September 13, 2019 – Last Night in Little Rock

On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again!!!!

After almost two months in either Birmingham, Alabama or Little Rock, Arkansas, we’re spending our last night by the Arkansas River before heading west again! It is a beautiful night with a full moon. This site, directly on the river side at Downtown Riverside RV Park, has been quite nice (much better than the site backed up to the fence by the bridge). We’ve been able to spend a few nights sitting outside but not many – TOO HOT! This is part of the reason we’re happy about moving on…to cooler weather and less humidity😊! We’ve/I’ve had a GREAT time visiting friends, running around town and visiting all my regular/well known doctors for probably the last time. (As the hubs keeps saying, “I know there are doctors in other states in this country”!!) But all the running around has been a little hectic and I’m looking forward to seeing my kids and relaxing a bit more. (ED. NOTE – Have I escaped? Maybe, maybe not, but my mood certainly is better today than it was 2 days ago!!!!)

This is probably worth at least a couple of bottles of “whiskey”!!!

I have just finished a project that was really fun! I had a request from Montana for a knitted koozie with a strap (basically so beer – or soda – can be placed in it and hooked to a life jacket by a carabiner (link for my friends who don’t know what a carabiner is) for floating on the river). (ED. NOTE – You may need to review some life choices if you needed a picture!!!) After giving it a little thought and with the hubs input (believe it or not, he has listened to my discussions on knitting!) we decided felting would be the way to go. It would give the knitting more structure and keep it from stretching.  Also, getting it wet would not be an issue. (ED. NOTE – Interestingly, your brain is actually receiving and cataloging all that input, whether you want it to or not!!!)

My first thought was how can I do this, it’s basically just a tube, think, think, think. Then, very quickly realized that someone else had probably already written a pattern for a koozie – many people drink beer (and soda) and want something to help keep it cool. I found a couple of patterns on Ravelry and decided to use Just Cozy by Nancy at Measured Threads as my base. I modified it by doing an attached i-cord bind off and extending the i-cord enough to loop it around to form the needed loop.

I wasn’t able to find a bulky 100% yarn that I liked so I went with the worsted weight Patons Classic Wool, held double and used size 13 double pointed needles. I completed 2 koozies, one following the pattern with 24 stitches to form the bottom and another with 30 stitches to form the bottom. I increased the first and last stitches on each of the three needles.  After felting, the 24 stitch koozie was a little tight for a regular can but would fit a bottle or White Claw easily. (ED. NOTE – You seriously need to review your life choices if you have to look that up too!!!!)  I was able to stretch it to fit a regular can but its a tight fit. The 30 stitch koozie was a perfect fit. Of course, the size could be regulated with the time spent felting in the washing machine. I just ran them both through two washing cycles with hot water.

Along with the request for the koozie was a “suggestion” that it be decorated with a mountain/river scene. (ED. NOTE – I don’t think the dude is right in the head – well, I know he’s not but we still love him like a brother!!!) (Good thing I like requests and don’t mind a challenge!) I had collected small bits of different colored roving from fiber festival goodie bags, my spindle purchase and some other places and decided needle felting would work! I already had the needle and sponge used for my wall hanging, so pulled it all out and got started. After looking at a couple of images and a little pencil drawing between me and the hubs I had a good idea of what to do. I started with the tighter koozie to get a little practice but was more impressed with my work on the second koozie. I have to admit to being proud of myself – I think they turned out great and were tons of fun!

They’ll be put in the mail soon and (hopefully) well received 😊! (ED. NOTE – We’ll see what the trade value in “whiskey” is, but it should be fairly high!!!)