Where does the time go?

I can't believe that it's been three weeks since I posted last. I've been craZy busy (as my brother used to say--with the Z just like that). I've had an insane week. I found out last Monday that I had an ear infection, so they stuck me with a needle and put me on antibiotics. On Thursday night, I was involved in a car accident. No one was hurt, but my car is a little banged up. Luckily, the other person's insurance company is going to pay for the repair on my car.

I've been knitting quite a bit. I started and finished a hat for my friend Kyle this month. He'd asked for a hat to keep his "little head warm when it gets cold outside." The only directions he gave me was that it be in black. I ended up doing a hat based on the Marsan Watchcap, without a brim, and with more stitches than the pattern called for because I was knitting at a tighter gauge. It was a fast knit, worsted-weight yarn on 4mm (US6) needles (the original pattern called for 4.5 mm/US7 needles but I didn't have any).

I learned a lot from this hat. First of all, the pattern is made up of a twisted-stitch rib (K1 through back loop, P1) and the K1P1 was the catalyst I needed to get me to learn how to knit continental-style. Secondly, I learned a lot more about how a stitch is constructed when I took a pair of scissors to the bottom of the hat. Kyle told me--after I'd already knit nearly the entire hat--that he didn't really care for hats with folded-up brims. Rather than rip back 5 inches of knitting, I opted for surgery a la Grumperina. It's not professional-looking, by any means, but I don't think he'll notice.

I've also been working on my brother's socks. I've finished one sock up and am about two-thirds of the way done with the cuff. I haven't woven in any ends on either sock yet, but I'm hoping to have them done by the end of next week. I was planning on finishing them this month, but I took a few days off to do Kyle's hat.

I'm also on the hunt for a nice lacy sock pattern. I've signed up to be a Sockapalooza 4 Sock Savior, and the person I'm knitting for says she prefers thinner socks, so something lacy should do. They're going to be in Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Solids, in the Cherry colorway--a nice bright, lovely RED. I'm thinking about doing the 'Vog On pattern, just longer than anklets.