Monday, June 16, 2008

Haircut... and makeup... and Baby Blanket Pattern


I had my hair cut. To most people, that wouldn't be a big deal, but it had been at least 7 years since I had had it done. About 20" were cut off and will be donated to Locks of Love.
That is a lot of hair to so abruptly be gone from the back of my head. Somehow it has changed more than just my appearance. My outlook seems to have changed, too, and all for the better. I feel more competent, more like I did when I was younger. It's a nice change, and so much cooler in the summer. You can't know if you've never had really long hair what a difference it is. I can now wear sleeveless tops or dresses without having to worry about my hair getting caught in my armpits. I don't have to dread the wind or worry about hair getting caught in the car door. I use far less shampoo and conditioner and my hair dries within a few hours instead of the 16 or so it used to take. It looks great with just a brush through it after I get out of bed. It's in a chin length bob parted on the left. Really, I love it.
And donating this huge ponytail just makes me love it all the more. I have no doubt some little girl will be thrilled to have my hair on her head after locks of Love work their magic.

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Let's see, we've covered hair, so let's make this even girlier and move on to makeup now.

Have you heard about e.l.f. cosmetics? I got this for $15. Yes, all of this. And I had a code so that shipping was free. Most of their stuff is just a buck. Admittedly the sizes are a little small, but if you wear makeup as rarely as I do, then that is a good thing. And for a dollar, how can you go wrong?
So here's the picture of everything... (will be added asap... having problems with the uploader)
(And will have the baby blanket pics and pattern uploaded later, too.)







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Easy Mitered Corner Baby Blanket
click here for PDF

Not the most exciting thing to knit, but I do like the way it looks. The only part I didn’t like about this was the finishing. Ugh. Soooo many ends to weave in and I suck at that. And the seams are far bulkier than I would like, but as long as the recipients don’t mind. After all, it is a nice warm, handmade baby blanket for someone I will likely never meet. If anyone is interested and doesn’t feel like figuring it out, here’s the so simple pattern I used:

CO 99 stitches in MC (red in my case) place markers on either side of center stitch.
Row 1: sl 1 purlwise, k46, k2 tog, k1, k2tog, k47
Row 2: sl1 purlwise, k45, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k46
continue alternating rows of decreasing on either side of center stitch and decrease and yarn over on either side of decrease. You can use any number of rows you want for color changes, of course. So my bf would be a little involved (since it is for his coworker, after all) I had him decide that part for me. Mine went like this:
12 rows red
6 rows cream
12 rows red
6 rows cream

10 rows red
6 rows cream

10 rows red
6 rows cream
8 rows red
4 rows cream
8 rows red
4 rows cream

finish up with red

Make 4 of these then sew them all together and weave in those damned ends. (grrr.)