I Go To Extremes

Rolled Brim Hat - Part 2 (Different Yarn, Different Size)




The first attempt at the rolled brim hat resulted in The Hat That Ate Malmo. A giant hat that bore absolutely no resemblance to the original pattern. I blame it on the fact that I used the wrong yarn. So for the second attempt I was going to be smarter. I used the correct type of yarn. And just to hedge my bets, I made the 'small' size. Well, small it is! A little too small. For me, that is. It fits my daughter perfectly!




Stay tuned for Rolled Brim Hat Part 3 - Same Yarn, Different Size.

My Mom, the Knitting Machine

My Mom came to visit. She was here for two weeks and it was WONDERFUL. I miss my Mom. She used to knit when she was younger, but hadn't knit in over 30 years. But since I have recently 'discovered' knitting, she's decided to take it up again. Only, she had forgotten how to cast on. So while she was here I taught her how to cast on. (No easy task - my Mom is left handed and I am not.) But cast on she did. And she knit herself a scarf. Then she knit herself a hat. Then she decided to start knitting baby hats. And knit baby hats she did - 11 of them! (In like, a week.) She is going to talk her Red Hat Ladies into knitting baby hats to give to the hospital. She is a kniting machine. She is unstoppable. She is my Mom, and I miss her.

What Is It With Me and Big Hats?

I finished knitting the hat for my sister. I started by knitting for guage. I made guage, so I started knitting the hat. All seemed to be going well. Then I ran out of yarn, so I went back to the yarn shop and bought another ball. Certainly one extra ball would be enough to finish the hat. It wasn't. I had to go back for yet another ball. I started to suspect that something was wrong. I finished the hat and tried it on and sure enough - another giant hat. This one isn't as big as the hat that ate Malmo, but it's definitely related. Hmmmm, maybe her husband can wear it. Then I can make her another (smaller) one and they can have matching hats! Of course, that must have been my plan all along. I just hadn't realized it.

So Many Mittens, So Few Mates

I was so excited about how well my first mitten turned out that I wanted to make a pair for my daughter. So I set about making a mitten the size that I thought she would wear. It was almost too small, so I made a mitten the next size up. That one was just a little big. At this point I realized that I had three different sized mittens, and they didn't have mates. I thought it would be wise to knit the mates for them before I forgot what size they were and/or ran out of yarn. I started with the smallest mitten. it turned out 'okay' but the thumb seemed a bit big. This didn't stop me from knitting a mate for the next size up. But when I'd finished that one, there was a noticable size difference. Looking through my knitting bag I discovered that somewhere along the way I must have switched needle sizes, because I had three sets of dpns, when I should have only had two (one size for the cuff and a slightly larger size for the hand/thumb part.) Hmmmmmmm - what to do? Instead of ripping out the two mates and/or knitting for guage again, I made a wild guess as to which two size needles I needed, removed the other set of needles and proceeded to knit the last mate. I guessed wrong. And it is very, very obvious. Not just in appearance, but in how it fits. Well, um, it doesn't fit. Too small. The good news is, now I know what size needles to knit it on. A friend suggested that I rip out the last mate and start over, with the correct sized needles. My Mom said 'Well, you can make the odd sizes into Christmas ornaments.' I like that idea better - less work. Just have to attach a string to make it a Christmas ornament. And the best part is - now I have three ornaments to give as gifts! And here I thought I was just knitting mittens...

One Mitten

My husband went on a business trip recently. The first trip he's gone on since we moved to Sweden, so the first trip he's been on in over three months. I decided I needed a project to work on while he was gone. So I started a mitten. I've been wanting to make mittens for a while now. And I found some yarn that I thought would make a nice thick mitten. It was much easier to knit than I thought it would be. Wasn't difficult at all. And it only took me two days (well, two nights after I got the kids to bed.) Now I just need to make it's mate...