I started the enormous chore of sorting the sewing room last weekend with sorting my needles from the other stuff. I am not sure where to start with the yarn and other projects. I may have to clog the hall then reload the room. That may need to wait till this weekend. One of my goals is to be able to get my sewing machine back into the room and actually be able to use it there. It is currently on the kitchen table.

Don’t anyone faint! But I finished projects! Pictures are below. I finished my very first sock. It fits more like a slipper and that is fine with me. It was made on size 3 with Moda-Dea sassy stripes yarn in the color called swish. The true test will be if I actually make the other sock to go with it. The other was the fourth preemie hat. The hat is actually a really nice royal purple.

I started the bookmark again. It took me three times casting on to get to where I could actually knit on it. I only worked on it about an hour and am halfway thru the doily center part. Maybe I can finish it today. Who knows, that may give me a case of the good type of finish-itis.

It does not look like I will be able to get to the knit-out in Austin. DH kinda put the squash on that (although he would drive that far for a football game, he thinks it is too far to drive for a day of knitting). So, the DFW area one is the one I will be participating in. I am already thinking ahead to see what project I want to take with me to knit on.

My kitty loves to get into my husbands closet. If we do not see him around, that is the first place we check. Last night, we got home at about 11:00 and did not see him. I looked in the closet, and there he was. He had been in there about 6 hours. Boy was he ready for the litterbox and some food. DH is not crazy about cats (he tolerates them for my sake) so I think it is Chevy’s way to even the score by choosing his closet to hide in and his recliner to sleep on.

I finished the wool hat, for Afghans for Afghans, and since I was sure it was going to felt wonderfully, I did a small cell phone pocket out of the wool Friday night. It did not felt at all! In fact it softened to the place that if I had not done the burn test on the yarn, I would not think it was wool at all.

I tried to start the 3 hour wrap (http://www.woolgathered.com/3hourhug.htm) Saturday , but frogged it. I used Lion’s wool ease thick and quick, but it did not look right at all with a fun fur yarn. I think I will do the T&Q in some sort of a poncho (need to look thru the mags to find pattern). I think I will use the fur yarn with some sort of worsted weight on big needles for the hug (the fur will make it snuggly and using the worsted will make it wearable other than in the middle of winter). Today I am starting the shawl for my sister in law. It is just a simple garter stitch shawl in Red Heart Grande yarn. Very quick to do.

I found a pattern on www.chicknits.com for the hat I was trying to make for my dad. I will have to buy it in order to download it, so I will have to do that from home. She called it a bucket hat. I may look for a free pattern before I buy it though.

My questions for you as a consumer are:
1) Do you purchase a single pattern from a yarn shop if you see it and like it?..How often?
I do not remember having bought a pattern single. Not saying I would not, just that I have not. This may be due to my closest LYS being over an hour away.
2) Do you pass these buy in favor of a book that contains more patterns?
Yes, I prefer books. I am more of an impulse knitter, so books actually give me more inspiration than looking thru single patterns. I get most of my books either at half-price books or thru crafters choice book club.
3) What would you reasonably pay for a single pattern?
How much I would pay for a pattern depends on the quality and how much use I would get out of it.
4) Do you prefer to get free patterns on the internet and don't look at patterns to purchase a pattern at all? Rarely? Or will you purchase it if it screams, "MAKE ME!"
I love the free patterns, but many of them seem to be take offs of something else that I did not want to knit. I always check them first. I also look thru my magazines before looking for an additional pattern that would require a purchase.

Having said all of this, I definitely think that designers should be adequately paid for their work and that the price asked (first or second hand) should reflect the quality, difficulty, and experience of the designer. My “designing” of the hat pattern was a real eye opener as to the work that goes into even something as simple as a hat.