Monday, December 29, 2008

Round Head, Square Hat

Deadline knitting makes me crazy. I completely suck at it. I moan and flutter and procrastinate. As Douglas Adams once said:
I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go by.
I stand in awe of people who give tons of knitted Christmas gifts, and every year I laugh with the Yarn Harlot as she relates her personal Christmas marathons.

I will, however, make an exception for birthdays. Personally, I like birthdays better than Christmas anyway. So much less pressure, and all the focus is on one person.

My stepfather’s birthday was at the end of September. I gave him a gift certificate for a hand-knit hat, because the day had sort of snuck up on me. I know, I know, it’s the same day every year… did I mention that I suck at deadline knitting?

I made him a Turn A Square hat with two colors of Noro Silk Garden that my mother picked out. This is really a quick and easy knit, and the Silk Garden knits up into the most amazingly soft fabric.

I frogged my first start, because the join was just too ugly to ignore and I decided that one inch of ribbing just wasn’t enough. I nearly frogged it again when I realized how big it was turning out, but my mother assured me that it actually fit the intended head.

So I kept knitting, ignoring the little voice in my head.

Little Voice: “It’s big.”
Me: “I know… shut up, wouldja? This hat is late! Mom says it fits!”

TryOn

Little Voice: “Look at that, it’s ginormous!”
Me: “La la la laaaaa… can’t hear you!”

I made it far longer than the pattern called for, going nearly seven inches before I started the decreases. Joe wanted a hat that would keep his ears covered, and I figured that a hat that nearly came past my nose would probably do the trick for him.

Huge

I cut it pretty close with the main color.

Leftovers

But oh, it was so pretty once I got it off the needles. Gave it a good long bath in some Soak, then a few whirls in the salad spinner. Then I stuffed it full of kitchen towels to dry.

BlockSide02

BlockTop

I finally gifted the hat on Saturday, nearly three months to the day after Joe’s birthday.

Side

When he first tried it on I said, “Oh no, it’s too big!” As if I'd been ignoring the little voice in my head or something.

He says it’s just right. It’s bigger and slouchier than I think Jared intended but it will certainly keep his ears covered.

And just look at that smile!

BigSmile

So, while it may be true that I completely suck at deadline knitting, at least I can say that it was worth the wait.

Happy [belated] Birthday Joe!

Project Details:
Pattern: Turn A Square by Jared Flood
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden, colorways 8 (main color, 122 yards) and 267 (contrasting color, 73 yards)
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm) and US 6 (4.0 mm)
Embarrassing Time It Took To Finish: October-December 2008

8 comments:

Karen said...

His grin tells the real story -- you can tell he loves it, and it looks great on him! I know what you mean about deadline knitting (witness the lace scarf I was supposed to make my sister, um, a month ago), but you made it, and that's what counts.

Bells said...

Better late than never right? It looks so totally worth the wait. One day I'll use the noro in my stash for something like that!

Jen said...

How cute is your stepdad??

It looks fantastic! Who knew that Noro has a yarn that's soft...? Hmm.

Anonymous said...

The hat looks great on him! Perhaps just the teeniest bit large on you though? It's a lovely pattern - I keep seeing it at the moment.

TinkingBell said...

Cool hat - and that damn head voice - I need ear muffs for that one!

Kathleen Taylor said...

Love the hat! And long hats are better than hats that are too short (you can always roll the brim up a bit).

Anonymous said...

he loves it and it's beautiful. see? it sometimes pays to ignore the little voice...

remember; it's the same one that tells you that you shouldn't buy more yarn... right? :)

TinkerTots said...

I would wear it tighter.. but you can tell he's thrilled with it! It's a beautiful hat.