Lucky Number 13

Thanks to Carrie over at My Middle Name is Patience, I now have 13 knitters who blog answering my research questions. Of course, I'd still like to bother more people. If I want to present a paper at the American Folklife Society's annual meeting, I have to have an abstract submitted by March 31. I'd better get moving! The interviews are only the beginning. I still have to learn about how blogging communities function (any resource suggestions are welcome), and research relevant folklore topics.

I made a hat for myself. I used some Classic Elite Premiere from the stash. I decided to decrease for the crown in an obvious X pattern, so I did a double decrease each row. This meant the shaping happened fast. I had done the ribbing for 2 1/2 inches, so it would fold up over my ears. I look great in hats, save for three styles: cowboy, baseball, and anything that fits closely. Folding up is necessary in a hat for me. After my decreases were done, the hat fit, but I couldn't fold up the brim. Shoot. So I tried unraveling the brim, but you can't unravel ribbing from the bottom very easily. Finally, I took the scissors to the knitting. I cut off the ribbing, picked up the stitches, and knit it down. This time I knit 3 1/2 inches and used all the brown yarn (one stash ball down, hurrah). I bound off using the same bind off as I used on DG's socks.

I got an email from DG yesterday. Like any good knitted-gift recipient, he wore them immediately. He even wore them out. He says they fit perfectly and that he can't feel the bump from the bad short row heel. So far, I've knitted four and half pairs of socks. I know two of those pairs fit perfectly, and one pair fits well after it's on the foot. One pair didn't work so well, and the half-pair was sent, but I haven't gotten a verdict. I think it's time to cast on for another pair.