Too big, too small...what about just right?

I decided to full the hat--it is still a bit big, but wearable. Here it is before and after fulling.


I also started one for Hannah. The first one I cast on, I over compensated and made it too small, so I had to frog it and start over. The second one fits her pretty well--though it doesn't cover her ears completely. I'd show you a photo on her, but I'm not quick enough to photograph it before she whips it off her head. She does say she likes it and will wear it when it is cold out . . . we'll see. We got some lovely snow last night, so we'll have an opportunity this morning to try out our new hats in cold weather.

This is what I get for feeling so clever

As a reward for finally finishing my dad's sweater, I'm making myself a hat. I chose this one. I read on Ravelry that some versions were coming out a little bigger than expected--so I followed the gauge for a smaller hat. I do have a head that measures on the larger side of things. Yep, 22 1/2 inches--this is usually the last size on hat charts for women.


I spun one singles from this lovely Bluefaced Leicester from Dragonfibers on etsy and the other singles from Bonkers Handmade Originals Tencel/Merino that I bought at the Estes Park Wool Market this summer.

I was feeling clever because I had not only figured out how to do entrelac, but I was also knitting backwards to make it go faster. All weekend I was wishing that someone who knew a thing or two about knitting would stop by and notice that I was knitting backwards. But sadly, no one noticed. And even when I pointed it out, they didn't seem too impressed.
And, since I was knitting from singles, I had devised a portable lazy kate to hold a single bobbin. This is apparently too much cleverness for one person.


So this is what I get for feeling so clever.

Options at this point:
1. Start over.
2. Keep going and finish, then full it until it is the right size.
3. Make it into a bag.

Project completed!

Yes, it is true. This is a photo of my dad wearing his sweater, started in November of 1996, completed this weekend and delivered to my dad on Sunday. He and my mom are taking turns reading books to Hannah, doted-upon-grandchild-that-she-is.

Dad asked to have me holding the knitting needles in the photo--I've already cast-on a hat for myself as a "you-did-it!" reward.

I was worried that the sweater was going to be too large, but it turned out to be the kind of sweater that looked good on several people of different body types who tried it on and it fits my dad perfectly. He said he's never going to take it off now that he has it. We're a bit prone to exaggeration in my family--but I like that he liked it so much to say something like that. I wonder if I could, like, fit the word like into that sentence one more time. Like, that would be really funny.

Seaming the 10- (ahem 12-) year cardigan

I'm nearly done seaming my Dad's sweater. I really shouldn't be talking about it until it is blocked and on his back as every time it seems like I'm close to finishing I discover things--like that the back was 2-inches longer than the fronts, or that I had run out of yarn (fortunately, remedied when I frogged the back!). I guess there are reasons why it is a 12-year sweater.

More ornaments

First off--Happy New Year everyone!
I'm still in an ornament making frenzy. My Aunt Lise gave us the cutest Christmas tree wall hanging a few years ago with a little pocket for each day of December until Christmas--to count off the days. It came with candy--one candy in each pocket, one piece of candy for each day until Christmas. That's a lot of candy for a baby (or anyone for that matter)--so this year I placed a small ornament in each pocket and Hannah and I had great fun counting the days and putting an ornament on the tree each day.



But I had an idea--and for next year I'm making 25 ornaments (well, now I have 30+), each with a photo of our family and friends on a star shaped ornament (I used a toy cookie cutter)--and we'll decorate the tree with their wonderful faces.



This idea meant that I needed to buy more polymer clay.


Hannah made ornaments, too. They are portraits--the yellow one is Hannah, the green one is of me.