Handy Hats

Well, its a good thing we decided to knit hats for our newly-bald football players. Gettysburg was frigid this weekend! We won our first three games, but lost the championship to Chicago. Sad day. The hats were fantastic anyway. Stephen certainly liked his:

Most of the hats were solid red, but I liked the stripes on this one the best.

I don't think I explained before, but the guys auctioned off the rights to shave their heads for donations to Heifer International. We raised over $2800! I think Stephen's hair went for a llama. I and two other knitters finished 13 hats on the drive up there. We also taught someone how to knit, so we were quite proud of ourselves. It was a productive trip.

I had, of course, planned to knit a lot during the games, but unfortunately it was freezing and I kept my hands in my pockets whenever possible! That scarf is one of the first things I ever knit (knitted?). At one point I had a long sleeve t-shirt, a wool sweater (from a store, I can't knit with the stuff but I can sure wear it over things), a regular t-shirt, a hoodie, a rain coat, a hat, the big red scarf, a pair of gloves, a pair of fingerless mitts, a pair of mittens, two pairs of socks, and big waterproof hiking boots on and was still cold. Something must be wrong with me. I've been in the south too long.

Or perhaps I shouldn't stand outside in the cold all day.

I did accomplish some knitting during our inside times. I worked on these socks but haven't taken a more recent picture. The heel is turned now.

I also worked on a steering wheel cover for the woman who cuts my hair. She's also a student so we barter knitting for haircuts.

I'm pretty sure its long enough, but I have to try it on the steering wheel to make sure it fits correctly even though I measured carefully. Cotton stretches!

I'm glad to be back from my travels, even though I came home to an entire container of cat food all over the laundry room floor. I think Munkus was a bit peeved that I left him. He had fun nibbling on my needles while I worked on a surprise project this evening.

Travel Knitting

I'm not much of a sports watcher, but this weekend is the big Luther Bowl tournament in Gettysburg and I'm going to support my school. A whole bunch of seminarians get together to play football (aka: run around in the mud). The gentlemen of the team have decided it would be fun to shave their heads. A whole bunch of (mostly) southerners who are headed much further north think its a good plan to shave their heads before they go spend the whole day outside. My seminary knitters think they need hats, so we're going to spend the 8-9 hour drive knitting for them.

Of course, once we get there and the hats are done, I'll need something else to do while I spend all day watching the tournament. I've got a ton of projects on the needles, but most of them aren't going to be good for sitting outside in who-knows-what kind of weather. Then there's the 8-9 hour drive back which will require some knitting as well. Throw on the fact that I'll be in a somewhat crowded 15 passenger van and you've got the gist of the problem.

What's a knitter to do?!

Here are my thoughts:
On the Way Up: Hats. Lots of hats. This is not really negotiable.
At the Tournament: Things that are simple. Things that are washable. Things that are small enough to cart around in my hoodie pocket.
- perhaps the cotton steering wheel cover I'm making
- one of my socks (if I turn the heel beforehand)
- crazy fun fur scarves
On the Way Back: Something a bit more complex, though still washable and rather small.
- Green Tea Raglan?
- entrelac socks?

Here's a picture of the socks from a few weeks ago. I have since turned the heel! I feel so incredibly smart when I work on this. Yarn is a wonderful confidence booster. If I can handle five tiny metal sticks and not impale anyone, I can do anything!

Of course... not impaling anyone might be more difficult in a crowded van. Maybe I should stick to circs.