In Search of Lost Time: Short Rows

I wanted to talk a bit more about my short rows ideas (this was not clear from my Ideas post, but I have two separate ideas involving short rows). I’m finding it very interesting how some of my designs just work perfectly on the first try, as if by magic, and others make their way into the world over a period of years, leaving many failed attempts in their wake. I wonder, do other designers experience this also? Or are the "slow" designs just a result of my ideas being way ahead of my knitting ability?

In the first short rows idea, the short rows all occur over the same stitches, making the front of the hat significantly taller than the back. This results in a cloche shape, with the top of the crown toward the back of the head rather than centered on top of the head. In the second idea, the short rows occur "randomly" throughout. I say “randomly” because, although it appears random, it's actually arranged so that after a given number of short row segments have been completed, the same number of rows have been worked for each stitch in the round.

My first try was Idea 2, in Zara. It starts with a ribbed band, as did all my hats at the time. The short row sections are in stockinette, with one strand of burgundy held together with one strand of lilac. Between the short row sections, I knit a few rounds in reverse stockinette, with two strands of burgundy held together. This hat was not actually a total failure; it was just kind of mediocre. I probably would have posted about it, but I wasn’t blogging yet. It fits well (at the time, it was actually my best-fitting hat – I was having some serious size issues back then). The biggest problem with this hat is the colors. I used one MC + one CC (instead of 2 CC) for the reverse stockinette bands on purpose, because I thought it would obscure the little jog that occurs where you switch to reverse stockinette. It does obscure the jog, but the whole thing just looks kind of, um, muddy. And, I no longer care about jogs. You can’t really get around them in circular knitting, so I’ve learned to just accept them. Another, more minor problem is that I continued with the short row sections for too long, then did a final band of reverse stockinette, followed by some very fast decreases in stockinette. Due to the decrease speed, the last band of reverse stockinette puckers a bit.

Second try: Idea 2 again, in camel and grey Margrite Bulky. After a ribbed band, everything is in stockinette stitch. The short row sections are in the grey. The ribbed band, and the rounds between each short row section, are in the camel. Problem 1: There is not enough contrast between the two colors, so the camel bands do not stand out enough against the grey background. Problem 2: The hat is ginormous. Biggest problem: My short-rowing technique is awful, and you can see little puckers and/or holes where the wraps were picked up. I wonder why that didn’t happen with my first try. I’m assuming it has something to do with using two strands held together.

Third try: Idea 1, in grey Misti Alpaca Chunky. The entire hat is in garter stitch. Minor problem: I didn’t know yet about the alpaca issue, so although the hat fit perfectly right after I made it, it quickly became too big. (I did manage to wear it twice before it grew.) Major problem: Since garter stitch was used throughout, the short row sections don’t stand out AT ALL. It may as well be a plain old garter stitch hat. The good news is that my short rows don’t look bad in garter stitch.

Fourth try: Idea 1 again, in brown Ribbon Twist. I figured I’d get around the Major Problem by knitting the short row sections in garter, as before, then doing the crown decreases in stockinette. This idea may have worked, had I been a better knitter at the time. However, I grossly miscalculated the point at which the crown decreases should begin. Newbie that I was, I figured I could fix that by decreasing more slowly. Result? The hat comes to a very pointy point on top, and looks like a Hershey’s Kiss. (It certainly doesn’t help that it’s brown.)

Fifth try: Back to Idea 2. Cashmerino Aran. (Side note – you can tell how surprised I was by all these failures, by the quality of the yarn I was using. Nowadays, when I try out low-confidence ideas, I use cheap yarn!) I decided to use garter stitch for the whole hat, so I wouldn’t have short row issues. I decided to use black and white, so I wouldn’t have contrast issues. I did the short row sections in black, with a few rounds of white in between. This idea may also have worked, had I been a better knitter. When you knit garter stitch in the round, you have to knit one round then purl one round. You get a subtle “seam” at the end-of-round, where you switch between the two. If you don’t pull the first couple of stitches of each round tight, you can get some gapping at the “seam,” which is a Bad Thing. There are also some tension issues when you are switching colors with several rounds between switches, and carrying the yarn up rather than breaking it. These two things combined completely overwhelmed me, and my “seam” was Gap City. With Puckerville in the suburbs. Also, I didn’t really like the color jogs - they were very noticeable due to the high color contrast.

Sixth and current try: I’m back to Idea 1. I’m using a skein of Noro Kureyon that I had in my stash. I’m doing the short row sections in garter stitch, with a few rounds of stockinette in between. Due to the self-striping, the short rows would have been visible (albeit in a more subtle way) even without the stockinette breaks, but I like them anyway (and besides, I could make another one in a solid yarn and it would still work). I’ve been trying the hat on as I go, and it fits. The short rows look good. The stitch jog (aka the garter “seam”) is very subtle and does not bother me. Using one yarn means no color jogs and no gapping problems. Last night I believed I was headed directly for success and then BLAMMO! I ran out of yarn. But it’s Kureyon! So I can get more, without worrying about matching the dyelot (or even the colorway, for that matter – anything that has a significant amount of either black or grey in it should work)! I’ll be off to the LYS this afternoon. Of course I can’t say “success” until the hat is actually off the needles, given my history of crown decrease nightmares, but it’s looking pretty good. I think I’ll buy 2 skeins, so I can take a similar stab at Idea 2 when this hat is finished. Time Regained!

The Blob

Starlight, 5 loooooooooong rows after joining the sleeves to the body:


The blue yarn is holding the underarm stitches. I'm going to do three-needle bind off rather than grafting. Same goes for the shoulders. Since I'm going for more of a jacket-y look than a sweater-y look, I want that "seamed" look of 3NBO over the continuous look of Kitchener.

Side note: It's sunny today! No flash, so the color is true for once. All my other Starlight photos look bright red.

Kyoto

As I said before, I luuurve this hat.

I made up 2 extra sizes for the pattern, since size appears to be important - it fits me well, but is obviously too big for the mannequin. However, be warned that only the large size has been tested out.

The decreases may look slightly different for the smaller sizes, but should still look pretty much like this:


I definitely recommend wet blocking this hat; it was a bit puckery in places before the blocking. I didn't pin it out or anything, though - I soaked it in tepid water and Eucalan for about 10 minutes then put it on the mannequin head to dry.

Yarn
Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Aran (100% wool; 88m per 50g ball):
One skein color 281101 black (MC)
One skein color 281706 natural (CC)

I like this quality, but the black tweed has natural flecks and the natural tweed has black flecks. Sometimes, at first glance, this may make it look like you've made a mistake:

If that bothers you, I would consider a yarn substitution. I wonder if something like Cashsoft Aran would knit up to the same gauge.

Other Materials
Size 7, 47" Addi Turbo circular needle (as usual, I recommend Magic Loop)
Tapestry needle for weaving in ends
8 stitch markers; one different from the rest

Measurements
Gauge: 17.5 stitches and 22.5 rows to 4", after washing and blocking.
Circumference: 18"[20", 22"] for sizes S[M,L], unstretched.

Abbreviations
CDD (centered double decrease): Slip 2 stitches together as if to knit, k1, pass the 2 slipped stitches over
K1CC, for example, means knit 1 stitch with CC. Similar meanings for K1MC, P1CC, P1MC, P2MC, P3MC, and CDDCC.

Kyoto Rib
Worked in the round over a multiple of 4 stitches.
Make sure that both yarns are held to the BACK when changing colors.
Rounds 1-3: *K1CC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Round 4: *K1CC, P1MC, K1MC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Rounds 5-7: *K1CC, P3MC, repeat from * around.
Round 8: *K1CC, P1MC, P1CC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Rounds 9-11: Same as rounds 1-3.
Round 12: *K1MC, P1MC, K1CC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Rounds 13-15: *P2MC, K1CC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Round 16: *P1CC, P1MC, K1CC, P1MC, repeat from * around.
Repeat rounds 1-16 for pattern.

Hat
With MC, cast on 80[88,96] stitches (I used the alternate cable cast-on). Work a setup row: K1CC, P1MC across. Join into a round, being careful not to twist. Use the distinct stitch marker to mark the end of the round. Work in Kyoto Rib until hat measures 5.5"[5.5",6"] tall (or desired length - the 6" length just covers my ears). Be sure to end on either Round 8 or Round 16 of the pattern.

Work marker round, following Round 1 of the stitch pattern: *Work 11[11,13] stiches, place marker, work 9[11,11] stitches, place marker, repeat from * around (omit the last "place marker," since the end of round marker will already be there).

Begin crown decreases:
"Work stitch in pattern" means that if the next stitch is a CC knit stitch, then K1CC. If the next stitch is a MC purl stitch, then P1MC. Half the time on the row after a CDDCC, you will need to K3CC. (The other half, will be P1MC, K1CC, P1MC.)

Size L only: *Work 5 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 5 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 11 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 88 stitches remain.

Sizes M and L only: *Work 11 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 4 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 4 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 80 stitches remain.

All sizes continue here:
*Work 4 stitches in pattern, CDCC, work 4 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 9 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 72 stitches remain.
*Work 9 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 3 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 3 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 64 stitches remain.
*Work 3 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 3 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 7 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 56 stitches remain.
*Work 7 stitches in pattern, slip marker, Work 2 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 2 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 48 stitches remain.
*Work 2 stitches in pattern, CDDCC, work 2 stitches in pattern, slip marker, work 5 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 40 stitches remain.
*Work 5 stitches in pattern, slip marker, Work 1 stitch in pattern, CDDCC, work 1 stitch in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 32 stitches remain.
*Work 1 stitch in pattern, CDDCC, work 1 stitch in pattern, slip marker, work 3 stitches in pattern, slip marker, repeat from * around - 24 stitches remain.

From here on, all stitches will be in CC only.

*K3, slip marker, CDD, slip marker, repeat from * around - 16 stitches remain.
*CDD, slip marker, K1, slip marker, repeat from * around - 8 stitches remain.

Cut CC yarn, leaving a tail. Thread the tail through remaining stitches and pull tight to close. Cut MC yarn also. Weave in ends.

I will end with a bonus innards shot:

Ideas

It always feels like I have way more hat ideas than I have time to try them out. Trying out an idea is a big investment for me, because

a) they often don't work out (I have many, many hats that I've finished but never posted about, because I consider them unsuccessful), and even though I do gain information from a failed idea, it's still a lot of time and yarn spent on pretty much nothing, and

b) I have very limited knitting time, and - particularly this year - things that I need (OK, want very badly) to get finished. Like my hat collection.

However, when I get an idea it tends to plague me mercilessly until I try it out. I am currently being plagued by a host of ideas, so I thought I'd temporarily appease the Furies by posting about them, since I can't knit them anytime soon.

1. Felting/fulling. I have a two-color Fair Isle stitch pattern I made up that looks like zebra print. I would love to try a felted cloche using this stitch pattern. Unfortunately, this is the last thing I would ever try, since it would be my first felting attempt and pretty much a certain disaster.

2. Earflaps. This idea is not plaguing me too badly, so I'll probably leave it alone for a while.

3. SHORT ROWS. This baby has had its claws in my back ever since I bought Loop-d-loop and saw that short row Fair Isle pullover. I already have several unsuccessful experiments under my belt, so I have pretty low confidence with this idea. However, the plague factor is extremely high, so I will try again. This is one that I probably won't let go until I make it work. Especially since most of the problems seem to come from my crappy technique rather than my actual ideas. Eventually I'll be a good enough knitter for this idea!

4. "Freeform" hat made out of a bunch of knitted flowers made separately and then sewn together. Low confidence factor + low plague factor = not anytime soon.

5. High-confidence idea: More Recipe Cloches! There are stitch patterns I know will work (Wavelet, certain ribbing variations, etc.) - some of these are already in progress and some are on my short list. There are some other stitch patterns where I'm not quite sure how to do the decreases and/or the eyelet round (knot-type stitches, or this one stitch pattern I've got a hankering to try where you just cast on an odd number of stitches and keep doing right twists until the thing is done). Those are of course lower-confidence and will have to wait. (I've actually got a few failed twisty-all-over hats. I've tried some different things for the decreases and they all look terrible.)

6. Colorwork. This is pretty low-confidence in general, although the plague factor is pretty high so we'll see. I've never attempted intarsia or mosaic knitting, and my few attempts at Fair Isle have had very wonky tension. However, the Kyoto hat came out really well, so I just might try some of the very simplest FI patterns, where you change color pretty much every stitch like in Kyoto - the tension doesn't suffer as much when the floats are short. In particular, I have one idea for a hat that is entirely 2x2 corrugated ribbing. Two colors per round, but there are color changes throughout, so six colors for the whole hat. I've already ordered the Spindrift - when I receive it I'll probably cast on right away.

7. I-cord hat. This one requires two colors of the same yarn, and a head form (I've got my Styrofoam mannequin). With MC, knit a super-long I-cord. Pin it onto the head form, starting at the top of the crown, into a big spirally hat shape. With CC, slip stitch crochet the thing together, removing the pins as you go. Medium confidence, medium plague factor - maybe I'll get to this one after some recipe cloches and the corrugated ribbing hat.

8. The Frankenhat. High confidence, but low plague factor. I should do this one, though, because I think it will look cool. It's basically a plain stockinette hat, but in random places a random number of stitches would be bound off and then re-cast on the following round, creating what amount to large, various-sized buttonholes all over the hat. These "buttonholes" would then be stitched shut on the right side in a contrasting color, using a very noticeable stitch, kind of like Frankenstein scars.

9. My last idea is the Turban. I've got a neckwarmer I made out of Classic Elite Montera. It's 48 stitches, and three repeats of a giant ribbed cable. (Every row is 2x2 rib, and every 23rd row the center 40 stitches are cabled.) I used a provisional cast-on, and grafted the two ends together to make the neckwarmer. I never posted about it (or wear it) because my grafting was really, really bad. However, it fits very nicely on my head and (except for the fact that it has no top) it looks just like one of those early 20th century turban-style hats. Now that I've got that finishing class under my belt and can graft properly, I'm thinking I could make another one in Manos, then pick up stitches for the crown to make a proper hat.

Kyoto is finished!

The black and natural Donegal Tweed hat from the previous post has been finished (including a wet block) and I luuuurve it! Photos have been taken; they and the pattern will be posted this weekend (also, somewhat longish post on ideas is coming tomorrow).

Unfortunately, I had to take the Kyoto pics on the mannequin (for whom the hat is a bit too big), since I couldn't get a decent shot of myself. I look like crap lately due to work stress and lack of sleepage. My husband recently decided to take up snoring as if it were some kind of freakin' competitive sport or something. Maybe I should try smile therapy.

Weekend Update

1. Starlight
Body and sleeves are ready to be joined! Progress photo of the giant blob coming next weekend.

2. Heatherly's hat
After browsing through her blog, I decided to go with the colorful hat rather than the neutral one. And, it's finished! It will go in the mail on Monday. I've taken photos, but I won't post them until after she receives it.

3. WIP's
Here's an in-progress shot of the super-girly hat I posted about a while ago:

The burgundy stuff is waste yarn; I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the brim edge yet. Also, the color in this photo is completely untrue; it's really more of an emerald green.

And, after finishing Heatherly's hat, I couldn't resist casting on for the rejected idea:

The stitch pattern is my own invention, a hybrid of Corrugated Ribbing (this has been lodged in my brain ever since Anemoi Mitten Fever took over the blogworld) and a diminished (to steal a term from music theory) version of the Chunky Rib Pattern on p.170 of the Readers' Digest stitchionary.

ETA: The yarn is Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Aran. I find it very similar to Rowan's Yorkshire Tweed Aran, although it is very slightly thinner and has a bit more in the way of tweedy flecks. I like the way the black has natural flecks and the natural has black flecks, making the pattern look slightly imperfect.

Nathalie Convertible Hat

Worn as a beret:


And as a hat:

Yarn: Muench Naturwolle, 2 skeins. I can't remember the name of the colorway, and I lost the ball bands.

Needles: Size 9 and 10 47" Addi Turbos.

Pattern:
With #9, CO 60 stitches using the alternate cable cast-on. Join into a round and work in k1, p1 ribbing for 3.5". Switch to larger needle and work one more round of ribbing. Work increase round: Kfb into each P stitch - 90 sts total. Work k2, p1 rib for 3 rounds. Increase again: Kfb into each of the second knit stitches - 120 stitches. Work in k2, p2 rib for 3-3.5". Decrease: (K2, p2, k2, p2tog) around - 105 sts total. Work in patt for 3 rounds. Decrease again - (K2, p2tog, k2, p1) around - 90 sts total. Work in patt for 3 rounds. Decrease: (K2, p1, k2tog, p1) around - 75 sts. Work in patt for 3 rounds. Decrease: (K2tog, p1, k1, p1) around - 60 sts. Work in k1, p1 rib for 3 rounds. Commence final decreases: Divide sts into 6 groups of 10. SSK the first two stitches of each group together and work the rest of the stitches in patt; do this until 12 sts remain. Cut yarn, leaving a tail, and weave the tail through the remaining stitches. Pull tight to close. Weave in ends.

Comments: I have kind of a big head (22.5" around). As a hat with the turned-up brim, the fit is perfect. As a beret it's just a little bit looser than I would have liked. If I made another one for myself, I would CO 4 fewer stitches. If you have a smaller head than I do, I would definitely recommend reducing the initial stitch count by two or three multiples of 4 stitches.

Heatherly's Hat

After much deliberation, I have two ideas, and I can't seem to choose between them. One is a very simple stitch pattern, with the interest coming partly from the shaping and mostly from the yarn (colorful and variegated). The other is a more complicated stitch pattern (both colorwork and texture going on), in two contrasting neutral shades.

1. Do you have a preference? I can give more details if you want; I wasn't sure how much of a surprise you want it to be.

2. Do you want to be completely surprised, or do you want to see WIP photos?

Contest Results!

I guess lurkers mostly just want to stay lurkers! Well, I did get two entries. Both sets of answers were the same (mostly correct), so the winner is the author of the first comment and that's Heatherly! Let me know what kind of hat you're interested in!

The correct answers are:
0 = number of nieces/nephews I have. I do have a brother, and he is married, but they don't have kids yet.
2 = number of times I've been to Europe. I went all over Ireland on vacation once, and once to London on business.
3 = number of my father's sisters who are named Maria.
5 = number of times I've had pneumonia. Once for every winter I spent living in Canada.
12 = age difference between V. and me.
15 = number of years I've been working full time at my current job. I've actually been working there 17 years, including 2 years part time while I was still in school, but that conflicted with the next answer.
17 = number of first cousins I have.
24 = number of years I've been living pneumonia-free in New York.
31 = number of lipsticks I own.

Mini-Update

Starlight has become my weekend-only project, as it isn't portable and I get pretty much no chance to knit at home during the week. But I'm still working on it! The body pieces have about 2" more to go before I join the sleeves.

In the meantime, there are hats. Just knitting during my commute and for part of my lunch hour, I can complete a hat in two to five days (depending on gauge and amount of cabling).

Recently completed: Pemaquid hat

In progress: A convertible hat (that wants to be called Nathalie), which can be worn as a hat or as a beret. In black and white variegated Muench Naturwolle, on a #10. I can't find this color any more, and I can barely even find the yarn, but it's a thick-and-thin single ply, so I'm thinking Manos will be an excellent substitute if I want to make more of these.

In the wings:
Three recipe cloches.
1. Super-girly cable-and-lace stitch pattern ("Tilting Ladders" for all you Barbara Walker fans) in green Laines du Nord Cashsilk (color 08). I don't know what's up with the recommended needle size being 8 or 9 for this yarn. It's pretty clearly a DK-weight, and I'm going to swatch on sizes #4 and #5 to figure out which is best. The brim will be 1x1 rib, and I'll probably finish this one with a fancy ribbon for extra girliness.

2. Extra-chunky, cloche version of the Wavelet. In dark grey Misti Alpaca Chunky, on a #11. Brim in 2x2 rib. Finished with a ribbed button band, just like the Moss Cloche.

3. Twisted-stitch pattern (BW's "Wickerwork") in Rowan's Scottish Tweed DK held together with a strand of Kidsilk Haze, on a #7. Brim in 2x2 rib, ribbed button band.

"Get Out the Lurkers" Contest!

I recently installed a hit counter on this blog, and I was absolutely stunned to see that I get around 100 hits per day, on average. Stunned, because I've never had more than 5 comments on any post, and I've only got 11 subscribers on Bloglines (and that's including myself).

So, I've decided to have a contest in order to see who's lurking around here. The prize will be a hat, newly knitted by me, just for you. It can be any of the hat patterns I've already posted here, or a cloche-recipe cloche. For a recipe cloche, please specify:
1. Desired stitch pattern (pretty much anything will work).
2. Desired gauge range (sport/DK, light worsted, worsted/aran, or bulky)
3. Some indication of the kind of yarn you had in mind (eg, "tweedy" or "no mohair" or "self-striping" or "something with alpaca" or something like that. We can come to a final choice on a specific yarn by e-mail.)
If you don't wish to specify, of course you can just say, "Surprise me!"

I can't guarantee when the hat will be finished, but I can promise to have a WIP-update post at least once a week, doing my best to include a photo (unless you are being surprised and don't want to see any photos).

How to enter:
Match the numbers a-i on the left to the items A-I on the right. Leave a comment by 11:59 PM on Sunday, January 14th to enter; you may enter as many times as you like. First correct entry wins. If no entries are correct, the first entry with the most correct matches wins.

a. 0 ******** A. Number of my father's sisters whose first name is Maria
b. 2 ******** B. Number of nieces and nephews I have
c. 3 ******** C. Age difference (rounded, in years) between my husband and me
d. 5 ******** D. Number of first cousins I have
e. 12 ******** E. Number of years I've lived in New York
f. 15 ******** F. Number of times I've been to Europe
g. 17 ******** G. Number of years (rounded) I've been working full-time at my current job
h. 24 ******** H. Number of lipsticks I own
i. 31 ******** I. Number of times I've had pneumonia

Some hints:
A. It's not zero. They have different middle names.
C. I think the answer to this is floating around somewhere in this blog.
E. More than half my life.
G. Less than half my life, but not by much.
H. You'd be surprised.

Good luck everyone!

... And, First FO of 2007

The Pemaquid hat:
(Color is truest in the closeup photo.)




(Like my new hat model?)

I used 2 skeins of Pemaquid from The Fibre Company, purchased at Webs. Man, I love this yarn. It has the sproinginess and non-itchiness of merino, but it feels even butterier. It's expensive, but for something small like a hat, it is totally worth it.

Needles: Sizes 9 and 10 47" Addi Turbo circulars. I highly recommend Magic Loop for hats in general, but especially for this one, because the decreases are very fast, and it's important to get your hat the right length.

Pattern
With #9 needle, CO 60 stitches. (This fits my 22.5" head, although it also appears to fit my mannequin, who has only a 20.75" head. The moss stitch cloche, by comparison, hangs over her nose. If you still want to adjust, add or subtract a multiple of 4 stitches, and the basic pattern will be the same). Join into a round, and work k2, p2 rib for about an inch. Switch to #10 needle.

Work increase round: (K2, p1, M1, p1) around - 75 stitches (or 5/4 of your CO amount).

Work in Furrow Rib (see below) until hat is the right length, ending on Round 2 of the pattern. What is the right length? Try it on. Placing the bottom where you want it to go (I like my hats to cover my ears, but some people prefer half coverage or even a beanie shape where the ears are not covered at all), the top should come about an inch short of meeting at the top of your head. For me, the right length was just under 8 inches.

Work Decrease rounds:
Round 1: (K2, slip 2 together as if to knit, k1, p2sso) around - 45 stitches total (or 3/4 of your CO amount)
Round 2: K all stitches. When you get to the marker, remove it, k one more stitch, and replace it.
Round 3: (Slip 2 together as if to knit, k1, p2sso) around - 15 stitches (or 1/4 of your CO amount)
Round 4: K all stitches.

Cut yarn, leaving a tail. Thread tail through remaining stitches and pull tight. Weave in ends.

Furrow Rib
Worked in the round over a multiple of 5 stitches.
Slip all stitches purlwise with yarn in back.
Round 1: (Sl 2, k3) around
Round 2: (K2, p3) around
Repear rounds 1 and 2 for pattern.

Last FO of 2006

Here she is, the Moss Cloche:



(Color is truest in the one where you can see the camera.)

This was a Cloche Recipe cloche. I used two skeins of Rowan Big Wool in color Cassis (#24, I think), and 47", size 11 Addi Turbo circular needle. (Side note: I always use Magic Loop for hats, so I can try them on as I go.) I cast on 60 stitches to begin with, and followed the Recipe. For the decreases, I divided the stitches into 5 groups of 12 and SSK'ed the first two stitches of each group on every round. The band is 5 stitches in K1, P1 rib with a chain stitch selvedge (exactly the same as for Glaistig, but without the bobble).

I'm going to have to make another one of these for the store. I can't in good conscience use this one because I have literally been wearing it EVERY DAY. I'm kind of over the spiral decrease thing (it's been a while since I leafed through Knitting Nature), so for version 2 I'll be using the centered double decrease - sl 2 tog as if to k, k1, p2sso - instead. Well, probably. I want to swatch(!) for that first. I like that decrease for stockinette, but I haven't tried it yet for moss.

Large Project for 2007

I think I'm going to make this coat from Cottage Craft.

Random Thoughts

Firstly, Happy New Year, everyone!

Since I'm back at work this week, I'm a-cheatin' on Starlight. It's too big to lug around (back/fronts now about 2/3 of the way to the armhole shaping), so I've ripped back my Pemaquid hat to before the decreases and plan on finishing that up in the next couple of days. Hopefully before Friday, because that's the only day I really get to make proper posts with photos (The TyrantWibbles does NOT like me using the computer and posts w/photos take forever).

I will also post pics Friday of my final FO of 2006 (another hat, of course). I finished the knitting on this one back in August, but I didn't have the right button. I've been wearing it anyway, using one of the buttons I originally bought for the as-yet-unstarted Asymmetrical Cardigan. I bought a button for this hat a couple of months ago, but had been too lazy to sew it on until last Saturday.

The last picture I'll post Friday is of my sassy new face. I suppose that needs some explanation. This year, rather than making a bunch of resolutions that don't last past January, I decided to make only one resolution. My resolution for 2007 is to at least pretend that I give a crap what I look like. I mean, I dress okay (although this is more because I like clothes than because I care what I look like), I shower, I tweeze my eyebrows, and shave what needs shaving and all. BUT... I only cut my hair about once every 5-6 months (the time it takes for a chin-length bob to grow to my shoulders), and I wear virtually no makeup (pretty much just concealer and lip balm). So here I am, in my new chin-length layered bob, which I will maintain properly, and two(!) shades of eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara, lipstick, tinted moisturizer and powder. No blush. I draw the line at blush!