Service Person's Neck Cooler Pattern

A friend asked me to post my pattern for "half a washie" that can be used to keep soldiers cool in hot weather. It is made from cotton which holds water well, absorbs sweat, and when soaked in cold weather can keep a service person's body cool and protect against sunburn and bug bites too.  

Soldier's Neck Cooler©

Materials: Cotton yarn and needles to match, about 100 yards seems to be plenty in worsted weight; more yards will be needed for a lighter weight yarn. Swatch it if you have never used it before; we are going for a soft but firm fabric. Choose something soft, this goes directly on the skin, and who needs sandpaper scraping that soft neck skin (which is frequently sunburned.) 

Cast on 3 stitches, Row 1: K across (repeat this for every odd # row) Row 2: K1, YO, K1, YO, K1 Row 4: K1, YO, K3, YO, K1 Row 6: K1, YO, K5, YO, K1 Rows 8 and on: Continue on like this (K1, YO, Knit across to last stitch, YO, K1) until the "long edge" (the one on the needles) is 30 -36 inches across. Bind off very loosely.

©Please feel free to use this pattern to make for charity purposes. This pattern is protected by copyright laws (and all that legal stuff) but do not distribute it, sell it, or make anything to sell from it. You may make them to sell for charity purposes as long as 100% of the money goes to charity.

Thank you so much to all the brave service men and women in all the branches of the armed services. You are loved, prayed for and very much appreciated. God bless you all, keep you safe, and bring you all home soon.

Reality Check (book?)

So, last night I got the bright idea that I would cast on a 'quick' sweater. Something fast in bulky yarn (Berroco Peruvia Quick- even the name sounds fast doesn't it?) that I could whip up in no time.
Rationale?
Duh! Stitches of course.
I need something fab and hand knit to wear to stitches. Something that, when asked, I could say, "Oh, yeah, this old thing? Yeah, I knit this Monday night."
Apparently my reality checkbook is severely overdrawn. -sigh-
What the F was I thinking?
So, yes I did cast on, having swatched the yarn last week, in a clear attempt to avoid the Gasoline Alley Gloves from Hell. Tuesday AM finds me frogging. OK, in all honesty, not frogging. Rather stuffing the yoke of Monday PM's work into the bottom of the bag under the other balls of yarn, to be frogged at a later time (when I have to admit to myself that I need that yarn to finish my sweater.) Cast on attempt #2 will commence tonight.
And what did I learn from this exercise?
1.) Don't cast on during a movie that requires at least a modicum of concentration or causes you to laugh so much that you have to either rewind the movie or rip your knitting.
and
2.) That I am idiotic enough to believe that one day isn't going to make a helluvalotof difference and that I can still somehow manage to cast on a sweater Tuesday PM and wear it to Stitches on Friday...
Reality check?
F-ing A!

And again with the weather!

I love weather. Love it.

Most of the time that is.

-harrumph!-

Maybe it's real weather I love. Rain, sun, wind, hail the size of Cheerios! Earlier this week we had hail the size of Cheerios! Loved it! All of it. But that was 'real' weather. What has settled in outside is a freezing cold ichsome mess. Not fog, not mist, not rain. Just yellow gray blech.

Would whoever is in charge of weather changes please take note? Weather should be one thing or another. Not some limbo of gray nothing. It is possible to go from one condition to another without this goop. I know it is; I've seen it.

I have a relative who suffers from SADD. Seasonal Affective Depressive Disorder. SADD isn't it? Sorry. I think I suffer from LWDD. Lazy Weather Damn-it Disorder. The freakin' weather is too lazy to just get up and do whatever the hell it's going to do, so we are stuck in Neverland -weather style.

OK, so on to more interesting things. It seems I am also suffering from Acute FiberMustHaveitis.

Thanks to Dear Sara -spinner extraordinaire- I have developed an uncontrollable urge to snatch up any unclaimed roving within a 5,000 mile radius.

OK, so even claimed roving is up for grabs.

It was bad when I was feeling it and saying, "Ooooh! Soft!" When something is that soft, you've got to buy it. But when it is hundreds of miles away (across the country or across an ocean for example) there is no "soft" as an excuse. Just pretty colors and an over active imagination.

-sigh-

And I'm not even spinning yet!

One can only imagine how bad it will be once I am actually spinning. Once I am sucking all that fibre into actual yarn, and see how quickly it disappears, I will -of course- need more. Time for a wholesale fibre account. It's the only thing that will save me. Enter Stitches! And not a moment too soon!

-feeling better already-

So, thanks for dropping by, but say something would 'ya?

Thanks!

Oh, and happy weather.

Rain cancels

So many times I read about a fabulous event that is happening.

Then the fine print, "Rain cancels."

Why? And what if we took that approach to everything in life? Not just meteorologically, you know, but emotionally and in other ways as well.

Wake up with a headache? Rain cancels.

Have a fight with the SO? Rain cancels.

Lost your keys, dropped a stitch, stubbed your toe? Rain cancels.

Life, I have come to believe, is too short to be called on account of rain.

Good thing too, given that we have had rain for about 6 days straight. And life throws rain at us so frequently that if we called the game on account of rain, we might spend the rest of our lives in bed waiting for clear skies.

So in response to the onslaught of recent wet weather, I am adopting a new philosophy to deal with the rain. I fully accept my responsibility to carry an umbrella, and if I fail to do so, I accept responsibility for getting wet. On some days I may even revel in it. But I also refuse to own responsibility for any precipitation that some fool throws at me just because his or her life sucks and he or she feels a need to lash out and share some misery.

Dry head, clear conscience.

So, umbrella in hand, I am happy to fall out of bed and encounter whatever weather may arrive. As long as it is naturally occurring, and not the result of some yahoo who either refuses to buy -or can't keep track of- an umbrella and wants to dump on me as a result.

Take that NWS!

Wuv, Twu Wuv

For those of you who didn't recognize the quote, you simply must watch Princess Bride.
Then tell me, if you will, what the point of all this madness is.
But on a more cheerful note, a very happy St. Valentine's Feast to you all. The dear old saint was jailed for his unwillingness (or inability) to stop spreading love to his fellow-persons. He lived in an era of hate and violence -sound familiar? And yet he chose to live a life of love and service to the people he encountered. A fine example to us all, don't you think?
Yet, in our era of commercialism, we have taken his philosophies and bastardized them into a cynical attempt to make bank and score. "I didn't get a 'harrumph' outta that guy!"
So, my question and challenge to you for the day is this:
What "non-commercial" and sincere way will you find to alter the world for the better in some way? Because that, in my mind anyway, is the definition of love.
Oh, yeah, that and kids and grandkids!
Love to you all,
B

Now isn't that lovely?

The wonderful folks over at PhatFibers are doing a drawing. Not just any drawing, but a wonderful chocolatey delights fiber drawing.
The winner receives a gift from ExtremeSpinning over at Etsy. 'Cause some people are actually on top of things and have real stuff for sale in their Etsy shops.
-head hangin' low on that one still-
-although admittedly some of it is red tape from the state-
But, do pop over and give warm "thank yous" these lovely people, for both the give away and the truly beautiful blog. Eye candy & inspiration galore!
And then stand back, 'cause there's some serious shoppin' gonna happen once Monday comes!
And don't be selfish! Spread the word!

1:03

1:03 AM.
DH is snoring so loudly that there is no way in hell I'm getting to sleep pre-dawn again. Hit Ravelry, but nothing happening there that sparks an interest. All I really give a damn about right now is sleep. Which is obviously not forthcoming.
Good things to report today:
Good class at Scarlet Skein, one student learning toe-up socks, one learning crochet
Frogging and progress made on Gasoline Alley gloves -don't ask me why I named them that, not a clue
DD called, all is well in her house. Had to report my cold/flu stuff, worried that me being ill might keep her from coming and exposing the BB's, trip to Vegas coming up soon, need everyone healthy.
Luccas met a nice girl @ Scarlet Skein today, she is Independent Study also, nice, quiet, would love to get her knitting, hmmm
OK, that is all I can see to tap tonight. Heavy eyes, fell asleep mid movie tonight. Cold & snoring taking a serious toll. Missing piano tomorrow too, as a result of the cold issue. Teacher is concerned about exposure, don't blame her -wouldn't wish this on anyone.
No concrete plans for Stitches yet. Mad a hell and don't care who knows it over the whole "won't give me a straight answer about dates" thing. Missed most of the classes I wanted to take, might as well call it a wash. Hoping to make business contacts there at the very least. X-ing fingers...
'Night all