesting. Gallaraga's got good overall numbers on the season, but hasn't fared well against the Twins and got knocked around in his last start. Perkins has been inconsistent, but did well against the Tigers the last time he faced him and is coming off of a game he won mostly out of sheer pigheaded stubbornness.

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*YAWN*

 People Who Really Piss TBL Off, list entry #34:

People who think it's funny to set off &%*#! firecrackers on a residential street at midnight on a weeknight.

And again at 1:40 a.m.

Also at 3:15.

And finally at 4:30.

 

There are times, darling readers, when TBL finds it very difficult to remember that she is a pacifist.  A solid majority of those occur between bedtime and dawn.  (Most of the rest involve the Yankees or the Whine Sox.)

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