Bullseye Beanie Pattern Now Available

I finally finished writing up the pattern for the Bullseye Beanie (thanks for the name, Alex :)

Bullseye Beanie, modeled by middle nephew

If you're interested in knitting it, you can find the pattern on Ravelry (link) or Etsy (link).

Why did it take me so long to write up the pattern? Because I had a time trying to figure out how to explain a few things. While this is a basic beanie in shape, there are a few considerations that come with getting it to look just right.

1. Because it was supposed to look like a target, I didn't want lined up increases to mar the look at the top. (Usually increases are stacked to create a swirl pattern. Which can be cute. But not what I wanted.) But how could I explain what I did? It made sense in my head and on the needles, but how do I convey that in print?
2. How do I explain how not to get a jog at the color change? (It's something that happens when knitting in the round.) 
3. Do I write the pattern assuming that the knitter who wants it knows all the ins and outs of working a pattern like this? 

In the end, I found videos on YouTube of all the techniques I used. It was easier than trying to explain what I did. 

It's amazing what you can find demonstrated on YouTube.

A Twinkie Conversation

A couple weeks ago, I picked up my niece and eldest nephew from the archery range. As we headed out to my car, the topic of bacon came up.

Bacon? Yep. Not sure why. I think nephew started it. Because niece is not a fan, and she said so. And nephew talked about chocolate covered bacon.

Which made me think of fair food. You know, deep fried everything? Deep fried bacon. Deep fried ice cream. Deep fried Twinkies.

Nephew: "What's a Twinkie?"

The eldest nephew is seven. Niece is twelve. Niece and I looked at each other, flabbergasted.

So, we described the snack cake known as "Twinkie" to nephew. He dismissed us pretty quickly. He knew what that was. (Although, he has a tendency to claim knowledge that he doesn't have, so whether or not he knew what we were talking about is debatable.)

By this time we had loaded up, were in the car, and I was pulling out. I mentioned how Hostess had gone bankrupt and how Twinkies were no more (note: this was just before they came back, although I was aware they were coming back and said something about it).

At this point, niece was amazed. She had not heard about the demise of the Twinkie.

I'm not sure whether I'm troubled or impressed. Troubled that a thing I thought was ubiquitous isn't. Impressed that Twinkies aren't a day to day occurrence in their home. I guess I'm a bit of both.