The hat pattern calls for size 6 needles for a size medium – adult hat. The gauge is 6sts/inch
I’m a very tight knitter, so I thought, I’ll use size 5’s and that will be like a normal person using size 4’s, right?
WRONG.

• turns out all this talking about doing a swatch and measuring is NOT a joke. who knew?
• turns out the person that wrote this pattern makes me look loosey goosey!
• turns out I’m going to have to decide if I want to cut my losses and frog the green hat and start again on SERIOUSLY smaller needles OR finish the green hat and start a yellow one for le baby on the aforementioned smaller needles….the green one could find a home on the head of a big headed toddler or an average headed child or small headed teenager (something with a 19-20 inch head, anyway). :)

So, after getting about an inch into a hat that was starting to look quite a bit more like an adult medium than a baby hat, I measure….um, that’s not good!
I did a little gauging of my own and some math.
size 5 needles 2.5 inches = 12 sts
size 3 needles 2 inches = 12 sts
size 2 needles 1.75 inches = 12 sts? –> yes, I will be doing a gauge tomorrow to confirm before I begin the hat for real. :)
100 sts = 14.6 inches!

At least I’m no longer the most (up)tight knitter I know AND it is a good thing I started early! :)

To whom it may concern: I rather enjoyed Clash of the Titans. :)

(4/4/2010 10:48 pm)

My new sock book just came in: Socks Socks Socks edited by Elaine Rowley.
http://www.amazon.com/Socks-Winning-Patterns-Knitters-Magazine/dp/0964639157/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270267932&sr=1-1
I’m really looking forward to trying some of the patterns in this book, but the socks on the front of the book were just ugly. I was having a lot of trouble figuring out why they were on the front of the book, but I skimmed through the book and managed to ignore the pattern for them completely. Life was happy.

Enter Lisa. I show her my new book and she’s intrigued by the odd socks, so she flips to the pattern. She’s so taken with it that she has to point it out to me. And that ladies and gentleman, is when things took a nasty turn. I’m a SUCKER for a challenge and this pattern looked complicated beyond reason. It was like paint by numbers with a quantum physics spin. Then I noticed that it is marked Adventurous. It is the only pattern in the book marked with this designation. I have to try it. I want to be an adventurous knitter! :)
Lisa laughs when I chastise her for pointing out the pattern and all its tempting complexity to me. She knows I can’t resist a challenge. Insert choice words here.

I may cheat. The pattern calls for 7 different colors (of white and brown – ick), but I think I’m just going to use self striping yarn. The thought of weaving in all those ends makes me a bit ill. I already have a plan for the color I want to use (tree fort)
http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Stroll_Hand_Painted_Sock_Yarn__D5420193.html
Now, since my New Year’s Resolution calls for no new in state yarn purchases until 7/1, this project is going to have to simmer for awhile.
I don’t know if it will ever materialize, but it is fun to dream. :)

The good news is that there are 19 projects for these socks on ravelry – that’s 18 more than there were for the Entrelac hat that I beat into submission. :)
The bad news is that I’m supposed to have good finishing skills (seaming and picking up stitches). – I’m halfway there! :)

In 2011, I think I’ll try walking while knitting. :)

(4/2/2010 11:32 pm)

What is a WoW Blanket, one might ask.

Once upon a time, in a land pretty seriously close to here, TH lived with a yarn addict. This yarn addict started out knitting and was too slow, so she took up crocheting and then learned a different technique and started knitting again. She knitted and hooked (crocheted) lots of baby blankets (and a lapghan). TH wondered if she would ever knit or crochet for him. So, she measured and started the HUGE navy single crocheted blanket that would probably have a foot pocket.
Then, the hooker got so bored with single crocheting navy yarn that she could not take it any more.
So, she abandoned the 1/3 of the way done navy blanket and shoved it in a tower of the castle. At this point, she got inspired by her husbands World of Warcraft addiction (they are a perfect pair) and decided to crochet him a lovely blue/gold Alliance lion blanket. So, she began. She got 10% done and realized that to line up stitches exactly right, you must work it all from the front. This was not going to happen. So, a wise knitting lady in waiting said, why don’t you knit the dragon?
So, she began THE WOW BLANKET. It will be 516 rows (plus or minus 16 rows depending on standard deviation). It may have a foot pocket. It has TH’s WoW character name and the Alliance lion fair isled on it and will be edged in gold chevron ripples (points). It is about 47% done right now.

The princess is saving the closing ceremony of the Olympics on her tivo to watch when she’s finishing the blanket and there may or may not be a celebratory party (perhaps even a party of just two :) ) when it is finally slayed (slain?).

~The End~

(3/22/2010 9:31 pm)