Monday, September 3, 2012

DIY Honeycomb Cabled Headband and fun stories

Well, yesterday Julia wanted my laptop for a little bit.  I had gotten my cheapy netbook in the mail a few nights ago and got it charged up.  I broke down and bought one last week to solve my dilemna of the computer borrowing that will be happening up until Santa comes down the chimney.

I wrote an article about it on Triond, but I don't think I had written anything about it here yet.

I tried out the netbook one morning at their house.  I seriously don't like it and was partially thinking of returning it for a refund.  But I did want it to kind of solve the problem, which in a way ended up working quite well for the most part.

What I didn't like about it was how small the keys are when typing.  I just couldn't get used to that.  And I didn't like the little office writing section.  It kept jumping all over the page on me and I didn't like how it would type.  Little keys.

Getting online was pretty glitchy for the most part, it just doesn't operate the same way a laptop would.  I couldn't scroll down on my Ebay homepage like I could with the laptop.

I solved the issue when Julia cried to me not to get rid of it.  Then I said, "You can have it if you want."  Of course she said yes.  And guess what?  She is having no problem getting online with it and the typing keys are perfect for her little fingers.

There is still a little problem because she still get onto her Feroheart game with the netbook so she is going to want to use my laptop sometimes but maybe not as much.  And she's been using Jake's ipad for a little bit too.  I guess we now have enough gadgets to occupy ourselves when we can't use the laptop or she can't use the laptop because Mom is using it. 

And last night, Mollyanne got upset that Julia got my Netbook.  To which I told her she only got it because I didn't like it.  Then I had to remind her that last year I ended up letting her have my little video camera that I got at the beginning of last year.  So it evens out.  And I told her that if she really wants a Netbook maybe I will get her one for Christmas.  Luckily I didn't pay a lot for it.  I got it used for about $50 when the new ones are anywhere from $200 or more.

So, at one point yesterday, I decided to stop blogging and posting on Triond for a little bit, take a break and I started a new headband.  This one is a really pretty lime green one that is all silk yarn.

Here is the pattern:  Remind me if I posted this on another blog post.  I can't remember if I had written the instructions before when I first started trying the pattern.  Anyway, if so, here it is again.


Honeycomb Cabled Headband DIY:

yarn of your choice
size 6-8 needles
tapestry needle

It depends on what width you want.  You can try to begin and figure out which width that will work for you.

Cast on 22 sts.

Note:  The first 3 sts and the last 3 sts of every row, you will be working in garter stitch.  This is going to be your border.  If you would rather choose not to have a border, then just cast on 16 sts and follow the directions just in the middle of each row.

Knit the cast on row.  I always like to just knit my first row before I begin my pattern.

Pattern:

Row 1: (Wrong side) k3,p16,k3
Row 2:  BC, FC, BC, FC
Row 3 & all ws rows:  k3, p16, k3
Row 4 & 8:  knit across row
Row 6:  FC, BC, FC, BC

Repeat these rows for about 15 inches roughly.  A good rule of thumb is to get a tape measure and measure your head.  What you come up with should be the length of your headband.  Remember that it will stretch.  I usually practice with making one or two to start and then I get a ballpark figure of how long they need to be.  Know that it shouldn't be too tight and you don't want it too loose either.

FC =  slip 2 sts to cable needle and hold in front, k2, k2 from cn.

BC = slip 2 sts to cable needle and hold in back, k2, k2 from cn.

You can choose whatever color you want.  You can choose to try this in double strands.  If you use double strands you will probably want to use a larger needle as the yarn will be thicker.  Unless you are using really thin yarn, then you can benefit by using a smaller needle.

You could even work this in a striped pattern if you would like.

Here would be a short pattern for the stripes should you choose to do so:

At Row 4:  switch to color B and knit from Row 4 to Row 8:

At Row 1:  switch back to color A.

Repeat in this pattern until you are done.


Sorry, no picture for the striped pattern yet as I haven't done that one.  I'm just making up a pattern for you right now.

Hmmm.... now here's another thought for me someday.  Maybe I can write a little book of my knitting patterns sometime and add pictures with them and then turn it into a pdf when it's all done.  And maybe I would just try that one as an e-book on either Kindle Publishing or Smashwords or Bibliocracy books where I think it is free to do.   Could be fun!!!

And my other thought I posted on Facebook to my family and friends today is publishing a little cookbook of my Mother's recipes along with some little stories and perhaps some of my favorite pictures of her and hey, even a few of my recipes and maybe some of my childhood pictures.  I bet they would buy that one where it would be about my mother and have her lovely recipes and some handwriting of hers in it.

More food for thought, food for thought.

Isn't it funny how we just start thinking of all these ideas in our heads?  I've often years ago had people say, "What a clever girl."  Ha ha.  I guess that's just me, always brainstorming these ideas.

And one of my friend's mothers always says how talented I am.  But, I'm definitely not the only talented person.  Our world is filled with them.

My sister also would often say that I got all the talent.  Ha ha.  She got some too as she is a wonderful mother to her three kids and she is like my mother in ways that I am not.  And she has quite the green thumb.

When she and her husband lived in their first house together, she had lots of plants inside and we would often joke that she doesn't have enough oxygen.  Now for me, the indoor plants tend to just die.  I'm much better with the ones outdoors. 

And when my Mother died about 11 years ago to colon cancer, the indoor plants died right along with her as my Dad just didn't end up watering them.  Oh well.  I think my sister might have salvaged one of the plants.  My mother had the plants for years and we would always grow up watching her come in with the little blue Tupperware cups that we used to drink out of and she would be watering them.

On some days when we got a little older, it was our job to water the plants.  And after she died and we would come visit Maine from Vermont once a month, I would try and water the plants to keep them alive.  And every time I would get there and see all the dead leaves it kind of killed me once again that she had died and the death of the plant just made it all sink in that death was a non-stop thing.


Jennifer Jo Fay

Copyrighted September 3, 2012



jfay1995 on Triond

I've been writing lots of articles there too.  I wrote about 11 yesterday and about 3-4 so far today.


The start of my new honeycomb cabled headband.  Looks like I probably got about four or five inches started.  It's about four inches wide on size 7 needles.  I love these little wooden bowls.  I bought them for fifty cents at a yard sale thinking of a paper mache bowl project I would like to later try and it might be a fun project to do with my girls.



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