December 08, 2004
I am in L-O-V-E
Sitting in the tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G.
I am in love, and with an inanimate object. Nope not ashamed to admit it either. And I am here to attest that any man I marry is going to have to accept second seat. To Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran and my new hat.
I Love, LOVE, LOAVE my cabled hat with all my beating heart. I heart the cabled hat. And is it thus with great pride that I give you my blogs FIRST FO. Believe it or not for all my prattle, stop and go projects, or dreams- I have not finished a single thing but this hat since I started this blog. So here is the story of my recent brief but lifetime love affair (photos WILL be posted tomorrow to this entry, along with some links I don't have the immediate time to track down)
I have had it in my head for a long time to make myself a cabled hat. Nothing fancy like Shedir (p.3)- that is for a later date. I have also wanted to make a hat out of the cashmerino aran my mother bought me three years ago as an "I am sorry" gift. Her rat on acid (Chinese Crested "dog") pulled out my Brittany DPNs from the sock I was making her and used them as her toothpick. Mimi shredded them like an old man whittles the day on the porch away.
First though to get the confessional out of the way (catholic guilt- it never leaves you) I am rilly rilly bad! While in DC on my Spend but Scrape mission I went to the BOOKSTORE. Ahhh how I love me a good bookstore with reasonable prices... Enough reminiscing, anyways, I saw and liked the SnB Nation, but not enough to trade Reasing Lolita in Tehran or John Adams for it. Sorry but I haven't seen the light of a non-research related book for MONTHS!! But (cause there always is one!) SnB Nation had a pattern for a simple cable hat in it. BUGGER. Can anyone see into the glass ball?? Yes you are a psychic- I knew I had to make it, so I broke the law and ethics and I copied the pattern. In my defence I do intend to buy the book soon.
Ok now that that's out of the way and having convinced everyone I am the copyright antichrist... it is time to continue. So this week when I found myself spending inordinate amounts of time on the Metro, I thought... Self that collar is MOCKING YOU. I think it is time that you teach that collar a lesson, show it how much of an infidel you really are! Find yourself another portable knitting project. That is right take control you control freak and show that knitting who is the boss! And since it is well documented in your life that ALL converges AT ONCE... and you have that whole trip up to the Land of Cold coming up this week. A warm wool hat sounds like a smart idea. Take charge- they don't happen often round here. As you will soon see though, smart idea has nothing to do with smart execution of said idea or of me being smart. Remember THAT adjective does not exist here. Nope no residence Chez Tink for smart.
Enter simple cable hat. Now I need to admit that I have fudged with this pattern a bit. Hence the not smart- since I don't know how the hell to really fudge in a "this is the right way to fudge" kind of way. Hence the NOT smart part coming up. I changed the gauge (stitch and row- row mattered this time, that Bitch), I changed the yarn etc. And I ended up knitting the crown of the head THREE times. See TOLD YOU- NOT smart!
Should you be smart, you would look at the photo and notice that the hat in the photo looks a bit on the short side (if you want your ears covered and when its cold I DO). Or it does when you look at it online and even more so when I tried it on. V 1.0 when on brought the words Yarmaluke on oversize to mind. Try try again being my philosophy, I went back and figured that an extra cable would solve the problem. And extra cable is supposed to work miracles don't you know. Don't pay your life inheritance to a cable- they don't live up to the billing. Insert hat "finished" again, me excitedly putting it on and thinking to self. Self why do you think the Kossack look is coming back into fashion?? Not even close to being long enough. That length is a negative ghost rider.
Note at no point (like smart) did I sit with my calculator (that I keep in my notions bag- why I don't know) and do any handy calculations. NO! Nor did I insert any lifelines. No my friends it was all about insanity and learning (but not succeeding) to rip cables without terror. BWAHAHA
So third time FOR ONCE was the charm. I ripped back to the point of previous shaping and then arbitrarily decided if adding one cable doesn't solve all, two should do the deal. I crossed my toes that it wouldn't turn into an eyeshade hat and continued to persist on my mission. In no small part because Cashmerino Aran is a delectable yarn to knit with and reknit with.
So it is finished and have I told you lately how much I love it?? No... Ok I LOVE it soooo much that this hat is going to be made a few more times this month as Xmas gifts. It is fun, it is easy (but not stockinette easy), quick, and about 1-1/2 balls of yarn- thus reasonably priced I'd say. Even better I have the pattern already worked out of my "kinks."
But really I have to profess how much I love this hat. I love it SOOOO much that the second I finished weaving in the ends I put it on and have not take it off since. Yup I am wearing my cabled hat INSIDE and TO BED. It makes me SMILE from ear to ear. This, this is that sentiment I had heard people talk about but never experienced before now in regards to an FO.
See in my knitting youth, I didn't really make things for myself. I made sock hats, scarves, baby items, socks; mostly all for others. I hadn't really been introduced properly to the "knitting things for yourself that you would wear" concept till I started reading blogs. Sure I have scarves, socks and my lopi that I made and use to varying degrees, but they don't seem to excite me THIS way. Don't get me wrong I like them lots but I am enamoured and adoring my hat.
Anyways I am off to frolick with my hat in the gardens before taking it up to the hinterlands. I am also placing a sweater out of Cashmerino Aran on the HELL YEAH list of must do soon.
I also extend my apologies for the end of the post. However as the social antropology part of this post. Or the lesson why lazy never results in good. I can only say I was subjected to a Robbie Williams interview on the télé while the remote was across the room. I have to say that twat is an utter prat. serious IQ of about 2. Actually I have to take that back, he takes prat to a whole new level of needing to have his lips stapled shut for the good of mankind. I also have to say he is extremely UNATTRACTIVE. The songs aren't that great either. I guess for me, stupid men are NOT that "hot."
I am off to the hinterlands, behave while I am gone and I will post once back.
Posted by Stinkerbell at December 8, 2004 11:48 AM | TrackBack