The Second Project is Complete

I finished the second project for the contest last night. It was really late so I didn't journal at that time. I waited until today to capture the process.

Cable side out, ribbing on the inside but folded out into a  ribbed brim.

Ribbed side out with the cabling on the inside but folded up to form the brim.

As you can see, I decided to knit a hat instead of a scarf. I am glad I did because the pattern really "pops" now. The yarn, Willa, is super bulky and suggests using a size 11 needle. I decided to use that size but chose dpns (double pointed needles) for my needles instead of two circulars. I was not sure how many stitches to cast on my needles, so I did some research. While at Jessica Knits yesterday when I was taking a class teaching finishing techniques, I pulled Ann Budd's book The Knitter's Handy Guide to Patterns off the bookshelf to get the information about how many stitches are needed for various sizes of hats. Because I only have 153 yds. of yarn in the one skein I purchased, I chose the 6-18 months size hat to knit. I also needed to consider my pattern and make sure I cast on enough stitches to allow the repeats and the joining of the design in the round. After graphing my design stitches and calculating my gauge (3 sts per inch), I finally decided to cast on 64 stitches divided between the 4 dpns (16 sts on each one).

The knitting progressed smoothly, especially since I have been using this design so much lately. But I did change the ribbing. Instead of the K1, P1 stitch pattern I used with the Cowl, I decided to use a K2, P2 stitch pattern instead, hoping this would further define the cabling. The bulky yarn and the added stitches in the cable really helped the pattern design "pop". Because the hat was so small, I was concerned at first that maybe I shouldn't use so much bulk. But I was pleased as the work progressed to see that this worked well.

It really didn't take long to knit the hat once I started. There were only four repeats of the pattern to form the brim necessary to get the 5 inches I wanted. I was left with a 2.5 inch brim after turning up the edge. Perfect. Then another four repeats of the pattern was needed to get the crown of the hat long enough to fit the head snuggly. Then I decreased for 1.5 pattern repeats to shape the top of the hat. That was all and then I was finished.

I was especially pleased with the way the cables and ribbing decreased without losing the design definition. There was no shifting of the lines. There was no overlapping of stitches. Using the K2, P2 was perfect, because I could decrease by K2 tog (knit two together), P1 and still have a K-P rib. Then I decreased with a K1, P2 tog (purl two together) still leaving me with a K-P rib.

I spent this afternoon and evening typing the pattern into the computer and saving it as a pdf file so it could be saved as a pattern on Ravelry. At first I thought I would call this pattern simply "Child's Reversible Cable Ribbed Hat"; but because I am using the same design stitches, I went ahead and called this pattern like the first one - "Cable Me One Side - Rib Me The Other Child's Reversible Hat". This will keep all patterns with the similar design stitches in the same category. But I have to laugh. That is one long name for such a short little hat. So the pattern is now posted on Ravelry and is free for downloading. I have the written pattern with the chart configurations finished and ready to be mailed to Juniper Moon Farms. I choose to wait until next week to mail the package because I want to show my knitting groups (The Needlers who meet on Thursdays at Jessica Knits and the Monday night group that meets in Prescott Valley) and Steve's parents and family who we are planning to visit next week. I want them to see the original projects, not just photos of them.

Now that both of these projects for the contest are finished, I am back to the other projects that were placed on hold - the white lace sweater, the wrap I am knitting as a gift, and the Shell that is my own design. I almost forgot what I was knitting when I picked up the Sweater again. Whoa, don't want to allow that to happen. It took a bit of re-figuring to remember where I stopped, but I did and I have already knit one additional row. I want to finish it quickly if I can because I am taking another class starting March 1st where as a group we will be knitting one of Ysolda's sweaters in her book Little Red in the City. Ysolda designed her sweater to be knit from the top down and provides for sleeves that aren't inserted but knit with short rows giving the appearance of insertion. I am real excited about learning those techniques. More about that later once I get there. She also designs patterns that are fitted rather than loose - one size fits all. One chapter in her book gives lengthy and detailed information on how to take those measurements to guarantee a perfect fit. I am glad that as a class we will do that together. Always much easier to measure someone else than myself.  This should add to my experience and to the training I received in college when learning all about flat patterns and design.

Well, that't it for tonight. I am going to go sit & knit. So what else is new, huh?