A Hat for Me and Knitters' Math

You already know about the angst I experienced with the Husband Sweater this year. But you have not been privy to the shorter-lived angst that has been the Wife Hat. He found the pattern on Ravelry (Mini Mochi Fair Isle Hat, knit with Mini Mochi in blue and variegated rainbow); I helped with the color choices, since it's good to know what you're good at, and color choices and naming things are two of my acknowledged strengths in the family.

no dainty sewing scissors for trimming the tails

for THIS knitter

I will tell you that Mr. Crafty was not daunted by the tiny needle size (2-3) or the Fair Isle carrying or the number of stitches required to cover my large head circumference. The stitches are beautifully even on both the front and the backsides.

He only quailed a little when he realized that the original pattern suggested a finishing technique that wasn't what he wanted, but then concurrently understood that if he was not going to pursue that particular finish to the hat, that he would have to take out a couple of inches worth of hard-won knitting. Yes, friends, a couple of INCHES of Fair Isle, two-color knitting on tiny needles, which you cannot just tear out but have to pick out, stitch by bloody stitch, and THEN untangle your two strands of yarn. This is the finish he chose, which is lovely:

At about 200 stitches per round, this was a significant commitment from a knitter whose attitude is usually more towards "living with" mistakes and incorporating them somehow into the design. It takes all kinds of knitters to make this world go round, I say.

And my Mr. Crafty is also a Math-Teacher and has, I think, finally succeeded in explaining the principle of Inverse Proportions to me, as it applies to gauge and needle size and total number of stitches. (This was the one personal obstacle that would prevent me from ever working in a yarn store.)

Here goes: You have 10 stitches per inch on some ridiculously tiny little needles. You have 4 stitches per inch with some thick needles and bulky yarn. Even though your needles are fatter, your yarn is bigger, your fabric is thicker...wait for it...you will have FEWER TOTAL STITCHES for your bulky project.

Taking this principle a little further, and I'm testing myself here, if your hat pattern has you casting on 200 stitches with a suggested gauge of 10 st/in, your total circumference will be 20 stitches. But what if you're getting 8 st/in? (Yes, this is the real question that would have stumped me before.) If you're getting fewer stitches per inch YOUR HAT WILL BE BIGGER than you want it to be. In this case, by a lot: FIVE whole inches! Wow. My huge head is not even that big.

on the April Fools' Day blizzard

we all wrote letters

So, if there are any gauge-doubters out there, I hope this brief entry on applied math will convince you. EZ says "Check your gauge or end in a rage." (I did both on that sweater, as you may recall.)

Mr. Crafty, you've made me a brilliant, gorgeous, rainbow hat that is executed with precision and fits me perfectly. Thank you. (And I hope I never lose it.)

One Morning in Maine

...the icicles outside the kitchen window looked like this, as the sun was rising.

I am gathering the contents of a package I am sending over a continent or two (depending on which way the mail goes) and across at least one ocean. It's a fun blogging swap! I am always interested in swapping, and the way we worked it out this time was to think of what could be made in about an hour...since we work in various media. I liked that way of doing it. And if you follow that aforementioned link, make sure you read this post about Nigel the robot who is always the life of the party.

The cute hat is complete! And I do wish I had some small ball or a tiny model head to show it on. I think the 3D effect would be delightful. It's a nice soft alpaca-silk yarn from KnitPicks. And I liked the pattern so much, for ease of completion, for just enough thinking knitting, for sheer cuteness, that I am already beginning a second hat. For some girl baby, with PINK, since I had no reason to knit pink for my own children. Someone will have a girl, somewhere, I hope.
Jonas made the butterfly cord for the ties. I have no idea how to do it myself, but it's something he learned in school.
We have to import our flowers here right now, but oh that color is such a feast for my eyes. (Notice the photo in the upper left corner? The very one that my brother used for his portrait of Jonas and I!) We're the care-takers of the flowers this weekend---they were given to Mr. E's class on Friday after their stellar performances of two marionette puppet shows. They wrote their own scripts inspired by African folklore, wrote musical accompaniment, and made their own silk marionettes! Here's a small taste, from How Monkey Got His Tail:
And I have been meaning to introduce you to a new blog, Totally Smitten Mama, and this amazing post in which she details all of the amazing crafty items she made for Christmas with/in-spite-of her three boys and pregnant wife! Those adorable little wooden peg people just about make me swoon whenever I see them.

Festive and Crafty New Year's

The hat for Jonas's ski season is finished! It is a cool pattern, but I highly recommend translating the annoying chart into plain English for the short-row earflaps. I crocheted a red border, for my red-lover, around his face, and the effect is somewhat Medieval. Also, he has requested that it be lined...too itchy on the cheeks. So I guess it's not really done after all. And he actually let me take his photo!!!

Here are some Festive New Year's Day finger and toenails, very fetching, and made from clay.

Here is an ice cream parlor, made by E and photographed by Sylvan! All three kids collaborated to create the Christmas tree trimmings, at right.

Lots and lots of cool details, such as the freshly baked bread

and E's reindeer and sleigh.

Below, a still life.
Left to right: Squeaky dead chicken doggie toy; Whale bone, from an intimate part of a male whale's anatomy (it's quite heavy); My foot (size 9 US, 39 Euro), for scale.

This is what the ocean looks like when it's really really cold and the water is warmer than the air; it's called Sea Smoke.

Some endings, some beginnings

These mitts will be under the tree soon...for a gentleman who seldom reads this blog. It was about 9 degrees F on the morning of this photo shoot and I was on my way to work. I told my model to give me some William Wallace style arm shots (and be quick about it, or I would be late), referencing the movie Braveheart, in which our favorite line is Mel Gibson bellowing: Freeeeeeedommmmmm! Unfortunately my model was not wearing a kilt or else I would most certainly have shared photos.
The pattern is from Knitty, called Dashing. As in: Dashing through the snow? Or what a dashing fellow? The yarn is Brown Sheep Charcoal.
Reusable Shopping Bags Completed!
The last of the five Reusable Bags is complete (here and here for the others). It was crazy that the last two bags (both using this fabric) provided me with much angst with regard to interiors not seeming to want to match neatly with exteriors. So some extra annoying little tucks were necessary. ANYway. They are finished and ready to be gifted, and I admit relief that none of the bags are going to anyone who is an expert at sewing...They are still lovely and functional even if they are not perfect.
So do you imagine me resting on laurels now, relaxing by the hearth? Pfft. No, I already have another project on the needles, this hat, meant to be a hardhat liner for troops. It is annoying because it relies on a chart to create the short-row earflaps, and I would prefer regular words. But it's great and warm and will be for Jonas, perfect for under the ski helmet!

And, oh mild boredom, in that I think he may have entered the phase of gray/black/brown in knitwear (unless it could be red, which I did not have in the stash). So I am using the same Brown Sheep Charcoal as for the mitts.

I see shoveling in my future and I will be using my abs, not my back, thank you very much. It is looking good for a white Christmas!

E's Hat

Shhh, it's a birthday present for one of Jonas's good friends who has an October birthday! She is a colorful girl who I'm pretty sure will appreciate the whimsy here. The pattern is from the book Knitalong by Larissa and John Brown. What you're seeing, above, is the Meat Head hat. I had this crazy variegated nubbly Italian merino (bought at Liberty of London, sigh), just a little of the ball left, so I added this to a strand of orange Brown Sheep Bulky (wool/mohair) with it. Then I realized I was going to run out of the lovely Italian nubbly and then alternated one row of Orange + Nubbly with one row of Orange + Hot Pink (also Brown Sheep Bulky). And, happily, it worked out!

Fast to knit, and it will hopefully be 1) Cozy to wear in a Maine winter, and 2) A nice beacon for identifying the wearer while she zooms down the ski slopes!

And stayed tuned for my first pair of wristwarmers, which will hopefully be finished in time for work tomorrow!