I was looking around the house the other day, and I thought to myself, "what needs a cozy?" Camera? Check. Kitchenaid Mixer? Get real. Aha! How could I have missed it? It was right there next to me on the couch, bare, cold, unloved. Utterly cozy-free. I made my move, measured, and fashioned this fabulous cozy. Now, what could this cozy be for? Well with a shape like that, it has to be a glorious summer swimsuit for my cell phone! Oh yeah, the "R" is for Really swell cozy.

Well, crud. Darn baby went and done got hisself born already. From the pictures, his head still looks pretty small, so hopefully the Fixie will fit. I just got to get to the post office, ASAP.

Here's my take on the Fixie hat, with a few changes. First, I used size 6 needles. Second, I knit this puppy in the round. Third, I grafted the top together, rather then sewing a seam. I'm really starting to like this kitchener stitch business. I am a little worried that the hat will be too shallow, and pop right off of baby's head like a tiddlywink. If this is the case, hopefully his mom will tell me so I can undo the cast-on row and add an inch or two. Wow, I'm really starting to sound like a pro! Don't let that fool you. Ask to see my hourglass sweater sometime. This was also my THIRD try at the Fixie. First try, I cast on too few stitches. Too few by a mile. Only about 30% of the stitches I ended up needing. I realized that unless my friend J. is giving birth to a roma tomato, this hat was not going to work. And whoops, I thought I was knitting on #8 needles, but no, I was using 8" #6 dpns. Ok, regroup. So I cast on a few more stitches and tried again. Still, it seemed small, but I had more stitches than called for in the pattern, so I figured I had to be in the ballpark. Then I read the pattern again, which calls for working the hat flat, then folding it in half to make the hat. Ah. Yes. That would require twice as many stitches, if one is knitting the hat in the round. Even more since I was knitting on #6 needles, not #8 as called for in the pattern. So, finally, with 72 stitches on the needles, I finished the sucker, and I think it's cute. Plus, I have enough Fixation left to make myself a sweet little cell phone cozy. Then, to add to the FO excitement, I finished the Clapotini, voila! I lurve the Clapotini, and I've even worn it! Seattle summer seems to require scarf wearing from time to time, and this fits the bill. Its fancy cherry/blue raspberry color (er, I mean garnet and azure) is surprisingly easy to blend with almost any outfit. Although my love for the Clapotini may blur my judgment a little. Clapotini, my precious.... And what post would be complete without a garden pic, this time my freshly-bloomed sweet peas. Mmmmm... they smell good.

So I thought that once I was done with my dumb ol' test, I would be free as a bird. But I'm sorry to say that I have not watched a single minute of Rob and Amber getting married, nor a single second of Dancing with the Stars. However, I have Fed Ex-ed the final proof of my very first first-author paper to a rather nice journal, and I'm getting underway on my dissertation research. And, I wrapped up the Fixie hat, photos coming soon! So it's been a successful week. Last night I turned on the oven to make pizza, and not three minutes later - whooooo.... fizzz..... - the power went out. Oh dear, what's a girl to do? Go out to dinner, of course! That's what the cavemen did, right? Before leaving, my "turbo girl scout action" instincts kicked in, and I cleared the floors of knitting supplies and debris (mainly TiVo's phone line IV, which was stretched across the living room), searched out the battery-operated travel alarm clock, found two flashlights, refrained from opening the refrigerator, and devised a scheme to determine from afar if the power had returned (call home and see if the answering machine works). Troop 707 would have been proud.

Ok, I took my exam, it sucked, and I'll find out if I passed in a month or so. Blah. Anyway, on with the show. I haven't done much knitting recently, but I did finish my Clapotini (the scarf-sized Clapotis made with kool-aid yarn). It turned out really great, but I still need to find some time to block the sucker. I just got rid of my boxes of test supplies, so that clears some floorspace for the good ol' blocking towel. I'm quite jealous of knitters that have blocking boards, with actual measuring marks and such. But that will have to wait for more space to appear. I'm considering annexing the condo next door, like in that episode of Arrested Development where Lucille 2 secretly builds into Lucille's penthouse? Anyway. Here's a picture of Clapotini partway done, and a picture of a giant dragonfly that landed in my patio garden and hung out for about 5 hours. I tells ya, it's a pretty nice garden, if you're not scared of giant dragonflies.

Serenity now. Thanks for all the encouragement, everyone! Here I go to kick some a$$.

My big exam is on Friday, and trusty TiVo is standing by with a cavalcade of delectable treats for Saturday: Dancing with the Stars E! True Hollywood Story: Beverly Hills, 90210 E! True Hollywood Story: Saved by the Bell America's Next Top Model (yeah, I already know how it ends. boo.) Supernanny Rob and Amber get Married (oo, I get giddy just typing that one) Blow Out E! News Weekend The Deadliest Catch Britney and Kevin: Chaotic Trading Spouses: Meet your new mommy I think it's safe to say that 3 months of studying will be completely undone by this buffet of trash TV. I feel so sorry for my friends who don't have cable.

If you're as impatient as I am when it comes to waiting for new issues of knitting mags, here's the preview from the upcoming Fall 2005 Interweave Knits. I'm a little underwhelmed, I think mainly because sweaters leave a bad taste in my mouth (Not to mention the furballs. Ack Cough Gack). I'm intrigued by the floral fair isle gloves - they seem like an intricate yet do-able project. The Mary Poppins-style bag is brilliant, but I know that my attempt would be utter shite. Bollocks. And this little floral felted collar is da bomb if you look like Amelie, but immensely inappropriate otherwise. Boo. I wanna be Amelie.