late in the day hats

Late in the day could well be the dominant theme of my life...so no surprise then, that having promised beanie hats at the height of the cold weather, they are only just done right on time for the temperature up turn into spring. Ho hum. Hats keep. Nice little short row numbers, that I fiddled with a tad, and that are functional if not quite right (bit of a pointy thing going on on top). The purple one looks nice enough and the colour variation in the yarn was quite good with the short row pattern (except that I had to cut short the repeat of colour changes otherwise it would have been way too wide for any average sized head), but the yarn was a bitch, slippy and splitty. I don't fancy a name and shame, and it was a cheap end of line so I don't think it really matters as the complaints I have are probably going to put out of production anyway.


Much more interesting is the background. That is part of my knitterly history. Practically an antique considering how long I have kept it. Some one may recognise it as a kaffe fasset pattern from the 80s or maybe even earlier. A friend asked me to knit it after discovering I could 'knit', and presented me with the kit in a kind of unrefusable fait accompli. In my naivety I agreed to make it. It is impressive, if only for the disastrous gauge accident that it turned out to be. IE I did not make a sweater, instead I made a vest sized for widest person in history. It was a shameful time for me, and maybe what made me feel then that I would never make a decent knitter....debatable yet I guess! Anyway, I refunded her the cost of the kit and stashed it away. Some years ago I tacked this BLANKET WITH A HOLE IN THE MIDDLE to some canvas with the idea that I would make it into a lovely big cushion. 


Well, never say never. That's the plan. Just looking for some velvet stuff to edge and finish with, and perhaps it can become a family heirloom yet. Pics will arrive in due course, with size comparisons to make you all laugh.


Anyway, other long lost knitting projects are due to be resurrected, mainly the pennsylvania dragon cardigan. I used ecru cotton yarn, dyed it myself, graphed up the intarsia design...it was a real achievement. And though it was also too wide (I don't think I was really aware of the need to use knitters graph paper back then), and I wore it a lot, it fitted well as I was pregnant at the time (...maybe that is where the wideness was coming from?). So that was a shocking 23 years ago. OMG. But. Never ever say never. Am going kimono, maybe brocade intarsia...watch this space.