Straight Jackets for your Brewski - knit & felt your own!

I insist on a polychromatic Life, and that includes my afternoon beer delight.  These hot little numbers keep my beer cold, my hand warm, and the color doesn't stop.

The weather has been sublime here in Jackson, so I've consulted my palette of yarn colors from Knitpicks, hefted my sticks and had a color jam.

These are easy to knit.  Size 8 (5mm) dpns, or if you have a clever gene, a size 8, 11" circular.  I double strand Knitpicks Palette yarn, a total of 100 yards.  But a worsted weight, feltable wool could be used as a single strand option.  I also use Knitpicks Wool of the Andes and Cascade 220 this way.

Cast on 40 stitches, place a stitch marker, join and work your own color dream for a total of 40 rounds.

I kind of like this pattern combination of 3 colors:

Color #1:  CO and K 10 rounds

Switch to Color #2:  K 4 rounds (I just tie on color # 2, and carry #1 for the next stripe)

Switch to Color #1:  K 1 round (Here I break off Colors #1 & 2, for simplicity)

Switch to Color #3:  K 7 rounds

Switch to Color #1:  K 1 round (Break off Color #3)

Switch to Color #2: K 4 rounds (Carry Color #1 up the back)

Switch to Color #1:  K 13 rounds

P one round

Begin Decrease:
Rnd1:  K6, K 2tog* repeat to SM
Rnd 2:  K5, K2tog* repeat
Rnd 3:  K4, K2tog* repeat
Rnd 4:  K
Rnd 5:  K 3, K2tog* repeat
Rnd 6:  K2, K2tog* repeat
Rnd 7:  K
Rnd 8: K1, K2tog* repeat
Rnd 9: K2tog* repeat
Break yarn, thread through stitches and pull tight.

Weave in any ends, and try to adjust those color jogs.  Then use your favorite felting method.  I throw mine into a top load washing machine, with hot water and an old pair of jeans.  I find it still needs a bit of hand felting, to get a good thick fabric.  Shape around a bottle or can, and let it dry.  Voila!

Notes from Zim ~ Warthog

I received an email from Godfrey today.  It sounds like the action is heating up in Hwange National Park!  The dry season is bringing the animals closer and closer to the water holes, and thus the camps.  Here is Godfrey's story.  I have copied it exactly as he sent it, because I enjoy the translations he makes from Indabele to English to keyboard!

today we had to watch 5 lions tryng to kill a warthog on the vlei in front of the camping ground here in sinamatella
it was around 8 am when l saw a warthog running with lions in hot pursuit.the warthog then got in a hole .l then called the tourists who were camping and we watched the lions tryng to dig it out.after about 5 min the lions went about 20 m from the hole &slept there waiting for it to come out after 20 m we saw the warthog coming out of the. hole thinking that the lions had gone and it started going. very slowly leaving the safety of the hole and the lions pretended not to be seeing it after it had gone about 30m lions started crawling towards the hole .when they got there they made a horn formation and one of them then went round the warthog with the intensions of. pushing torwards the others unfortunately the warthog saw them first and it ran away on the opposite direction .the lions tried to chase it but the warthog had already outpaced them and got into another hole and the lions gave up and left it alone and went to lie near the river.after about
 2 hours came the buffaloes and they went straight to were the lions were after a few minutes the action began .the buffaloes were taken by suprised by the time they tried to run towards the river the lions were already there .we saw dust.and the all wailing of the buffalo .we could not see what was happening in the river and the lions are still in there.it seems there are enjoying their lunch on the cool sand