Three days off.

Three consecutive days off. That doesn't happen often.

But I worked on Labor Day, and I've been off Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Back to work for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It's been lovely.

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Sam's foot is healing very well. The staples came out a week ago today. The scab is all gone. There's scar tissue, some of which may be hidden once his shaved hair grows back. He's been a very good patient. Well, good except for the screaming part. ;)

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I spent most of my time off working on a doily that got out of hand. I finished the stitching today, and the doily is blocking now.



The doily pattern is called Square Flair, and it was designed by the legendary Elizabeth Hiddleson. The pattern was published in the June 1987 issue of Magic Crochet. The directions specified "US Size 7" for the hook size to produce a doily that was 17" square; the directions didn't specify hook size in mm. I used a Boye size 7, 1.65 mm, but I now think the magazine meant a Bates size 7, 1.50 mm. My finished doily is 21" square, and I had to buy additional thread since the 310 yards specified in the magazine didn't get me even close. I generally hit gauge or, on patterns with tall stitches like this one's treble-crochet, I fall short of gauge. This one is so much larger than specified that I think the hook size has to be the cause. I've left warning notes on the pattern entry on Ravelry, so future stitchers can be warned about the size. Size and gauge in a doily generally aren't critical...unless you're making something to fit a specific space. The doily blocks out just fine, and I'll post better photos once I get this off the blocking board.

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One stitcher on Ravelry has made herself a woman's-medium-sized "baby surprise jacket" using three skeins of Lion Brand Homespun, size 13 needles, and the original BSJ pattern. I had three skeins of Lion Brand Homespun, I bought a size 13 circular needle, and I'm knitting away to see what I get. I like the colors in the yarn (they don't photograph well): there's green, purple, blue, and red.



The other Raveler modified the pattern in a way I'm not crazy about, but it used less yarn that way, and I might need to do something like that. We'll see.

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I haven't used any of my vacation time this year. I have 10 vacation days and 2 discretionary days to use, and I've signed up to take off from 4 October through 19 October. That will have me off for Greyfest (the 4th), then the next two weeks...three weekends in total. I can't afford to go anywhere, but I'm looking forward to two weeks of knitting and crocheting while I listen to audio books, hanging out quietly with the dogs, and doing a bit of cleaning around here. It'll be days* like the last three have been, and I'm going to enjoy it.

*These last three days, I've listened to Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, and A Morbid Taste for Bones on audio books.