Knitting Olympics!

Dear Jenn,

Is it silly that I look forward to this? I mean, what's keeping me from doing this kind of thing any time? I could always just give myself 17 days to do a big thing or learn a new skill. Maybe it's just because I know there are other people out there doing it. It makes the knitting a less solitary thing. A lot like going to knit night.
I did make it out this week. I even ordered hot chocolate, but didn't get to drink it because I forgot that places make it with real milk and stuff, and I haven't had real milk to drink in over a year.
But anyway... The olympics! They start tonight. I did my swatching today.

It's 11sts to the inch instead of the 9 the pattern wants. But the pattern is written for medium sized hands. My hands are small sized hands and mittens are generally too big for me. And this is just stripes when only the palm part is striped, so that means that they should be just a tad bit bigger, right? At this gauge the hand part would be 6.5 inches, and my hand at its widest is 7 inches. Are mittens like hats? Do we want a little negative ease? Tell me that we do, and then I won't have to get properly dressed so I can go to the store...

Happy birthday to me!

Dear Jenn,
I got the best package in the mail. Not only did it have some really swank yarn, it had a great laugh in it as well.

I'm still giggling over it.
Now.... What do I make with this deliciousness?

Thank you!

Big Hat, Tiny Head

Okay, we both know that I have trouble with hats. Sizing them properly, that is. I seem to be able to manage just fine when the hat is for someone else. But when I try to knit a hat for myself... I must think my head is enormous! But my knitting really proves - I do NOT have a big head.

I had decided to 'retire' my kitty hat. I picked out a pattern that I liked, "Stella's Hat." Found some yarn that I liked - one strand of blue alpaca held together with a deep purple silk tweed (52% silk/48% lambswool) and set to work.

I knit and knit and knit and knit and knit and knit some more. This hat was taking forever to knit. A more competent knitter would have been alerted by the length of time it was taking to knit a simple hat for a relatively small head. I was not. Just kept knitting.

And then finally it was done! I was so excited. I finished it the Sunday before last and wore it the very next day. It was very warm. I liked the colors. It wasn't very snug, though, as a good winter hat should be. Again, a more competent knitter would have wondered WHY it wasn't very snug, they might have even been concerned. I was not. I wore it anyway. It was warm. It was pretty.

A week went by, I wore my hat every day, several times a day (it's very cold over here at the moment.) One day I realized that I kept having to push my hat up while I was driving so that I could see the road. "Hmmmmmmmmmmmm," I thought. When I got home I looked at myself in the mirror. I put the hat on. I turned my head this way and that. I pulled the hat up so that I could see better. It was about that time that I thought to myself "This hat is waaaaaaay too big!"

I was depressed. I really liked the hat. It was fun to knit. It had pretty yarn. It was warm. I started thinking about my options.... Did I know anyone with a ridiculously large head that needed a new winter hat? Dare I try felting it? I did not want to felt the hat - it would loose the pretty swirl on the top, it would probably end up too short. What to do? What to do? I pondered all weekend.

This morning I woke up and I KNEW. I knew exactly what to do. I got out a needle and cut a length of the leftover purple silk tweed. And I "took in" my hat. I love it even more. I like how it sort of "pooches" in the back.

After reviewing this picture I decided that it would be impossible for me to take a decent picture of myself wearing the hat. Perhaps I'll get Dave to take a picture of me wearing it tomorrow morning.

So I used an upturned bucket as a hat holder. You can see a little better the shape of the hat. But the color is soooo off.

The pretty swirl on the top, and MUCH truer colors.

The back, where I made the tuck. (My apologies for the blurry picture.)

Another view of "the tuck." And again, much truer colors.

And just how much did I have to take the hat in? Oh, about 3 inches.