Roses are violet

OK, the burn mark on our linoleum is still there (now covered by a throw rug), and my leg still hurts, but my mental state today is much better than it was yesterday. The sun is out (this is how deep the flooding downtown was yesterday after the thunderstorm), knitting night is tonight, Rahul and I might go see a play at the fresh-baked cookie store after that. And, as I mentioned, I have some good knitterly things to think about.

Here’s one of the nice things. When I finished the Hemlock Ring, I cast on for a new hat as a reward for myself. It’s no kind of weather for wool berets right now, but who cares? It’s pretty! And it was fun and quick to make.

Pattern:Rose Red, by Ysolda Teague. chemgrrl, who was done with hers, traded the pattern to me for a skein of Rowan Calmer.
Size made: Small, but using a larger gauge. I can’t tell you what the gauge was, because I was lazy and fudged it.
Finished dimensions: I was lucky–it fits! I blocked it over a dinner plate, and it came out to 11 inches in diameter with the hat lying flat, with a band size of about 20 inches.
Yarn used: Malabrigo Merino Worsted from a Whitknits sale, in Violetas, about 90 grams (i.e. just under 1 skein, or about 195 yards).
Needles used: US size 8/5.0 mm bamboo DPNs to start the hat (it’s knit from the top down), and US size 7/4.5 mm 16-inch Boye Needlemasters for the rest
Date started: June 2, 2008
Date finished: June 3, 2008
Mods: Aside from the gauge modifications, none that I can think of.
Notes: My Ravelry page for this project is here. I loved this pattern. It’s gorgeous and intricate, fast and pretty easy to knit, and very well-written and easy to follow (I used the written directions, which I think to many knitters is akin to saying you like white wine better than red at a gathering of oenophiles–sort of crass, indicating a not-very-advanced palate.)

I finished the hat in just two days, after some marathon TV knitting (season openers of Bones and House; Barack Obama’s speech accepting the presumptive nomination; two nights of Daily Show and Colbert Report).

I usually cable without a cable needle, but this time, because of the way the 7-stitch cable is worked, I had to use a cable needle. It was fiddly and annoying, but I think it improved the look of my cables–they’re usually sloppy around the edges, but looked pretty tight this time. I used a size 6 DPN instead of one of the special cable needles you can buy.

I actually have some red DK-weight angora blend in the stash, and after making Rusted Root I was thinking I should add more red to my wardrobe this winter, so I think I might make another one of these hats in fluffy red DK weight, exactly like Ysolda’s original. Or maybe not. I’m not crazy about the way the cabled band looks, although I really appreciate the tidy, knitterly design aesthetics of continuing those cables all the way down the band. It’s just that somehow I feel like the hat looks a bit too… chef-like? and I suspect I might prefer the look of a ribbed band instead.

I think the recommended lighter weight yarn would also be a good idea. Malabrigo on 7s, even well-blocked, came out slightly too sturdy and the hat doesn’t drape well. For best effect, I think it should be really floppy. Also, I can’t quite decide how I feel about this semi-solid colorway–is it a distraction, or does it add to the charm and intricate look of the pattern? (This is not to say I don’t totally love the hat–I really do. This is all nitpicking.)

Anyway–on to the pictures. It’s really hard to take a picture of the back of your own head.

The hat lying flat.

The back of my head.

Plated up for blocking. The underside and band:

The flowery top, with cute li’l i-cord nubbin:

Me looking vaguely chef-like, or possibly medieval, from the front.

So–some other good things.

• The Rainey Sisters alerted me to the fact that Niebling’s legendary Lyra doily is now available for $7 plus $4.50 shipping/handling through Lacis. It used to be rare and go for a LOT more on eBay–there are two copies up right now, the highest one, with 19 bids, currently priced at $81 plus $5.90 shipping. And I mean copy–it says you get photocopies of the pattern, not even originals. It must be a cash cow for the seller, since they can make infinite copies for 10 cents and sell them for $81+. That’s really kind of messed up.
• You can now purchase a couple of my patterns through Sandra Singh. She posted them today and has sold a copy of The Water is Wide already!
• Robynn sent me some freakin’ amazing yarn. Just look at how gorgeous this is.Handmaiden Camelspin, in Nova Scotia, glowing green and blue–this stuff has the sheen of Sea Silk but is much softer, probably the softest yarn I’ve ever felt, softer than the skein of cashmere I have in my purse:
  
  
  

  Artyarns Beaded Rhapsody in color 159, gleaming gold and silver:
  
  

Are those not just insanely beautiful? The timing was good; it made my day if not my week, and on balance more than made up for my Very Bad Day yesterday–thank you so much, Robynn.

Mnemonics and Niebling

I totally dig this post on Gallium Arsenide, Old Lace that offers a great way to think about the direction in which you wrap your yarn around the needle. It made me very confused reading Stitch ‘n’ Bitch when Debbie Stoller kept talking about wrapping the yarn clockwise or counterclockwise and I had no idea which way she was looking at her needles.

I also really like this mnemonic I read somewhere: to remember which way k2tog and ssk lean, think of an equilateral triangle with the point facing up and one side facing down. Think of k2tog on the left side of this triangle, making the side of the triangle slant right, and ssk on the right, making the side of the triangle slant left. You can remember which one goes where by remembering that k2tog comes earlier in the alphabet than ssk, so the two terms are in alphabetical order.

I still always get M1R and M1L confused and have to look it up. I know in one of them, you lift the strand from front to back and knit through the back loop, and in the other, you lift the strand from back to front and knit through the front loop. This sampler thingie on knittinghelp.com seems good (they say knit through back loop then knit through front loop, if you’re picturing an upside-down equilateral triangle), but then this Knitting at Knoon link seems to tell you to do the opposite (knit through front then knit through back). Anyone have a good mnemonic to share with me for these two increases?

Nona’s tutorial on Kitchener stitch seems like it should be helpful for remembering how to do it, but I still get all messed up thinking of front and back and knitwise and purlwise and find it easiest just to try and picture the path the yarn would take if it were another, knitted row of stitches. I just might have to knit Teva Durham’s Lace Leaf Pullover using her bizarro construction technique–knit the top down, knit the bottom up, graft the two halves together all around the middle of the sweater–so I can get more grafting practice in.

It’s gotten cold around here suddenly! It went from 90 degrees the other day to about 60 degrees today, and it will be around 40 degrees tonight. I need more fingerless gloves, but first I’ll have to try and crank out presents for three friends who are all celebrating their birthdays this Saturday. I’m thinking hats or mini-mufflers, but I may end up having to buy them stuff instead. Hopefully next time I post, I’ll have some speed gift knitting to show off.

Edited because I just saw this amazing set of Niebling lace doily patterns you can apparently buy from this person “doilyhead,” though I’m not quite sure how, and I wanted to link to it. They are beyooooootiful.