Yay, October!

I love October because of four great things. One, my birthday is on the twelfth. Two, fall really starts to kick in. Three, Rhinebeck. And four, Halloween. I love the creative opportunity Halloween presents. I am a bit disappointed that so many of my peers have turned it into International Dress Like a Whore Day, or Let's Get Wasted in a Costume Day, or I Just Want to Walk the Streets in my Bra and Panties Day (if you've ever been on Church Street in Orlando for Halloween, then you know...), but I hold on with all my creative mettle to be something that doesn't make me look like a common street-walking trollop.
A few years back, I lived in Gainesville (home of the most University of Florida girls ever) and for Halloween, all my friends were deciding what to do with themselves. I heard such things as I'm going to be a... slutty army girl! Slutty nurse! Slutty cop! Slutty devil! Slutty baby!
Yeah, that last one got me pretty bad, too.
It came around to me and I said I wanted to be Zorro. All my girlfriends looked confused... Someone said, hesitantly, "Slutty Zorro?" And I said no. Just Zorro.
So, I was a little disinclined to participate for a few years, until now.
I can't believe it, but I actually got Yoshi to go downtown and hang out in a bar, nay, several different bars for Halloween. He also dressed up. He got medieval.


And wonder of all wonders, he already had that outfit. It's a throwback from his Renaissance Fair days, and he looked smashing.
I toyed with the idea of being Lil Pimpin'...

Which, oddly enough, is also a costume Yoshi had tucked away in his closet. He claimed to me once that he won it on an online contest (his exact words were "You didn't think I bought that, did you?") and I thought it was hilarious on my petite frame (5 feet tall, weighing in at a buck fifteen). It is actually sized for him (6-foot-something, around 230-240), and I was really intrigued by being the Littlest Pimp. Until my girly side caught up with me and I just wanted to be pretty.

So, I was Holly Golightly.

Well, as best I could with what was in my closet. It was great fun to be recognized as Audrey Hepburn by some people and hear their friends say "Who?" and then watch the incredulity of the cinematically cultured vs the folly of those who haven't seen a movie older than Ghostbusters. I have the same reaction when people not that much younger than me say they have never seen Star Wars.

And in knitting news, I finally got around to getting myself a birthday present.

Nice, huh? I got myself the kit, US size 4 to 11 (yes, my needles go to eleven!). I just wish they made short cables so I could convert them all to 16" for hats. Fortunately, a charming woman promised me some sometime within the next year, so I am not sweating it at all. I got time.
I also managed to make the entire hat for Steven, and most of the brim for Lindsay's hat (designing that one myself, so it's taking a little longer). And I cast on for this little cardigan, for which I had purchased a kit from kpixie.com. So, we are knitting and knitting and quite happy with the knitting. With the exception of this...
I made a horrible mistake. I bought an entire small sweater's worth of yarn (Bengali from the Queensland Collection, color six on the card if you're interested) and I hate it. I unfortunately bought it on sale, so it's mine forever. Unless, of course, you want it. I've got ten unmolested balls (880 yds! Four stitches to the inch on size 9s!) that I will be happy to send to you, whoever and wherever you may be, for, hmm, whatever stuff you may want to offer, but shipping at the bare minimum (I paid about $7/ball, if you want to know). I wouldn't expect anyone to accept the ball I swatched with, because I have thrown it across the room a few times in despair and hatred and it is not pristine any longer. I should have known better than to buy so much of something I was completely unfamiliar with, but the colors are what hooked me in, and it is really soft, and it was on sale. I just don't care to work with it any longer. So, if you like pale plum, gold and green in a wrapped novelty yarn, let me know what you want to swap and I'll send it along.