You know the saying...

When it rains, It pours.

Wow - Is that going on for us right now.

Kyle was laid off from work a few weeks ago (the company is closing). He was the main bread winner and was pretty much supporting the family. My contribution was minimal. I worked little while going to school and did not really intend to work more through the end of the pregnancy and first months of the baby's life. He will get unemployment at about half what he made before. The biggest concern for me is the loss of both of our health insurance. We should be able to get Cobra to cover things at least through the birth. We may re-evaluate what coverage we need after that.

Then last night my car would not start. We had been doing pretty good, living really tight. Eating what's in the house. Avoiding eating out. Not buying things we don't need (not really buying anything at all). Then this car problem. Today Kyle had it towed to the car dealership because my car is still under the extended warranty. The frustrating part is they do a diagnosis that you have to pay for unless they determine the problem is under warranty. I spoke with someone this afternoon and they think the engine may need to be replaced.... WHA'??? The car is less then 5 years old and hasn't had a single problem up to know. So if it is deemed to be a warranty problem, We'll be fine. If not, I am on the hook for about $450 just to find out what the diagnosis determines. What craziness. All I can say is, I'm glad I went for the extended warranty. I kind of regretted it after I did it, but can't say that I feel that way now. I should know more tomorrow afternoon.

Finally (small in comparison to the other issues) is the Tilted Duster. I don't know what I was thinking, but I kind of accidentally felted it. All that time, all that (expensive) yarn, all that work. And I toss it in the washing machine thinking that I never hand wash things and they turn out fine. It has shrunk considerably. The most concerning part is the sleeves. They are pretty short and snug. The body fits okay. Not loose and flowie like before, but wearable. I have been tugging on the sleeves quite a bit and need to wear it around the house to see if I can stretch it to a more appealing size. Pictures to come soon.

Here is an old picture of me knitting at our old apartment with the cat. Very cozy!

On other knitting news... I tried to start the brioche hat in the round from Weekend Knitting. This is hands down the longest I've worked on a project and have NOTHING to show for it. I spend at least one to two hours trying to cast on. The problem, it is in the round and it is cast on with two colors at once. I can't remember all the details, but I could not get anywhere with it. I think the problem is my needle was too long to combine in the round. And I could not get anywhere with DPN's. My next option is to try casting on with a really long circ needle and use the magic loop method.

Have you been to Ravelry?? I am in love. I could really get into it. Know that if you sign up, it may take a little while, but now too long to get your invite. I love the organization of it all. But what is the best is to see what other people are doing with the same project. I looked up the above hat and checked what other yarns people had used, and someone had subbed the Brown Sheep for some Karabella Aurora, what I wanted to do. It was nice to see how the sub worked out. Plus a lot of other people had issues with the cast on. Made me feel a little better.

All right, I'm off. I feel inspired to try tackling the hat again. Maybe with some better results!