New "Noro" hat

I finished another Noro hat. This time I used yarn I hand dyed in self-striping patterns. The colors turned out well, the only thing I'll change for the next go around is slightly longer sections of each color.
Chicky is happy to have hers first (I only had self-striping with pink in it).



And a view from the side.



The boys are listing colors they want in theirs, then comes the dyeing, and then the knitting. Maybe theirs will be done by November?

This past week was full of events for the children: the end of school, the end of elementary school for the boys, a new half-sister at their dad's house, and a tadpole rescue in our friends' pool. The tadpole rescue was the biggest surprise for them and they had a very good time saving gray tree frog tadpoles. The pool had a leak and they have to get a new lining installed, which means draining the water that is left by pump. Unfortunately, what was left of the water in the pool was full of tadpoles. There was a lot of scooping and many didn't make it out of the pool, but I bet several hundred did. The five gallon bucket was teeming with them.



We found three gray tree frogs along the edges (one had to be rescued from the pool, too). Chicky was having a good time carrying them around and putting them over the fence away from the pool.



Other than that, it's been a pretty typical week around here. Next week is the court date from the car accident in April. Now there's some excitement.

Hail Among the Seedlings...

Holy Hannah did we have a storm today! We were driving home from work/school and the gray clouds were congregated over Hillsborough. I wanted to take the kids to LocoPops after a quick post office trip, but I saw the clouds and prepared them for the worst. We weren't in the door five minutes when the winds picked up, thunder and lightening made their presence known, and the rain POURED! Morgan, who is anxious about weather anyway, was seeming more anxious than usual. He had his hoodie on and pulled up over his head, his sunglasses, his pillow, and was lying under a blanket in the hall weeping. I went and stretched out beside him (while an anxious dog walked on me) and tried to find out why this storm was so much worse for him (don't ever mention the word "tornado" around him). He told me he always gets nervous about them and I said I knew that but this seemed worse and that he has seemed more anxious than normal for the past week or so. He wouldn't look at me and I asked if it had anything to do with Myanmar and China and he said yes. So we talked about how we usually knew when to look out for severe weather, and what we would do. This was a pretty big storm, but not like a cyclone or an earthquake. I gave him my standard line that he doesn't need to worry unless I tell him to do so and then I'll be leading the worrying crusade! He came out of the hall but still needed hugs whenever the storm surged. When the hail came along, he was torn between enjoying it and being completely terrified.

Here's some hail in our "flower pot" - there's some rogue chicken weed in it too. These pictures are taken through windows with screens (sorry) but the good camera is not going outside in a storm!



Here's the hail among the seedlings:



You get the idea. Hail. Rain. Lots of rain.

Yesterday, when it was sunny, Chicky modeled the finished Noro Hat. Pattern by Saarje de Bruijn. (Ravelry link to her popular project page). It took a little over one skein of Noro Silk Garden Lite and all the kids wanted it. That one is mine, but I'll make theirs out of yarn I dye myself (no silk on heads of people that LOSE handknits).



I'm motoring away on the Girl's Best Friend Anklets (pattern KnitPicks). The yarn is Sunshine Yarns merino/silk in Salem (browns). I'm on the last row of the cuff and on to the st st. I really like the pattern and will probably do another pair in a lighter color so the pattern shows up a little better. Again, this is yesterday's picture and I was only about half-way through the cuff. You can get an idea of the diamond pattern.



I finally finished Memoirs of a Geisha, and I liked it and was totally absorbed by it, but also horrified at the same time. I still can't get over how many people have been and still are bought and sold in our world. I doubt I'll see the movie of the same name, though. I don't want to spoil my mental image.

The Kite Runner is the newest on the night stand. I hear it's heartbreakingly good and has been highly recommended by a reader with similar taste, so I'm proceeding.

Bed, and just one more row on the socks - are calling to me.