"For ever panting, and for ever young"

Anyone know my title quote? Your high school English teacher's may be disappointed.

I'm panting!



And seaming!



I've started my No Sweat Pants. Man, these go fast. I cast on last night and did most of this while fast forwarding through the Oscars. My color is Ranch. Yeehaw!

I finally crawled my through the button band and now I'm sewing up the side seams on the Baby Knits Cardi. Such tiny stitches, so slow, falling asleep...zzzzzz.

I also bought the zipper for Elle today. I will need to drag out the sewing machine to get it all put together. I am a super-sucky seamstress so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Like all of you, I'm sure, I went to check out Magknits this morning. Congrats to Kerrie, et al for getting it off the ground. I don't want to be one of those people who trashes the hard work of others but I do have a little quibble with it so far. The design is just blah. It's clunky and it detracts from the quality of the work. Hopefully they can snazz things up a bit for the next edition. I will definitely be making one of the darling Sophie bags because, in case you didn't notice yet, I'm a bag addict. (I would be a shoe ho but I have super-wide flipper feet and can't ever find cute shoes to fit so I funnel my frustration into handbags. I worked for Coach for three and a half years before I had my kids.) Java a Go Go by Mariko is adorable. I will have to do a little stash diving and find something that will work well for that. Love these Poppies too but the photo is so out of focus it makes me seasick.

I'm an insanely ardent film fanatic (who seems to have a knack for alliteration). I watch the Oscars each year, usually in disgust. This year there wasn't a surprise in the lot. I knew Sean Penn would win but I really hoped that Bill Murray would win anyway. I was disappointed that City of God did not win for cinematography since it was the only award that it didn't go against ROTK for. Oh well. If you haven't seen City of God, please do. It's stunning and harrowing and will just knock you on your ass. We saw Mystic River last night. We really wanted to like it but just didn't. Neither of us connected at all the characters. I thought most of the performances were strong--especially Tim Robbins, Marcia Gay Harden and Penn--but overall the film did not grab me. It was pretty obvious from the applause that Sean Penn did not just this award for Mystic River but for his last 20 years of work. I, personally, thought his work in 21 Grams was a lot more complex and layered (though I was pretty lukewarm about that film as a whole). I could go on like this for days. I will spare you.

Picture Time

New Afghanalong Contribution




Elle After Felting

I Heart Google

Google rocks. I have the Google Toolbar on my desktop and use it at least ten times a day. When I'm surfing and want to know more about something I just Google it. It also has a pop-up blocker. Today I learned that you can add a Blogger button to your toolbar. It's under "Options." When you find a webpage you want to include in your blog just click on the Blogger button and it creates an entry for you! Neat, huh? Another great Google feature is Froogle. It's far from fool-proof but the idea is that it will search for the best price on an item on sale on the web. So when I'm looking for Rowan All Seasons Cotton I see that Yarn Market has it for $6.80 vs. $7.95 elsewhere.

I've been fiddling a bit with the blog. I wanted some lighter colors now that spring has sprung (here in Seattle at least). Megan of Not Martha gave me the java for the random project photos. Fun! I'm working on creating a page for each project with all the specs. I'm determined to learn photo shop to create a banner, buttons and other cool stuff.

I finished another afghan square. This one is stripes in Jo Sharp Desert Garden. I'll slap a photo up later. Right now I have to pry a three year old off my back and go get his brother from school.

Funk-Bustin'

I sure sounded like I was in a stinky mood yesterday, huh? I guess I inadvertently borrowed the "Wednesday Whine" from Curls and Purls NYC.

Well, thank you all for the pep talk. Here is what I did. I put bpt aside. Too frustrating right now. I need fun, not torment. I decided to put my glove away until fall. I don't need a pair of wool gloves now. The cherry blossoms are blooming and the crocuses are up. I found a container to block Elle on. I folded the mountain of laundry. I went to Stitch 'N Bitch last night and had a great time. I worked on the GE cardi and managed to stay awake! Today I cleaned the kitchen and ate a healthy lunch. I'm feeling better already.

A friend of mine went to Indiana on a family visit for mid-winter break. She got to go to Threadbear! I am so jealous. It sounds just as cool as I thought it would be. She also brought me this lovely handmade stitch marker.



I do a lot of surfing on other knitter's website and I rarely share what I find.

I love Nanette's site. Her work is so fun, exciting and humbling. Plus she's got the cutest new rabbit. I just want to smoosh that cute face (bunny's not Nanette's)!

Alison is witty and wonderful. I love hearing her little tidbits about life in Taiwan.

To me, Bonne Marie is the grand dame of knitbloggers. She includes informative tutorials, fabulous free patterns and a lot of attitude.

Enthusiasm...Draining...

I'm seeing it quite a bit around blogland and it seems I've caught the Winter Blahs too.

Exhibit A) The GE cardi. A few months ago this pattern seemed intimidating to me. I hadn't done any sweaters before. Now that I'm doing it, it has a narcotic effect on me. I literally fall asleep every time I try to knit this. Even last night while sitting in my friend's kitchen carrying on a conversation I felt my eyelids drooping as I attempted to knit past row 10 on the back.

Exhibit B) Bpt. After seeing Mariko's completed Bpt yesterday I got all excited about it. I finished dying all of my yarn just before I left for Hawaii. I cast on. I read the first line of the pattern. Huh? Wha? I muddled through it. Row 2 instructions. What the??? Who the? Huh? I was beyond confused. I called out to Mariko for help. With her explanation I ripped it out and tried again. Still no good. This has resulted in a significant decrease in enthusiasm for this project.

Exhibit C and D) See previous postings on second glove and wrist warmer.

Exhibit E) Baby Knits Cardi. I finally picked up the right number of stitches for the button band. I've completed the first three rows of 1x1 ribbing (my most hated ribbing). The sweater, despite it's small size, weighs about eight thousand pounds--without the sleeves! It's so heavy it pulls my hands down. Plus my needles are so slick that the sweater just glides right off if held at any not perfect angle.

Exhibit F) I swatched for Rogue using Highland Wool from Elann. I was right on gauge. I go to Elann to order the wool and they only have 2 or 3 colors, none of which I want.

So what do you think? Should I cast on for the No Sweat pants, another afghan square or should I look one of these projects in the eye and show it who's boss? Or maybe I should fold the mountain of laundry?

All Over But the Felting

Elle is complete. The knitting part, that is. I still need to felt, sew and add a zipper. I also still need to find the right thing to use to block the bag.



I made a few more afghan squares to send to Kay.



There's Psycho Square, Icky Checkerboard Intarsia and Embossed Twining Vine Leaf from Vogue Knitting. The leaf square was still damp and the color looks really uneven. The checkerboard is leftover Lamb's Pride Worsted. The leaf square is Cascade 220.

I'm totally bored with the GE cardi. I'm one and a half rows into the back and I'm bored stiff. Honestly, I started it on Thursday! I've decided that I will save it to knit at Stitch 'N Bitch type affairs. I can't keep track of patterns at those things so something that's just plain, boring, tedious, agonizing stockinette will be just fine.

I need to get going on the Pantalong too.

In the languishing pile right now is my second glove. If I could just finish the 1x1 ribbing on the cuff! It is taking forever. Those tiny needles. They mock me. I have also been putting off threading the beads for the second beaded cuff for about two months. I need to string a pattern of three each of eight color beads fifty-three times. Here is a picture of me thinking about it.

I'm trying to put that children's cardi together too. I spent about an hour today picking up stitches for the button band. Then ripping them out because I can't follow instructions. Then picking them up. Then ripping. Oh boy, it was a fun afternoon.

The Queen of Passive Aggression

I have a knitting related anecdote about my visit to my in-laws that I will share with you. My mother-in-law is the Queen of Passive Aggression. Really.

My father-in-law had a heart attack in October. He was in a coma for several days. My husband and his family spent a lot of time sitting around the hospital (it's the same hospital where my mother-in-law works). I knew my mother-in-law used to knit. I thought she might enjoy the diversion of having something to do, as I do during stressful times. I bought a Fiber Trends pattern for a simple shawl, some needles and beige Baby Cashmerino yarn. I don't like beige but she only wears beige. Beige clothes, beige furniture, beige car, beige purse...you get the idea. I send this stuff to her including a note saying if she's not interested in making the project she can send it back and I will knit it for her.

My husband and I agreed that the gift was most likely sitting untouched in her house somewhere. I thought I would try to knit the shawl for her during our visit. When I get there I ask about it. No, she hasn't touched it. No surprise. Would she like me to knit it for her? No, she's going to have a nurse at the hospital do it for her. Wow, score one for m-i-l. Not only won't she do it, she will deprive me of the pleasure of doing it. My husband thinks this is a tad cruel (though amusing) and decides to push it a little. "Mom, why don't you let Jess knit that shawl for you?" "Oh no, a nurse at the hospital is going to do it. She's a really good knitter."

Long live the Queen.

Hawaiian Details

Well, crud. I typed up a whole thing all about my trip. Then the computer ate it.
Okay, I'll sum it all up.

Sunday: Left Seattle 7 am. Arrive in Kona 3 pm. Kids fairly well behaved throughout. Get to hotel (complete dump). Oldest son barfs on sofa. Go swimming. See sea turtles. Try to find a restaurant for dinner and end up at Subway.

Monday: Check out of hotel--we were going to stay two nights but it's just too gross. Go to tide pools at National Energy Lab. See spinner dolphins. Children frolic (mostly naked) in tide pools. Go to Waikoloa Hilton. See captive dolphins, eat expensive food, swim, ride tram. Drive two hours to Hilo in pouring rain.

Tuesday: Twiddle thumbs in Hilo (home of in-laws).

Wednesday: More twiddling.

Thursday: Drive back to Waikoloa (weather lovely this time). Check in at Waikoloa Marriott. Go to pool with kids. Swim all day. Take a long watch on the beach. Get too much sun. In-laws meet us. Sleep terribly because both boys want to share a bed with me. They kick. A lot.

Friday: Big hotel buffet breakfast, swimming, back to the Hilton (I watch for whales while husband swims with children). Back to hotel for more swimming (kids like swimming). Shower, pack, go to big hotel buffet dinner (quantity, not quality). Say goodbye to children and go to airport. Red-eye to LAX. Leave Kona at 10 pm, arrive LA at 5 am.

Saturday: 7 am flight to Seattle (alone). Go grocery shopping (alone). Watch tv (alone) and knit afghan squares.

Sunday: Direct film series. We showed Kitchen Stories. Audience loved it. Tonight at midnight I pick up husband and kids from airport.

That's it. I hate the heat. I think the big island is dull. I hate being with my in-laws. I would have had a better time and spent a lot less money at home. Oh my god, I'm so tired.

Aloha!

I'm back!
The trip was pretty good. I won't bore you with all the details.
I've done everything on Elle except the second strap. But that's about 20 minutes of knitting. I've cast on for the GE Cardi. I'm slightly sunburnt, exhausted and starving. I will now go forage for food.

Hip to Knit Squares

Boy, this afghan square thing is fun! Today I started a stripey square using Jo Sharp Desert Garden in four shades. I had to pack those needles (metal) in my bags so I cast on another square using Lamb's Pride Worsted and Cascade 220. I'm getting a lot of intarsia practice with these. I have all my yarn, needles and pattern for the GE cardi packed in my bag. I put Elle in my carry-on along with my straggler glove.

Today at a playdate my 5 year old knocked over a cup of coffee into my felted tote! Fortunately Elle, which was riding in the bag, was relatively unscathed. The tote seems fine. It smells a lot like coffee but it's not stained. I had to take out everything and wipe it all down. What a pain.

A friend came by for a little help with a Booga Bag. It's her first knitting project so she's needed some help along the way. Today I showed her how to bind off, cast on and make i-cord. I still need a lot of practice teaching knitting. I can do it but I'm not very adept yet at explaining it.

So we're off on vacation. See you next week!

You've Heard of Crazy Quilt...

Meet Psycho Square.



Kay and Ann of Mason-Dixon Knitting have put out a call for 8 by 8 inch afghan squares. They will collect squares and have two sewing bees to assemble the squares into Afghans for Afghans. It's a great idea.

I got all fired up about doing something for charity, using up oddballs of yarn and taking a break from Elle (one, two, three, one, one, two, three, one, one, two, three, one...) that I immediately cast on and created this, er, creation. It's actually not as unattractive as I first feared. It's just a garter stitch square made from odds and ends of Kureyon and Lamb's Pride Worsted. I wanted to keep it quick and simple to give me a feeling of accomplishment. Kay and Ann will be collecting squares for the next six months so there's plenty of time for some fancy squares too.

[After looking at this post I saw what a terrible job I did of blocking my square. I have since gone back and straightened all the edges nicely.]

My Bottoms Up! BOC is turning out to be one tough customer. I have felted that sucker until my eyes crossed and it's still kind of big. I'm firing up the steamer right now to try to whip it into submission. If that doesn't work I will either have to a) grow out my hair and pile it on top of my head, as Mariko suggested or b) give it to someone with a bigger head. We'll see...

In other news, a friend of mine is off to Indiana for a family vacation. She's going to Threadbear! It's just not fair. I want to go too. As I have mentioned before in this blog, it's only a 38 hour trip by car. Road trip! (Actually I'd rather have my finger nails pulled out than drive all the way from the west coast back to the midwest. When we moved here from Chicago I had to do all the driving for three days. On the first night around ten o'clock between Moorhead, MN--no rooms available due to an antique car show--and Fargo, ND with the gas tank on empty I hit, and mostly likely killed, a small deer. Since the highway was unlit I couldn't really see the poor guy coming until it was too late. And once we pulled over we couldn't see anything. Probably the least fun I've ever had behind the wheel of a car so no road trip for me. Thank you.)

Speaking of preferring having my nails ripped out, we are leaving on Sunday to spend a week with my in-laws. On the plus side, they live in Hawaii. On the negative side, it is two plane rides totaling eight and a half hours in flight to get there. With two boys. Under six. And no portable DVD-player rentals. Light a candle for me.

The Road to Elle

I won't show you a picture of Elle today. Just imagine yesterday's with about three more inches on it. So far today (knock wood) I haven't made any mistakes in the pattern. Last night after I posted, and just before bed, I got off pattern for a full round. Once I started the next round I saw what I did. I had to fix it then and there. So I took it up to bed with me, finished ripping it out, reknit some of it and went to sleep long after 1 AM.

I went to the yarn store today and returned some unused skeins of Kureyon #115. It pained me to part with it but I've already made a purse, tote, hat and sweater in that colorway. It's time to move on. I got some size 4 needles to make the Go-Everywhere-Go-With-Everything cardigan (from now on known as GE Cardigan) and the new Interweave Knits. I like several of the patterns. I am going to join the . (I got some Homespun at Jo-Ann's tonight for that.) I dove for the new Rowan and was pretty disappointed. There were a few nice patterns but it was all either "ho-hum" or "not in a million years!" And what's with all the crochet? Rowan and IK both have crochet sections. I suck at crochet. That's why I knit.

I'm sure eventually I will see some of those patterns in a different light and will absolutely crave them. I will wait for the craving.

Bonne Marie's version of Rowan's Moonlight certainly helped me see things differently. When I saw the pattern in Rowan I thought it was frumpy but functional. Bonne Marie's version is sassy and fun. Expand your thinking, Jessica!

Elle's Bells!

Here's an up-to-date Elle progress picture.



Every time I think I've hit a groove with the pattern I totally screw it up and don't notice for another two rows. I've ripped a lot today. But still it's growing and that's good.

Here's today's shot from my 3 year old photographer.



And a self-portrait.

A Few More FOs

Here is another project rescued from knitting purgatory (my attic). I knit this bag about five years ago. I didn't know how to seam the seams properly and I couldn't find handles for it. So it sat in a lonely shopping bag for five long years. When I ordered handles from Lacis for my felted tote, I got an extra set for this bag. It's from Vogue Knitting on the Go: Bags and Backpacks. The yarn is Lion Brand Woolease Thick and Quick held double so it took about ten minutes to knit and five years to finish! It is kind of cute though.

The next FO is pretty tiny. It's my afghan square (one of them at least) from the Debbie Abrahams class. These are my first cables. The yarn is Rowan All Seasons Cotton which is just wonderful. It feels incredible and it's great to knit with. I definitely want to make some kind of garment for myself from it. I need to find the right pattern.

I'm back to work on Elle. Still only 8 rows into the pattern. I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. I just keep muttering, "three, one, three, one, three, one..."

Odds and Ends

Hi everyone. Thanks so much for all the encouragement and nice comments on my projects. It means so much to me to hear from you.

Sadly the new felted BOC is also too big. Grrr. I will try felting it some more and maybe using a slightly smaller item to block it. That hat just doesn't want to shrink in it's girth. It looks kickin' though.

The workshop I attended yesterday was lead by Debbie Abrahams. It was a lot of fun and she's a very nice lady. It was very free form. We all picked a square from her book to work on. Basically everyone chose to work in a technique that was new to them. There was a brand new knitter working on a very nice one-color textured square called Fisherman's Net. Several people were working in intarsia for the first time. Many were trying beading. I chose to try cables. I did a little homework the night before and studied Wendy's instructions for cabling without a cable needle and was actually able to teach it to Debbie! She also told us a bit about her work as a designer and as a Rowan design consultant. Her mother, who worked on many of the pieces from the book--apparently she seamed all the afghans in the book--, is traveling with her on the trip. She also produces all the beautiful buttons that are used in the patterns. They are gorgeous handmade earthenware. It was a very nice day. She is headed to the San Francisco area in the next few days. Her tour schedule is here.

I started swatching the Go-Everywhere-Go-With-Everything Cardigan the other night. I don't have the right size needle in circulars and boy! I now hate using straight needles. Especially really long, crappy, aluminum straight needles. I also need to go get a pair of needles to finish the second square I started at Debbie's class. A woman in class was nice enough to let me borrow hers during class. I still want to finish the square I started yesterday too. Cabling is so much fun.

It's been a long day so I'll be signing off now.

Resurrection!

After my finishing frenzy yesterday I was very inspired to tackle a few ghosts from my knitting past.

The first item I dragged out of my basement was the abandoned Vegan Fox. I joined Alison's Rip-along and vowed to put this fox out of it's misery. I hated knitting it. I didn't like using the three yarns held together. I didn't like how it looked. I didn't like how it felt. I hated it. Hated it! But I felt like a quitter for giving up on it. I'm much happier now that the fox has been reintroduced to the wild.

Next was a much bigger knitting ghoul. When I was pregnant with my second son, four years ago, I picked up knitting. I wanted to make a cardigan for my older son, then almost two. I picked a pretty simple one from Debbie Bliss's Baby Knits. I knit all the pieces. I worked very carefully and did a very nice job knitting it. The it came time to sew the whole thing together and finish the neck and button band. I freaked out. I worked so hard on it I was terrified I would ruin it with my amateurish finishing (lack of) technique. So I stuffed it away. When I would find it periodically, it filled me with guilt and dread. I stuffed it away again. But like some demon boomerang it kept coming back to me. Finally, last night, I confronted the demon.

As I inspected all the pieces I wished I could have a conversation with the knitting-me from four years ago. "Hey, Four-Years-Ago-Jessica. What the heck were you doing here?" "What the heck is this?" "How did you stitch this thing together?" I have no answers to these questions. What I did discover was that I had sewed on the (unblocked) front pieces reversed using some made-up back stitch/whip stitch sewing technique. I pulled out my blocking board and started to take the shoulder seams apart. The first came apart fine. I couldn't find the end of the yarn for the second seam. I decided to just cut a stitch to pull it apart. Well, stupid me, I cut the knitting not the sewing! I panicked, felt ill and had a strong urge to stuff the demon sweater back into it's purgatory bag for a trip back to the attic. But then I thought about a great story Nanette shared a few months ago about cutting the front and back of a sweater while steeking. I took several deep breaths and got a needle and patched the small cut as best I could with Swiss darning. I think it should be fine. I pinned it all up and gave it a good once over with the steamer. Here it is looking a lot less evil.



The great irony is that my youngest son wears a size 3 and the sweater is a 2. I guess I'll have to wait about 30 years for grandchildren.

Friday Finishing Frenzy!

It's here. The moment you've been waiting for. Ladies and Gentleman, I present you with Banff.



I had the neck opening just the right size and then when I was weaving in my ends I made it too tight. I'm going to need to try to stretch it a little when it's wet. It's also a tiny bit too short for my taste. So I'll stretch a little that way too. Here's a shot to show you just how HUMUNGOUS the sleeves are.



It's a super comfy sweater. Both of my boys came running over when I put it on and starting hugging me. They both really liked how soft the wool is. My 5 year old said, "It's...it's...it's lovely!" That cracked me up. He's never used that word before. I guess the sweater inspired him to branch out. Earlier while I was still finishing it he told me it was "vintastic." LOL.

But wait! There's more.

I also felted my Bottoms Up! BOC. It took forever. Forty minutes in the washer. The same yarn that I used for my felted tote last week. The tote was done in half the time. What's up with that? Yarn gremlins, I guess.



Here's the tote. Now with handles.



What's that peeking out of the tote? Why it's 100 Afghan Squares to Knit: Patterns and Instructions for Mixing and Matching Afghan Squares for Blankets and Throws by Debbie Abrahams. I'm taking a class with her tomorrow.

Here's the hat and tote ensemble. I can wear it with Rosedale and be Ms. Matchy-Matchy. (Don't worry, I won't.)



Phew. I'm exhausted. I guess I better go swatch for my next sweater.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

I found a new use for some old unwanted items. Now that my children are both potty-trained I have all these old diaper wipe containers lying around.



Mouse over the picture to see the what's inside.

One of the carpenters found this Seattle Times from October 24, 1911 inside the wall of our house yesterday.



It's amazing. Sadly it's pretty much disintegrated. We will try to preserve it as best we can. There are ads for new 5-room bungalows for $2150. Only $750 for a 3-room cottage. There's a section for the social register and people seeking jobs. It's just fascinating.

Elle has begun. It doesn't look like much yet. The pattern is blissfully simple. I think even I can keep from screwing it up too much.



And since I promised, here is Banff on the blocking board.

Banff Blocked

I finally blocked Banff. It's pinned and sitting in the kitchen. I will begin seaming tomorrow. I fear it will take me a long, long time. This is only my second sweater and the first one was knit in the round so no seams.

I crept through the grocery store, tape measure in hand, trying to find something to block my BOC on. I know some people use coffee cans but they are only 19" around. Hello! My head's just over 22! I'm going to try using the same container I blocked the last one on but do things a little differently.

I started Elle tonight. I finished the base and have completed one and a half rows in pattern. This will be a long-term project, I suspect. It's my first fair isle and I'm sloooooooooooooooooooow.

I'll have photos of everything tomorrow. I promise!

Oh Happy Day

I had a great day today. I'm finally starting to feel better. My kids were on relatively good behavior (despite a report from school that my 5 year dropped his pants not once but four times during music class). And I got this in the mail.



It's a gift from Mariko from Chocosphere. I told her I couldn't possibly deserve it but I'll take it anyway! The little tin has these teeny weeny cubes of chocolate covered hazelnut espresso praline. Quite possibly my most favorite food on Earth. And as a bonus, my husband is allergic to hazelnuts so they're all mine! Mine, I say!!!!! There is a typo (please let it be a typo) on the label of these which states that they are 220 calories a serving with 115 grams of fat. I am assuming (praying) that it was supposed to be a mere 15 grams. Please, please, please...

And this came today too.

Ten skeins of Kidsilk Haze in Toffee. I got it on eBay for a song. I want to make Birch and Softly (the tuck-stitched pillow in Rowan 34). Am I insane or just stupid?

I finished this.


It's the Bottoms Up! BOC. Bonne Marie isn't kidding when she says this flies off your needles. If you want a cool hat in a hurry hustle over to ChicKnits.

I can't felt it yet. I need a new object to block it on. I blame my somewhat oddly shaped BOC on a bad choice for blocking. Actually it didn't turn out too bad.



I have all the parts of my homemade, crappy blocking board under one roof now. Maybe I'll get to Banff tomorrow.

Watch Me Grow

The Bottoms Up! BOC is progressing nicely. I took it to Stitch 'N Bitch tonight. It's a good S 'n B project. Just nice simple knitting. At this group I seem to be one of the "experienced" knitters. This is pretty funny to me since I don't consider myself all that experienced. I did teach someone how to knit into the front and back of a stitch and taught someone else how to bind off and weave in ends.

My three year old has learned how to take pictures with my digital camera. He will announce, "I want to take pictures!" and then grab the camera out of the drawer and snap away until the card is full. The pictures are pretty funny. I'm very fond of this self-portrait which I have dubbed "Alien Baby."

Bottoms Up!

I didn't get much knitting done today. I had to run lots of errands and do as much as possible around the house. We had friends over for dinner.

I did make it to my LYS to get the needles for a Bottoms Up BOC. Here is the beginning of the hat. I'm trying it with Kureyon. I don't know how well it will work since you use the yarn doubled on the brim (no striping). But I think it should work well for the band and crown. We'll see.

The BOC I felted yesterday is too big. The band fits perfectly but the hat is too tall. I thought I was knitting to gauge so I'm not sure what could account for this. I don't want to try to felt it any more because, as I said, the band is the right size now. Other than filling the top with stuffing I'm not sure how I'll be able to wear it.