Another Knitting Project

A couple of weeks ago Cheryl Beckerich put out an email asking for test knitters for a pattern she had designed.  Since it was a hat and the date was out almost a month, I thought I could get it completed in plenty of time.

It would seem like a very poor time to agree to do a test knit, but I did need to take breaks during all the unpacking, etc.  Today I was particularly in need of breaks and was able to finish the project.  It really looks pretty icky because of the yarn I chose.  I do think it will be beautiful when I knit it again in a plain yarn.

It is always fun to knit new patterns.  This hat is one that I will send to a charity in the Tualatin Valley Ward.  If I can find the address. I do hope to do so.

Knitting: Latticed Cable Hat--my own creation, sort of...

Recently we had some young women in our home.  One of them had a nice winter hat.  The other had ear muffs.  This was not enough protection for Vermont winters so I suggested knitting her a hat.  We had the Barbara Walker Learn to Knit Afghan blanket on our couch.  I asked if there was a pattern she liked.  She liked the yellow latticed cable block. I like that one, too.  She wanted it in blue.

When I was out the next day I did not find a good blue 100 percent wool yarn so I purchased some Lion Brand Wool-Ease yarn in a nice blue worsted weight.  I already had some US size 7 circular needles and I was certain I had double pointed needles, too.  (Well, I did, but one was gray plastic, and three were blue metal.  Since I am accustomed to knitting with five dpns I used the circular needle for the fifth needle. It worked, but was a little awkward...Pretty soon I am going to get some nice Brittany birch dpns in US size 7...before I knit another hat. I LOVE their needles!)

To turn a flat pattern into a knit-in-the-round was not something I had ever done so I had to do some hunting around the internet...at Ravelry for some sizing help and other places for the change-flat-to-round help.

Putting it all together I came up with this plan:

Cast on 88 stitches and knit 2, purl 2 for one inch. 3

Next round knit and increase 12 stitches to 100 stitches.

At that point work 2 pattern repeats (16 rounds plus 16 rounds) then begin the crown decreases.

Round 1: Knit round 1 of the Barbara Walker pattern again.
Round 2:  (P2together, K4, P2tog, P2), repeat around...80 stitches.
Round 3: Knit the knits and purl the purls
Round 4: P1, (FPC, BPS, P2tog), repeat around...70 stitches.  (this is an effort to continue the main hat pattern in the decreases...not as successful as I had hoped.)
Round 5: Knit the knits and purl the purls
Round 6: Knit the knits and purl the purls
Round 7. (K2tog, P2, K2tog, P1), repeat around
Round 8: Knit the knits and purl the purls
Round 9: Knit the knits and purl the purls
Round 10: (K1, P2tog, K1, P1), repeat around
Round 11: (K1, P1), around...40 stitches
Round 12: (K2tog, K1, P1), around...30 stitches
Round 13: (K2, P1), around
Round 14: (K2tog, P1), around...20 stitches
Round 15: K2tog around...10 stitches
Round 16: K2tog around...5 stitches

Fasten off and weave in ends.

FPC is a front purl cross
BPC is a back purl cross

If I make this again I will fiddle around with the decreases by working eight more rounds of the main hat to give a little more length to the hat....which will almost certainly change at lest the first few rounds of these decreases....

Knitting Today:Nine Dwindling Cables Hat...Done!

About a month ago I was sitting in the hallway at church with my knitting needles in hand waiting for my husband to be finished his work so we could go home.  A young sister asked me if I wouldn't like to knit her a hat.  Of course I would like to knit her a hat!!!  

SO...to make this project work, I suggested she go to the White River Yarns shop, look at all the beautiful hats that encircle the shop as samples, choose one, ask Karen if the one she wanted was within my capabilities, and, if so, get the yarn and pattern to me and I would make it.

Finally last week all the stars aligned and she got to the shop.  The stars REALLY aligned because our son, who lives just through the block from this young sister, was coming to our house that very night to stay over to be ready to help his father on a flooring project early in the morning. He was willing to bring the project  and she was able to get the pattern and yarn to son number three!  I love it when things go so right.

When I looked at the pattern (called Nine Dwindling Cables) I was not convinced that I could successfully complete the hat but decided that I would give it the old college try. 

That very night I began the band.  It was a bit tricky because on one row you knit through the back loop and on the next you purl through the back loop.  Well, looking at that like that, it does not seem like there would be any problem.  Who could not do those simple "through the back loops"?  Well, I could not keep track of which row I was on and which was supposed  to be through the back loop.

Since I hate to blame my ignorance or something like that for my inability to consistently knit, or purl, through the back loop, I will say that it was because I was coming down with a miserable cold.  This cold was so unpleasant that I did not knit.  I did not read.  I did not cook.  I did not even EAT!  For several days. (That last one is always a good thing....!)

Finally I picked up the needles again and went to town on the hat.  Here is is:

Nine Dwindling Cables Hat, completed.

This is the yarn that was used:

Kenzie Yarn from New Zealand

The pattern really was not hard to knit, though five-stitch crossovers meant you really did need a cable needle rather than knitting the cables without a cable needle....at least I needed a cable needle!  The cables were a bit different from cables I typically knit in that there was a five stitch knit lead in, or walk out (before or after the cable crossing in the row of the cross), which made them look a bit "off" to me at the beginning.

As the cables began to dwindle, they seemed a bit more "normal" to me.  The only glitch was that when I got to row 62, the prescribed number of stitches were not on the needle!  I do not know what happened, but it was not important enough to me to go back and see if there was a bit of pattern errata or if the error was mine. I am rather expecting the flaw was my own.

My flawed center...not as "sharp" as The Yarn Owl's version...

Having said that, the hat looks nice enough, though it probably would be better if I had blocked it strongly, but since I finished it last night and plan to deliver it today, there was not time enough for a good solid, though gentle, blocking.  If the project's conclusion does not work for the sister, I will take it back and work it some more.  Maybe I need more instruction on blocking wool projects...