Crash!

I have new socks to show, and other news, and my hard drive crashed.  Fortunately, there is the laptop, but it does not have the handy dandy little slot for my memory card.  Gotta figure out how I do this photo upload with this laptop.

Actually, the laptop is Husker's laptop, so I really do not know much about it.  With his current state of health, I am not asking for a tutorial.  By the way, we are finished with radiation and we start chemo on July 31st.  Going from a PC to a Mac Pro is a real brain teaser.

However, I can talk about my other news - at least news to other knitters.  I have finally said to self, "You have got to take time to do this."  So I did.  I have spent this afternoon practicing my Continental skills.  I have shied away from Continental technique because I simply could not get used to controlling the tension with my left hand.  I finished my latest project this morning, and looked at the remaining sock yarn, and said "It is time."  I am happy to say that I finally felt confident enough by evening to start a baby cap.  So far so good.

NICU to the Rescue

After making the newborn Tuva hats, I dug deeper into my stash and found quite a bit of fingering weight and/or baby yarn that I could turn into baby caps.  Then a light bulb went off.  I met someone during the summer who makes caps for preemies in her local hospital's NICU unit.  (NICU = Neonatal Intensive Care Unit).  Having been in our local Cook's Children's Hospital -- including the NICU unit -- I decided to give them a call, and to my delight, they welcome cap donations.  The nurse told me right off that they needed to fit 3 sizes:  large lemon, orange, and grapefruit.  I discovered right off that my "preemie" Tuva would probably be somewhere between orange and grapefruit.

I have also made a navy and silver-grey boy's cap that will fit an orange.  It looks white in the photo, but trust me, it is pale grey.  Please note that the colors are for our local pro football team.  The Cowboys may be losers, but they are ours. 

This was CO 72 sts of Berroco Comfort DK Sport Weight, using #3 dpn.  Credit Karen Everitt for the basic pattern on Ravelry.  It took less than an ounce of yarn, and less time than it takes to watch a football game.  Well ... Husker watches and I knit 'n' listen. 

This has become a fun stash buster.  Maybe they will let me rock a baby when I make my first delivery.