Knitting - pleasure and pain

I've almost finished the second side of the Brea bag, which looks exactly the same as the first side!

Yesterday I took it out with me. I often do that when Tai Chi Man is driving - even if it's a short drive, I can grab a few extra minutes of knitting time. When we do our Saturday errands, there are a few places to go that aren't very far apart, so I was only able to snatch a few stitches here and there. And I was swearing away, because every time we accelerated or turned a corner, my pencil or pattern or cable needle would fly off the shelf or my lap and end up on the floor.

We were nearly back home when I got confused - it seemed I had crossed off a row that I hadn't yet knitted. I put it away and finally got around to looking at it today. It took me a while, but then I realised what I had done. For the first time ever, I had picked up my knitting in the car and started to knit back across the row instead of continuing in the correct direction. The result of this was a couple of short rows and a knitting mystery, which I'm glad to say was easily solved with a little un-knitting.

Tai Chi Man and I spent a couple of hours in the garden this afternoon. He was digging some potatoes and beets, hoeing and spreading straw. I had the edge trimmer out and was a very noisy neighbour as I tidied up the overgrown bits around the yard. Then I pulled all the weeds out from around the tomato plants (thanks, Sheila, for mentioning this - it makes sense to let those green tomatoes get as much sun as they can at this time of the year).

It was 4pm by the time we'd finished, but a trip into town was in the plans too, so I grabbed the boys' swimming things, a snack, some water, my knitting (and a knitting book, paper, pencils etc) and my husband dropped us off at the beach while he went off to the hardware store.

The lake temperature has dropped in the last week but it wasn't as cold at this beach compared to Friday. Lego Nut and Ninja Boy went in a couple of times and when they weren't in the water they were running around with towel "capes" or a soccer ball, climbing on the playground equipment or dissecting a round seed head from a plane tree (I knew that pocket knife of mine would come in useful).

I enjoyed a lovely couple of hours (could have stayed longer) designing a knitted vest with the help of this book and knitting my bag. When the sun was out, it was just perfect - I had to resort to a hoodie when the occasional cloud blocked the sun.

Tomorrow is a public holiday (Labour Day) so we are planning a bit of a road trip. Hoping to find lots of cheap tomatoes at the fruit stands on the way.

New knitting to report

I love how this first side of the Brea Bag is looking. I found this while I was browsing the 'net the other day looking for inspiration.

I was actually thinking of knitting a backpack-style bag, but when I saw this, I was hooked.

I found some Bernat Satin at Michaels in "Wine Mist" to substitute for the angora. I'm using two strands of yarn held together with #9 needles, as per the pattern. This yarn has quite a "woolly" look to it, which was particularly noticeable when I was finishing off this section of the bag at the beach today.

That segues very neatly into the following photos. It was a fairly warm day, but there was a lot of cloud and we had a couple of showers during the afternoon. After visiting a teashop with our friend, we weren't daunted by the weather and took the plunge.

The water was ICY cold. J and I went in and were out again quickly, but the boys were in and out as if they were polar bears.


They enjoyed the home-made popcorn that I'd brought - funny how being outside seems to give you an appetite.


The water was really clear.

There are two diving boards, a zipline and a knotted rope to make getting into the water faster... and more fun!


More showers and some sunshine this evening resulted in a rainbow plus it's reflection (look carefully to the right and you will see a reversed rainbow).

Signs of autumn

I really know that summer is drawing to a close when certain changes start occurring around here. I'm not talking about leaves changing colour. I mean...

...craving hot soup instead of salad
...slipping on my hand-knitted socks instead of going around in bare feet
...putting on a hoodie in the mornings and evenings and looking forward to pulling out the heavy duty stuff - knitted sweaters and shawls
...laying extra quilts on the beds
...awaiting (with a small amount of dread) the email from Self Design telling me I have to get the boys' learning plans written
...enjoying exercising because it warms me up
...choosing jeans instead of skirts or capri pants
...pulling out a blanket for putting over my knees to read or knit on the sofa
...using really hot water to wash the dishes because I'm not already overheated from the weather
...knowing that soon the two walnut trees in the garden will shortly be shedding all their !@#$% walnuts everywhere and I'll have to pick them up.

This Friday will probably be our last beach day of 2008 with our senior friend. We will make the most of it.

This is cute

My husband sent me this link today which I think is so cute I wanted to share it with you. The camera-work is a little shaky, but this person must live on the edge of civilisation to have a mother moose and her twin babies in their backyard!

Another hat

As promised, here is another hat, finished last night. I wanted to show you what it looked like before I sewed it up, but I had to search for the camera and when I found it there was no memory card in it (thanks, son).

It's a quick knit. The garter stitch is made more interesting by the fact that you're increasing up one side while decreasing up the other, which makes a trapezoid, I think. When you seam the cast on and bind off edges together, you have a tube, which you then gather up towards one end.

So Joanne, I promised you first refusal. Please leave a comment here if you'd like me to send you this hat. It's bigger than the other one - 20 inches circumference and very stretchy - so would fit an older child.

And the hat goes to....

Sheila of Greenridge Chronicles. Sheila, email me at veganpal02 AT gmail DOT com with your mailing address and I'll send it off to you straight away.

Joanne, bad luck this time, but I am knitting another (very different) hat which should be finished today, and I'll give you first refusal on it!

It's my birthday

Forty-six years old! And I'm quite happy with that, thank you! No lying about my age.

I had a cup of tea brought to me in bed this morning. Lego Nut presented me with a cute present wrapped up in a jar and some paper - a little beaded knick-knack that he made which I have hung on my kitchen window, and a hand-made card and coupon book (coupons are for miscellaneous chores which I can claim at any time in the next year).

Tai Chi Man detoured to the local bookstore when we went out to do our shopping today, and I bought a 2009 Scrabble calendar, an address book and a deck of Motherpeace Tarot cards. Not that I know how to read Tarot cards, but I can learn!

What with this alkaline diet, there'll be no birthday cake or meals out for me....at least not for a couple more weeks, when we'll be reintroducing a small percentage of acid-forming foods.

My birthday present to myself is a fresh start. Time to shed all the stress of the previous year and move on. Sit cross-legged, take a deep breath and repeat after me..... ooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...........................

Award....and some knitting to give away

Thanks to Affectioknit for awarding me this Brillante award. I am pleased to accept it and nominate the following in turn:

Shut Up I'm Counting
Words of the Wise Acres
Nannybird Crafts
Greenridge Chronicles
Nurtured by Love
Home is where the Heart is
Yarn Harlot

Here are the rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link to the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs for an award.
4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs for the people you've nominated.



I spent a very pleasant hour in my sewing room yesterday, taking out all my yarn leftovers (I don't have a stash) and thinking of ways to use them up. I had this ball of Bernat Softee Chunky that I bought with the idea that I'd swatch for a sweater or cardigan, but I changed my mind. So I knitted up this hat from the pattern on the ball band instead.

It came out with a circumference of 16 inches unstretched - it stretches to 21 - and is 6.75 inches in depth. It would fit a 2 - 4 year old child. The colour is called taupe twist; hopefully you can see the colour below.

I would be happy to mail this anywhere in the world to someone who'd like to have it. Please leave a comment on this post and I'll draw a name at random in a couple of days.

Birthday book

My friend gave me a gift certificate for one of our local yarn stores. I went in there yesterday (with two boys, who very patiently waited while I had a look around).

I had considered buying an i-cord maker - you know, one of those little gadgets where you set it up, crank the handle and yards of knitted cord shoot out of the bottom. Unfortunately they had sold out.

I took a look through the books and decided on this one. I have borrowed it from my local library a couple of times and I use the sock pattern in it almost every time I make socks. I decided this would make a good purchase, one I can keep referring to over and over, that will never be out of date or out of fashion.

I still have almost $4 in credit left to spend...that will have to wait for another day.

Wordplay

FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE PHILOSOPHY OF AMBIGUITY (as well as the idiosyncrasies of English)

ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA, FLOOR.....

ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION.

IF MAN EVOLVED FROM MONKEYS AND APES, WHY DO WE STILL HAVE MONKEYS AND APES?

THE MAIN REASON THAT SANTA IS SO JOLLY IS BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHERE ALL THE BAD GIRLS LIVE.

I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, 'WHERE'S THE SELF-HELP SECTION?' SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE.

WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?

IF A DEAF PERSON SIGNS SWEAR WORDS, DOES HIS MOTHER WASH HIS HANDS WITH SOAP?

IF SOMEONE WITH MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES THREATENS TO KILL HIMSELF, IS IT CONSIDERED A HOSTAGE SITUATION?

IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?

WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO 'GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?'

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT?

IF A PARSLEY FARMER IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES?

WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?

WHY DO THEY LOCK GAS STATION BATHROOMS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL CLEAN THEM?

IF A TURTLE DOESN'T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?

CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS?

IF THE POLICE ARREST A MIME, DO THEY TELL HIM HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT?

WHAT WAS THE BEST THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD?

ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR?

IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO?

IF YOU ATE BOTH PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY?

IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?

WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS IT FOR THE WORD 'LISP' TO HAVE 'S' IN IT?

WHY ARE HEMORRHOIDS CALLED 'HEMORRHOIDS' INSTEAD OF 'ASSTEROIDS'?

WHY IS IT CALLED TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN'T SHOOT AT THEM?

WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?

IF YOU SPIN AN ORIENTAL PERSON IN A CIRCLE THREE TIMES DO THEY BECOME DISORIENTED?

CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD?

Weird Al Yankovic

(photo from here)

My eyes and ears are freaked out tonight. I spent two and a half hours at a Weird Al concert this evening - VERY funny, VERY loud and VERY bright, with all the flashing lights. The whole family went. The kids introduced me to this talented nutcase a while ago. I've seen a little of him on a DVD and heard some of his songs on CD.

In case you haven't heard of him, he spends his professional life mostly recording parodies of popular songs. Green Day's American Idiot becomes Canadian Idiot. Like a Virgin becomes Like a Surgeon. Michael Jackson's Bad becomes Fat. Hilarious.

During costume changes, the huge screens above the stage showed us Al "interviewing" celebrities (what he actually did was take footage of people like Cher, Celine Dion and Eminem and insert his own questions, so it looked as though they were answering him).

It was an hour's drive each way and each ticket was over $70 a pop, but it was worth it.

We even brought home a streamer that was one of many shot out into the audience and some Al "money" that fell from the ceiling.

(photo from here)

Life...

No photos today, but as I haven't blogged since Saturday I wanted to let you know I haven't disappeared.

Our summer weather has been mostly hot, though every now and again it gets so hot that it triggers a storm and then it cools off a little. We've had a few of them now. Last night's was fascinating. I sat out on the deck (which has open sides but is roofed) and watched the sky. The lightning was flashing every few seconds, brightening the sky and silhouetting our walnut tree. Occasional flashes were so bright they hurt my eyes. The odd thing was that it was far enough away that I couldn't hear any thunder.

My smallest boy was on my lap with his favourite blanket around him and after a while the rest of the family came out and enjoyed the show too.

Memorable times!

The two younger boys and I met our older friend for our weekly beach visit on Monday. I call it my therapy session as we have spent a lot of time talking about our innermost thoughts with each other this summer and I really appreciate being able to do that.

In my knitting life, I am somewhat frustrated at the moment. I have a huge pile of knitting books from the library and am enjoying looking through them for inspiration. My Interweave Knits magazine arrived today and I played hooky from Taekwondo and spent a pleasant hour on the sofa with my magazine instead! I am building up for a big project but I'm not sure what it's going to be yet. This always happens - I take longer to plan it than I do to knit it, I think.

I have ten balls of Marble in the Landscape colourway on order which will be enough to make a sweater, ruana or coat. Maybe I'll knit an Einstein Coat. I have Sally Melville's book, The Knit Stitch, but will I have the stamina for all that garter stitch? Will I make something else entirely? Will I use a pattern or will I design my own so I don't have to make my gauge match someone else's? Ah, decisions, decisions.

Tomorrow, on the way to a friend's house, I am going to call in at a yarn store where I have (a) a $4 plus credit, (b) a $3 frequent shopper coupon and (c) a $30 gift certificate for my birthday. I hope my kids realise that they may be waiting a while so I can decide what to buy!

Summer living

A couple of 97 cent pool noodles certainly create a lot of entertainment. The beauty of the beach access that we have been frequenting is its simplicity. Just a patch of sand, a couple of picnic tables and a dock.


The boys can amuse themselves for ages with some rocks, some sand, some sticks, some water - and the entertainment value is increased even more with the addition of a couple of buckets and shovels and the aforementioned pool noodles.

The other day, the pool noodles were being used as light sabres and the boys were Jedi knights, albeit skinny half-naked ones!


And to change the subject completely, here's some great summer eating....fresh local tomatoes with a little green onion, olive oil and good salt. This was my breakfast today - a perfectly alkalising meal made with tomatoes bought from a local farmer. They taste so good that I bought 30 pounds of them! We are eating them at every meal.

Electromagnetic radiation

If you're a cell phone user, or considering getting one for your child, perhaps you should watch this video first. If brain tumours in kids are up 21%, then isn't it a strong possibility that cell phones and the huge amount of electronic equipment we use in our homes today is causing them?

Bridge view

We went down to the new bridge Sunday and walked along the pedestrian/cycle lane to the highest point to get a new perspective on the Okanagan. (Remember, you can click on any picture to make it bigger.)


There is an impressive pair of sculptures at the western end of the bridge, on First Nations Land. They are made of metal, each representing a wolf in front of a bear's paw.


From the new bridge, we were able to see the progress that is being made on dismantling the old bridge.

They are making holes in the concrete pontoons, presumably readying them for sinking in the lake.

They removed one pontoon already so that boats can sail or motor underneath the new bridge.

Much of the blacktop (tarmac) has been taken up and hauled away. The pontoons must be as clean as possible before they sink them.

I'm not sure what's going to happen to the huge metal lifting mechanism at the eastern end of the bridge. Hopefully it will be removed and recycled.

The new bridge doesn't have a lifting section - it has a hump instead that allows enough space underneath for the boats.

The roundabout has a clever relief of Ogopogo, our local mythical lake serpent.

I felt like a tourist in my own town, camera in hand.

Arty morning

We have settled into a bit of a routine around here in the mornings. The two younger boys are getting into the habit of expecting some "schooly" stuff, and we're splitting our time between Math, French, English and History, with some handwriting practice mixed in.

They are making slower progress on the Grade 5 math workbook than the previous two. There's been some new stuff to learn with long names, like "prime factorization"! For French, we're using one of our Usborne books and they are writing out all the new words in their notebooks. For English, we have another Usborne book (when I was an Usborne consultant, I decided you could build a whole curriculum around their books) called Better English. And for History, we're reading Story of the World. Now we're on Volume Two, the Middle Ages. We're not doing a lot of supplementary reading, but we have googled a few things, for example photos of the temple called Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which we had read about. The Story of the World is also sparking some interesting conversations.

This morning, Lego Nut asked for the beading supplies. (I know he's been up to something because he banned me from his bedroom....something to do with my birthday coming up in a couple of weeks.) Once the beads were out, Ninja Boy wanted to play too, and so did I!

I decided that it was therefore going to be an Art morning - forget the academics for one day. Out came the tubes of acrylic paint that Computer Geek had recently cleared out of his room and we enjoyed creating some artwork for the kitchen.

While the kids work, I often knit. I had one skein of Ty-Dy cotton (which in a previous incarnation was my moebius scarf, which I unravelled, and returned the extra unused balls to the store) and I squeezed four dishcloths out of it. I know there are only three in the photo, but the first one was already being used.

Welcome to my Russian reader

A little while ago, I put out a request for my readers to pass around the word that I was after receiving a visit on my blog from someone in Russia. I don't know whether that was the catalyst or not, but I have had a visit from a place called Nizhny Novgorod in Russia.

Woo hoo - exciting stuff!

Now, let's see, Google Analytics tells me that there have been no visitors from China. How about it, people?

Salad for breakfast

I wish I had a photo of my colourful breakfast, but I wouldn't have done it justice and anyway I wanted to eat it straight away! It was a layered mix of baby salad greens, green onion, grated carrot and grated beets with a dressing of olive and flax oils, lime juice, Himalayan salt and garlic. Doesn't that sound horrendously healthy!

I have to say that the cleanse that Tai Chi Man and I did at the weekend certainly worked. We felt like hell! Detox symptoms included bad breath, weak muscles and a generally tired feeling. I did manage to do my rebounding every day, and Tai Chi Man mixed concrete and filled in a hole in our driveway, so we weren't totally useless.

On Saturday, we kept to the liquids, but by Sunday evening we were ready for something else. I made a "blender salad" (which is acceptable on the cleanse, we weren't cheating). It was a blended up mixture of salad greens, avocado, jalapeno, cucumber and good salt. Bliss!

Monday morning we had the same again. My enthusiasm in drinking 5 litres of water/Nile water was definitely flagging by the third day. Monday night, we had a big salad of whatever I could find in the fridge that was green.

It was nice to get back to solid food Tuesday, though it is still from the alkaline side of the chart.

The meaning of my name

This is something that I saw on Louise's blog. I put in my name, though I find the list is a little contradictory at times! I don't agree with all of it. What Nicola Means

You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. (of course!) You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. (yup) You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. (definitely correct here) You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. (mmm hmmm) You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. (yup) You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. (yes again) You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily. (mostly) You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind. (sometimes) A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. (yes) You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. (I think so) You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. (I think so) At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. (definitely) You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. (nah) You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. (nope) Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. (sometimes yes, sometimes no) You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. (sometimes) You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. (sometimes) You have the classic "Type A" personality. (oh yes!)

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

I tagged myself

Louise @ Home is Where the Heart is had this list of questions on her blog the other day, and whilst I was not personally tagged, I decided to post my answers to the questions. Here they are!

If a movie was being made of your life, who would you like to be cast to play yourself, and why?

I’d like Julie Walters. I just saw her in Mamma Mia and I think she’s great. She’d be good at playing crazy me.

You are spending a whole month on a desert island for charity, and you have to choose your favourite celebrity to spend the first two weeks with, and your least favourite celebrity to spend the second two weeks with. Who would they be, and why?

No problem choosing the first - Colin Firth. I don’t think I need to explain why. Just saw him in Mamma Mia too. As for the second - hmmmm, Keira Knightley I think for the one I would least want to spend time with. I don’t like her square jaw and she would drive me nuts.

What are your three favourite crafting products?
Yarn, knitting needles and notebooks.

If you could invent something, what do you think it would be?
A time machine so I could travel back in time and redo stuff I did badly the first time.

What are the last three books that you read?
The Crimson Petal and the White (a novel), Radical Manifestation, The pH Miracle

QVC, or Create and Craft?
Don’t understand this one - is it a British thing?

What is your claim to fame?
This blog, I suppose.

Twist Collective

Check this out - a new knitting magazine. The patterns are yummy though unfortunately not free. Click on the arrows on the right of the page and you can literally "leaf" through it.

The pH Miracle

Tai Chi Man has been reading lots about the health benefits of eating certain foods to alkalinise the body. Most of what we eat is acid-forming in the body which in turn creates weight problems, illness and disease. Take some of the things which form the standard diet - coffee, meat, dairy - and research shows that they are acid-forming.

We currently have two books from the library by Robert and Shelley Young - The pH Miracle and The pH Miracle for Weight Loss. Both are good, but I think I'd like to buy the second one - not only does it have a list of foods and their alkaline/acid effect on the body, but it has an excellent rebounding (small trampoline) workout and a lot of recipes.

This weekend, Tai Chi Man and I are undergoing a three day juice cleanse. We are drinking diluted green juice (that I make in my juicer with salad greens, parsley, celery and cucumber) and lots of water and Barlean's Greens powder. One of the staples of the alkalinising program is "green drink" which we call Nile Water! To a litre of water, I add a teaspoon of the green powder, the juice of half a lime and a few drops of hydrogen peroxide. I am drinking three litres of the Nile Water each day plus two litres of plain water, plus my fresh juice.

I'm glad that we're both doing this cleanse, because it helps to have support. Most of the time I feel fine, but I have noticed a little weakness in the muscles which is a sign of detoxifying.

After the three days, we will be eating only alkalinising foods for at least a month. For us, this won't be as hard as it would be for someone eating the usual omnivorous diet. Being vegan, we don't eat meat, fish and dairy, and we don't drink coffee or black tea. However sweet fruits have always been a favourite of mine, and those are out. Some nuts and grains are also out.

After a period of eating just alkalinising foods, we will be able to introduce some of the foods from the acidic side of the chart, but keeping them to a maximum of 20% of our diet. It is also recommended that at least half of what you eat is raw, which is fine with me.

I am hoping to see some great results - I already lost a couple of inches in the first day and would love to say goodbye to cellulite forever.

Free hat pattern

It turned out that I could have squeezed the hat and mitts out of one 100 gram skein. I weighed the finished articles today and they both came in just under 50 grams. However, that means I have enough left for another project, so I'm happy with that!

The pattern for the mitts is already in the sidebar, so here's the pattern for the hat.


James C Brett Marble (UK DK weight or light worsted) - one 100g skein
#5 or 3.75mm needles - either two circs (one of which should be less than 20 inches long) or one circ and one set of dpns
[if you have an interchangeable needle set, you can use two circs with the #5 points in your right hand and #4 points in your left - this will achieve the same gauge]
Gauge - 6 sts to 1 inch over stockinette (as you are working in the round, you will knit every stitch)

Cast on 120 sts.
Join, being careful not to twist your stitches, and knit for one inch in 2 x 2 rib (knit 2, purl 2).
Continue in stockinette (all knit) until your work measures 5 inches from the beginning.
Decrease for crown (it's a good idea to place a marker now for the beginning of the round, if you haven't already done so)
1st round K10 K2tog around
2nd round Knit
3rd round K9 K2tog around
4th round Knit
Continue like this, knitting one less stitch before the K2tog each time, and knitting every other round plain, until you have 20 stitches left (change to two circs or dpns when there aren't enough stitches to go around the single circ)
20th round K2tog around
21st round K2tog around
Cut your yarn with a 12 inch tail, thread it onto a yarn needle, run the tail through the remaining 5 stitches, tighten, take the needle through to the inside of the hat and fasten off.