Monday, December 27, 2010

Burnt Knotts

I've finally been able to sit back and relax for a couple of days after a crazy end of the semester, followed by an even crazier family Christmas. I still have grading to finish up, but it's not as formidable as it seemed at the end of the semester in the middle of all the end-of-semester craziness.
I also knit like mad starting the last week of the semester in order to get ready for Christmas. One of those projects was a hat for Tyler- both yarn and pattern picked out by him a bit ago. I was able to finish it pretty quickly, and I really enjoy the look of the finished product!
Specs:
Pattern was Knotty but Nice from Knitty's winter catalogue, knit in a skein of good ol' Cascade 220 in a pretty burnt orange color. Modifications include adding enough ribbing at the bottom of the hat for a brim. The pattern calls for 1.25'' of ribbing before starting the cable work, and instead I knit 2.75''- enough for a nice big brim.
Best part of knitting the hat: My soft spot with all cable work- seeing the cables take shape under my fingers. There's something magical about watching the yarn twist and twine every single row, forming really pretty patterns. And the orange color gives the cables really good definition.
Worst part of the hat: When it was done, I wasn't a huge fan of how much room was created in the top of the hat due to the decreases. Tyler really liked it, so since he's the recipient I suppose it didn't really matter what I like in my own hats. :) If I made another one for me, I'd probably muddle with the decreases not to have that peak in the hat, but he likes it so... there it is.
He's headed to Ouray, Colorado for ice climbing next week while I work on my thesis paper and start studying for my final exams. I'm a little jealous, but it'll save my sanity later this semester. I may have a very large trip in the planning stages for after graduation, but I'm not going to announce anything until it's solidified. ;)
Off to get more coffee and finish grading papers. I'm really excited to just be done with them... uff-da...

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