Aftermath

Finishing Yggdrasil meant two things--1) I now had much more knitting time, and 2) I didn't want to knit heavy things for a while. This meant that Wakame needs to snooze for a bit longer because that thing is going to be quite a chore to lift once I divide for the sleeves (which, honestly, is quite a ways off, but even the thought of maneuvering something heavy is so off-putting that I can't bring myself to pick up the needles to get to that point).  Instead, I've been making some hats. I had promised my brother a hat back in October... for his birthday... in November... (oops) but I had picked a hat knit on size 1 needles with a gentle texture that you have to pay attention to knit properly.

And so that hat was taking forever. I finally sat down and did the math for the crown--I cut out a repeat and needed to rework the numbers for the set up round. Once hat decreases have been set, it's always smooth sailing, but getting things appropriately lined up when you're working with 156 stitches can be quite a pain.

Still, it's done and it looks nice. The pattern is Eliot's Ass-Kicking Hat (a reference to some tv show which I don't watch), and it does churn out a solid "man hat." I knit it in Bamboo and Ewe, which has since been rebranded as Truly for reasons which escape me. Perhaps it's because the bamboo has been spun into rayon, and so they felt they were being a bit mis-leading, but almost all bamboo that is spun to last more than 1 washing that I've encountered has been converted to rayon.  My major beef with this hat is that it looks like a machine made it. And I don't mean that in a "look how spectacular this is, I can hardly believe how even the work looks." No, it honestly looks like something you would purchase from a skating store for 15 bucks. Part of the joy of knitting is creating beautiful things that cause strangers to turn and ask "Where on earth did you get such a lovely 'X'," not "I bought one just like that at Zumiez last week."

My cousin also received a hat this weekend. He graduated from high school this past week and is continuing his education in much colder climes, so cold weather gear is in order. I may make him a scarf before he goes as well. The pattern is Knitty's Knotty but Nice and it's my go-to "man hat." It looks hand-made (unlike Eliot's hat, much to my chagrin after investing all that labor) and it's also well constructed and clever. I move the decreases 1 stitch to the right so that the flow of the ribbing isn't interrupted, but that's all I change when I make this. The yarn is Paton's Classic Wool, and it knits up quite nicely. It's a bit pricey for the yardage, especially considering I purchased it from a box store, but the color is quite nice.

I think I'll churn away at Les Miserables for the rest of the week and see if I can't finish that sometime soon. Hopefully my shoulders will feel up to tackling Wakame after that. I'm looking forward to the finished product on that one (hence perpetually bringing it up to remind myself that it's waiting for me).