Tuesday, October 16, 2012

A First?!?!

At my age, it's very rare to have a first and be this excited about it.  First grey hair?  First wrinkle?  Not so much.  But this one?  I'm so tickled.....TA DA......
My first cables!  (Please note the soft, muted light and lovely filter that hides said grey hairs and wrinkles.)  This is the Unoriginal Hat by the one and only Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.  As long as I kept up with my row count, and didn't drop any stitches, it moved along pretty well.  I will say, if you've never done cables before, this is a great patten.  It's done on DPNs, so the pattern is repeated on each needle.  This makes counting stitches and fixing mistakes (ahem) a lot easier. However, I will also say that if you've never knitted on DPNs, don't make this your first project.  It was a little tricky juggling all those needles and the cable needle. I've heard tale of people who can knit cables without an extra needle....I am currently bowing down in awe.  I don't know if that trick will ever be in my repertoire.

So that's one more for the Christmas Gift List to mark off. Just a few more people on the list that are "knit worthy" and then it's down to shopping.  I'm feeling really good about this year...ahead of the game.  It's really quite scary. 

We had a really great weekend.  We spent Saturday evening over at friend's house enjoying great company,  wine, and smores around the fire pit.  Then on Sunday, Car Guy, my Mother In Law and I did a little spin around the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Have I told you lately how much I love these mountains? So beautiful....

The leaves are really starting to change color and by next weekend, when we got to SAFF (Yea!!!) they will be gorgeous.  I think my favorite picture from the trip was this warning sign....
 Who knew the DOT had a sense of humor? Sorry, mine's a little warped.  I find that hysterically funny...the sign, not someone actually falling off the mountain.

We really did have a wonderful drive through the mountains...until we were heading home.  We stopped in Boone for dinner and Car Guy asked if I'd drive home.  Since it was a straight shot down the highway and he'd been driving all day, I thought "why not."  We got down the mountains and were about an hour from the house when "clunk."  There went the transmission.  I lost all gears. It was not fun. We coasted off the highway and Car Guy tinkered under the hood....he was able to get us about a half hour from home and then the car "gave up the ghost."  Thank goodness for my Sainted Mother.  She came, picked us up and got us home...at 11:30.  Talk about tired on Monday.

The car has been towed home and is now sitting in the driveway, like a disobedient child, waiting for Car Guy to figure out why the transmission went for no apparent reason. There is nothing worse that driving a man's car and having it take a dive on you. Thank goodness he was right there when it happened. Not an experience I'd like to have again.

So it wasn't the perfect end to a great day, but all in all, we were safe and got home in one piece, so no complaints. I'm just hoping that Car Guy doesn't take a sledge hammer to the car.....hmmm.  I'll try to discreetly take pictures or a video if he does.  Who knows, he could turn into a youtube sensation.

15 comments:

  1. Your hat is fantastic Melissa and congratulations on learning cables! I think after the holiday's we should have a cable sweater KAL, what do you think?
    Oh yuck, cars and their engines make my head hurt. Glad you made it home safe and sound.

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  2. Glad you are safe and that cabled hat is fabulous! You are an expert knitter in my eyes :) Love the bike sign!

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  3. Happy to hear you that you got home safe and sound. Love your hat!!! It looks great on you.

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  4. Whoa! I'm glad you're all OK. Not so awesome to be marooned on the side of the road, but all in all, it sounds like a great trip! I love Boone, and I love the mountains anytime, but especially this time of year.

    I am so impressed with your knit cap that I can't even tell you. Wow!

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  5. Oh! You made me laugh with that sign. So funny!!! And your hat is gorgeous. I love the look of cables. I can only imagine how tricky they are to make.

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  6. The hat looks great! Isn't funny to be so nervous about doing cables and then you sit and do it and think, this? this is it? So easy!

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  7. thank goodness car didn't follow the sign over the mountain! glad you all (minus the car, of course) are all OK.

    fabulous cabeling job!!!!! and it looks great on you; if that's in the gift pile, you just may need to do a repeat for yourself.

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  8. Awesome hat and HILARIOUS sign (never seen that one before). Glad you got home okay!

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  9. Gorgeous hat. Agree the sign is too funny. (wonder if WV has any signs like that?)

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  10. In admiring your cable, I missed that very funny sign. Hilarious! Also, how good that you have your very own Car Guy at times like this...even it does become a YouTube Sledge Sensation. :)

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  11. Great job! Cables are really not as hard as people think they are... I love to do them!

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  12. Loving the mountain pictures! We're far away from them these days so it's especially nice to gaze on them through your eyes. And well done on the cables, hats off to you! (wink)

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  13. Congrats on the cables! They look awesome! If you're like me, you are now hooked. There are people who can cable without a cable needle? Do they use magic instead?

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  14. great job on that hat! i've yet to try out my dpn- perhaps this winter. and perhaps cables next winter hehe :) and i love your "knit worthy" statement. it took me a few years to realize that only some people were "craft worthy" of my handmade gifts- the ones that truly appreciated the love and time that go into those types of gifts.

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