As not to embarrass myself....

I'm going to Washington D.C. Can you guess why? One hint, I'll be there on January 20.

I'm going to accompany my daughter and around 30 or so other high school students as we see our new president be sworn in.

I'm excited, and nervous. I never dreamed when we signed up that I was going to join up to 4 million other people doing the same thing. I'm having big time second thoughts, but am taking a deep breath and hoping for the best.

Many, many things will be out of my control. The one thing I do have control over is how prepared I am for the weather. I realize it will be cold, much colder than I've been in for a long time (I did live a year in northern Sweden, folks, so I can recall cold). As I've told a few people, I've also seen March of the Penguins, and don't plan on being the outside penguin, but still, I've got some preparing to do.

Boots? Check (new REI store in town, clearance prices, North Face down lined, I'm good). Knitwear? Got to have lots of that lying around, right? I'm a hard core knitter. Wait. I have never knitted myself a hat. I have lots of scarves, but they are the "pretty" kind, not really the warm kind. Mittens? Yes, but sort of same thing. Plus, being the knitter of very short attention span, nothing is knit to work together, they are all sort of independently wonderful, but not by any stretch a set.

What kind of self-respecting kitter am I? I can't even scrounge up cold weather gear? Yikes.

Okay, I'm cheating on the gloves, and I bought some leather, furry lined ones. But a hat I can do. I've been admiring Ysolda Teague's hat designs on Ravelry, so quickly downloaded one of her new ones, the Icing Swirl Hat and went in search of yarn. I found some Takhi Bunny Print that I've had for AGES, and set off. Now I have this:


I think it is lovely. Such a fun little pattern. My only problem at this point is that I don't have a scarf to match. Not enough yarn to make a scarf too, and although I do have some solids that would match, they are in a thinner yarn that would take too long. I'll have to work on that this week.

In other news, I am making the Marlene Sock, by Cookie A. It is going nicely too, her patterns are always wonderful. This one is in chocolate brown (or officially cocoa kiss), by Dream in Color.

Janice and I are also starting a knit a long of the February Lady Sweater. I ordered my Dream in Color Classy, in the Chinatown Apple colorway, not quite knowing what I was going to get. When it came, I was delighted. Such a pretty orangey russetty color, with a little mossy jade green thrown in. I started the sweater and then did the buttonhole, and after consultation with my partner and the internet, ripped the whole thing out and will start again. But I can show you a picture of my pretty yarn.

So January is off to a knitting start. One finished object, on sock in progress, and one sweater to be. Not bad.

Look for me in the crowds, okay? I'm the one with the pretty hat.