I Hate February

I do asset-liability management. If you don't know what that means, don't bother looking it up; it's boring number-crunchy kind of stuff. All my assessments and reports and whatnot are due March 1, so I don't get to do much in February (or January, really, but especially February) besides work.

I have knit a total of 6 rows on Starlight since the last photo I posted. So much for my wear-it-on-Valentine's-Day goal.

I still haven't written up the pattern on the short-rows hat.

I designed two new stitch patterns, both involving ribbing and cables (although not reversible). The first one is small, with an 8 stitch and 12 row repeat:


I started a hat with this stitch pattern, but it became clear early on that it was way too big, so I frogged it. I'll try again, with fewer repeats, when I have time (hah!).

The second stitch pattern is huge: 32 stitches and 40 rows for one pattern repeat.
(click to make bigger and actually be able to SEE it)


I actually managed to make a successful hat with this second pattern! I used beige merino wool (Zara) on size 4 needles. I even managed to come up with crown decreases that blend in with the stitch pattern, which I should probably write down soon before I forget.

I'm debating whether or not to write up this pattern, since I'm not sure anyone other than me can use it. I've noticed one thing that happens almost all the time when other people knit my hat patterns - they leave out one or more row repeats before starting the decreases. Although my head is only slightly larger than average, it is apparently freakishly tall. This is confirmed by my mannequin. The circumference of the hat fits her perfectly (it's very stretchy and should fit just about anyone), but lengthwise it's pretty bad. Bad as in, it covers her ENTIRE FACE. However, you can't just leave off a row repeat if it's 40 rows. Even half a repeat (the decreases would still blend) is 20 rows. So I'm not sure if it can be adjusted for normal heads. It might be worth trying a heavy worsted yarn and leaving off one stitch repeat and one row repeat. Or using a thinner yarn, with a smaller needle, and adding a stitch repeat but leaving the row count alone. I'm not sure. Hopefully I'll get a chance to take some photos of the hat this week. If there's interest, I will write up the pattern exactly as it was knit, and feel free to experiment to get your size.

A Few FOs

Firstly, the short rows hat worked! I haven't written up the pattern yet - I have my scribbled notes, but I want to add one or maybe two more size options. But here's a sneak peek (sorry for the blurry):

It's easier to tell from the non-modeled photo how the crown is slanted toward the back of the head:


Next are two recipe cloches:



My new favorite closures for the recipe cloches are these rhinestone buckles I got at Les' Bon Ribbon.

The black one is for my cousin Megan. It's a 2x2 rib brim, and the main stitch pattern is "Chunky Rib Pattern" on p.170 of the Readers' Digest stitchionary. I did one and a half repeats of the pattern, ending on a 2x2 rib round. The crown decreases are 8 stitches decreased per round, in a spiral, in 2x2 rib. The yarn is Rowan Kid Classic, color Smoke. I used about one and a third skeins for both the hat and the band. The hat is 144 stitches cast on, using a size 3 needle. The band is 3 stitches cast on, then 1x1 rib, also with a size 3 needle.

The green one is for the fall collection. The ribbon looks a bit loose on the mannequin, because I sized it on myself. This one is three repeats of Barbara Walker's "Wickerwork" stitch pattern (from the Second Treasury), with a 2x2 rib brim and an 8-section spiral decrease in stockinette for the crown. The ribbon is 7/8" wide grosgrain. I cast on 96 stitches for this hat, and used a size 7 needle. The yarn is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran (I love this yarn, BTW), color #106 "Batik," just under 2 skeins.

Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading

Grief of a Girl's Heart

O Donal Oge, if you go across the sea,
Bring myself with you and do not forget it;
And you will have a sweetheart for fair days and market days,
And the daughter of the King of Greece beside you at night.
It was late last night the dog was speaking of you;
The snipe was speaking of you in her deep marsh.
It is you are the lonely bird through the woods;
And that you may be without a mate until you find me.
You promised me, and you said a lie to me,
That you would be before me where the sheep are flocked;
I gave a whistle and three hundred cries to you,
And I found nothing there but a bleating lamb.
You promised me a thing that was hard for you,
A ship of gold under a silver mast;
Twelve towns with a market in all of them
And a fine white court by the side of the sea.
You promised me a thing that is not possible
That you would give me gloves of the skin of a fish;
That you would give me shoes of the skin of a bird;
And a suit of the dearest silk in Ireland.
O Donal Oge, it is I would be better to you
Than a high, proud, spendthrift lady:
I would milk the cow; I would bring help to you;
And if you were hard pressed, I would strike a blow for you.
You have taken the east from me; you have taken the west from me,
You have taken what is before me and what is behind me;
You have taken the moon, you have taken the sun from me,
And my fear is great that you have taken God from me!

- Translation from the Irish (Anonymous) by Augusta Gregory