the first chemo cap

When my coworker agreed to model the first hat he decided to fold up the brim. That's okay - I think it can be worn either way. The hat sizing is on the large side, but not outrageously so. On my head I can pull it down to cover my eyebrows and the back of my nape. And, he admits, he has a small head.

Overall, I'd say it's a successful project. Successful enough that I plan to knit a second hat very much like the first. Several Ravelers had made suggestions in their project notes to improve the crown shaping by accelerating the decreases which I followed. The resulting shape is very good so I'll take those suggestions again. For a slightly smaller hat I'll cast on 138 sts instead of 150 and start the crown shaping at 5-1/2" from the cast on edge instead of 6".

Now we'll just have to see what Gavin thinks of it. When I cast on this hat, he enquired about a beanie for himself. Given that he lives in t-shirts and flip-flops, there's no point in knitting socks or sweaters for him So this is a rare opportunity to knit something he might actually wear!

the softest cap

Was it last year, or the year before? When I knit some Mr. Pitt socks from dark brown stretch bamboo from Dye-Version? Two years ago, I think. Anyhow, as I knit those socks a coworker commented on the yarn. He was impressed by how soft it is, and thought it'd make a really comfortable watch cap for his bald head.

A few days ago, when I came across a Ravelry post from Bethany Mejean - a high school student calling for hand knit chemo caps for Halos for Hope - I was reminded of his comment. This bamboo yarn might make a really comfy chemo cap! I have three skeins in Candy Apple red, purchased with the intention of making a shawl for my sister. For whatever reason, I haven't felt like making that shawl. Perhaps because I'm not convinced it's something she wants or would wear. So one or more chemo caps it will be.

After rummaging through Ravelry's pattern database I've settled on a pattern from Marnie Maclean - The Pismo Hat. It's simple, seamless, designed for lightweight yarn, and with all that ribbing it should fit snugly - all good things for a wearer with little or no hair and possibly a sensitive scalp. One thing though, the yarn I'm using is sport weight not fingering; quite possibly the hat will work up too big. So far my measurements say I'll be okay with a few inches of negative ease, but it's hard to say for sure. I might end up ripping out and reknitting in a day or two, but until I've seen it done and on a head, I can't judge the adjustments required.

One thing is for sure; it's going be the softest cap ever.

Embossed Leaves

And that's sock number two! Now that they're finished and on my feet, I like the pattern even better. These socks fit beautifully and are really, really comfortable! The pattern is clearer when the sock is stretched on my feet, so I think the yarn choice has worked out fine as well. I'd been a bit worried about that! Still, I'm considering knitting the pattern once more in a quieter colourway just to see how that turns out.

More good news? That's another completed Christmas knitting project. Despite being distracted by blankets, among other things, my Christmas knitting list has not been completely ignored. Of the nine pairs of socks planned, four pairs are done. So I'm not feeling too desperate. Yet.

meditation

In the early hours of the morning in my quiet kitchen I sat down with the squares arranged in front of me to make a start on assembling this blanket. Because the squares are knit from the centre out, each side has an identical number of stitches and each side is a bound off edge. You don't see that too often in knitting! So it makes sense to me to mattress stitch all these seams the same way you'd mattress stitch the shoulder of a seamed garment. It's working out beautifully - the knitting almost looks seamless from one square to the next.

One thing though, it takes a large clear area of counter and lots of patience. Through the first few seams I reflected that it really wasn't too bad of a job - quite pleasant even, almost meditative. But after about a half dozen more seams, I got bored and cranky. Figured I'd better put it aside for another day and renewed patience. After all, there's no deadline for this blanket, and I really want it to do my best to make it perfect!

new sock yarn

The schedule did go a bit off the rails last night. The remainder of the fifteenth square was knit through Modern Family. By the end of Cougartown I was still knitting the sixteenth square and no ends had been woven in whatsoever. But this morning I buckled down to catch up. Now the squares are washed, blocked and drying on pins, stuck to towel wrapped foam squares in the hallway. Maybe tomorrow I can get started on assembling them?

On the weekend Nancy and I had a chance to visit Rose's Fine Yarns of Niagara in Fonthill. It's a lovely little shop - room after room of gorgeous yarn. The sock yarn was what drew me in and after sighing over piles of Araucania, Malabrigo, Noro and Cherry Tree Hill yarn, my eye was caught by these skeins of Soxy from Diamond Yarn. It's a new product; I'd never seen it before. It feels soft, the colourways are multitonal, and the price just cannot be beat. Worth a try, I think.

Cranberry red is a colourway I just can't resist. And the soft grey colourway looks perfect for a pair of men's socks. I know, I know, I'm supposed to be de-stashing this year. But not to worry - these few skeins should be knit up as part of this year's Christmas knitting. Speaking of which, I better buckle down to catch up on that!

this week's blanket

Last week was all about crocheting daisies, so it's only fair that this week features knitting these beautiful squares. Fourteen squares are done, the fifteenth is about halfway and the final sixteenth square should be completed tonight. And, unless my evening schedule goes horribly off the rails, there should still be enough time to sew in all the ends and block them.

Mattress stitching them together might have to wait for the weekend though. That feels like a task best tackled by a well rested, calm, fully alert morning person. As I've learned through hard experience, how nicely the seaming is done directly impacts my happiness with the finished project. So I'm definitely going to take my time to do it right ... no matter how eager I am to see the finished blanket!

about sock one

With all the driving back and forth, here and there, I've had plenty of opportunity to work on my Embossed Leaves socks. This afternoon I completed the first one. The toe is interesting - it spirals inward. Most people whose notes I read said that they knit the socks as written and were glad they did, so I went with that. Now that it's done, I don't think I like the toe. There's a line of decreases tracking under my toes that bugs me. But these socks are Christmas knitting, so it doesn't matter what I think. Hopefully the intended recipient agrees with everyone else and isn't bugged by the toe. Or, failing that, hopefully she's too polite to tell me otherwise.

This pattern is unbelievably quick and easy. Very intuitive too - not much need to consult the chart after working it a couple of times. The resulting fabric is very stretchy and scrunchy, not unlike Monkey socks. As a result they should fit very comfortably. One thing though, if you're considering this pattern, you may want to avoid very busy yarn. The yarn I'm using is more of a tonal yarn than really variegated, but the visibility of the pattern still suffers for it.

Now, on to sock two! Just about 10-1/2 weeks until Christmas and so much more to knit!