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It's one of those Mondays that feel like it needs brightening up. I'm a bit tired, the sky is overcast, work is crazy and I'm trying to sort out an issue with my taxes (don't ask.) So what's my remedy?

How about knitting a little handspun into a vivid scarf.

I'm about halfway through the scarf, and thought I'd give it a little bit of blocking to see how I like it.

I used the Spinning for Speed and Softness method on this yarn. My technique is still a little rough so the finished two ply has a lot of personality. I wanted a stitch pattern that had a bit of an organic feel to it to highlight those thick and thin areas and I think this one fit the bill.

From the looks of it, this stitch pattern is a half sibling to one used in a really gorgeous piece you may have noticed in my knitting neighborhood. The version I'm using is in one of my Japanese stitch dictionaries under the leaf heading, but blocked out it's really pretty abstracted.

The yarn is some of Amy's BFL in the colorway Poppies. I have enough yardage that I'll be able to knit an entire scarf and a hat to match with plenty leftover.

This is just a brief little break from the knitting deadlines I have and after I crank this little project out, I'll be back to the grind, but I do think I'll work you up a quick freebie pattern for this, as a thanks for all the support for both Astoria and Crime of Fashion.

Out of curiosity, could you guys let me know your preference. What do you like; PDF downloads of patterns or HTML pages that are printable?

I have my opinion, but I'd like to see what other think.

And for those of you who wonder what a dog does on a day when it's too cloudy to go out and play, I have your answer right here.

Sleep

And enjoy treats

It's real torture.

This 7 page pattern, filled with diagrams, charts, and tons of modification suggestions, comes with 10 sizes from 31"/79cm – 58"/147cm.

Additionally, you can download an Excel document, for free, with the motif, set up so that you can play around with different color combinations.

The pattern is available for download for $9.99. You can check out all the supplies, sizes and other specifications for this pattern here.

Thanks to everyone who expressed interest in the pattern. I hope that people will enjoy knitting this piece.

Well, as many of you might now know, MagKnits is no more. It was such a great site, and I'm sad to see it go, but it sounds like it was the right choice for Kerrie, and ultimately, that's what matters.

Instead of simply throwing my Crime of Fashion pattern up onto my site in its original form, I decided to spend a few days redoing all the charts to be cleaner and easier to read and print. Additionally, instead of the 32 custom character charts I offered in the original pattern, I'm now offering 48 letters, numbers and graphics and I've made actual size graph paper and included that in the download, so people can make their own designs.

I've decided to charge $2 for the new improved version. I know this is going to be controversial for some folks. Another person who did this got some terse comments from people who don't feel a once free pattern should be sold at a later date. For my part, reformatting, and retooling the pattern took quite a few hours and the cost is low enough, that I hope most people will agree that it's a fair price. I did contact people on Ravelry who were working on the pattern, and offered to send them the old charts at no cost if they needed them.

If you are interested in making this pattern, you can click the button below.

$2.00

Thanks so much.

Sunday, we decided to head north on I-5, up to Washington state and pop over to the coast and see what we could find.

There was a bit of driving before we found a beach but our patience paid off.

Thea nearly twists her own head off, playing tug.

The girls lay on the cute, to get Leo to throw the squirrel.

Then Leo chased Thea around while Panda played with her toy.

We got back in the car and headed to Long Beach, WA, where we hoped to find some dinner. Dinner we found and it had it all; high prices, slow service, and abysmal food. After all was said and done, we'd spent more on two appetizers, two entrees and some iced tea, than we normally spend on a fancy dinner and a bottle of wine, and it was so bad we left hungry. But I'm not bitter.

After that we had to wash down the shame and disappointment with another romp on the beach. What do you know? You can drive onto this beach too. Is this a Washington thing?

The girls didn't care, they were just glad to be able to run around some more.

And Panda had a proper shake-n-bake, leaving with her with a thick crispy crust. Don't worry, she managed to shed most of it before we got home and shook off the rest on the way into the house.

For the rest of the way home, we listened to an audio book, and watched as the sun set and a the light sprinkle formed a most lovely rainbow.

Not even a horrible and overpriced meal could ruin such a great day.

My mom did an amazing job overdyeing my Cowl.

"I’m afraid I just blue myself"

She used two dips in a muted blue dye which allowed just a little of the warmth of the original beige to shine through. The result still looks blue to me but teeters on the edge of a sage green. It's really striking in person. Of course, pictures never do it justice.

The girls are just there to draw attention away from how much we need to prune the shrubbery.