Green Beret, take two

Well, it worked... I knitted it using the small instructions instead of the large, and I went down a needle size. The fabric of the other hat was a little too drapey; I think this one will be more winter-proof. It fits much better, although I wish the top was roomier. I'm not going to push my luck, though!

I guess I was a little surprised that the first version of this hat was so very huge, only because I was getting 18 stitches to 4 inches (compared with the pattern's 17 stitches). I either miscounted or followed the directions wrong. I also have a 22 1/2 inch head, so I thought that knitting the large at a slightly tighter gauge would fit perfectly. Oh well. [ETA: No, Jo, I am not going to grow a bigger head :) my current one is big enough!]
Peg, thanks for your suggestions. I've seen at least one of your berets; that's what made me want to knit this one. I love this color, too. The yarn is called Kathmandu Aran, and it's a wool-silk-cashmere blend. It was a little worse for wear after being frogged, but not so badly that you can tell in the finished product.

Next post: Kim steeks!

I may have miscalculated gauge a bit...

Tweed Beret, from Interweave Knits fall 2006 [Edit: it was winter '06 actually] ... now frogged and awaiting rebirth on smaller needles, in the smaller size. LOL

I could have been knitting...

...if it weren't for Ravelry! Holy shmoleys, what an undertaking!

I had gotten this far when my invitation came:

And this is how far I am now (see above). I trust that once I get my old projects onto Ravelry and some of the "new toy" shininess wears off, I'll be able to get away from the computer and actually knit again. For now, though, I'm just entranced by the amazing variety of yarns and projects and I'm getting some great ideas for some future projects.

I did take Rose out for a little photo shoot. It's finally cool enough for sweaters, and this Trellis in the 12-month size still fits her (link is her first photo shoot in it) -- but I have a feeling this will be the last season she'll be able to wear it (her tummy is starting to poke out).

Happy Birthday to me!

Yesterday was my birthday. The Kilburns have developed a tradition of extending birthdays into a celebration that usually last three days, sometimes longer. It's a very nice tradition that makes up for my having to conduct (pun intended) two rehearsals yesterday.

It starts with "birthday eve," the night before the birthday, which is observed by the consumption of ice cream. Andy took me to Stroh's after choir practice (yes, I had three rehearsals in the space of two days; I love my job) and we had sundaes -- mine was Butterfinger ice cream with Sanders hot fudge and whipped cream. Yum!

Then, the actual day is celebrated with cards and dinner. Because of my schedule, we're having our dinner out tonight -- see, a three day celebration. We're going to Black Pine Tree for sushi, then to Borders to grab armloads of books and browse through them while sipping coffee and eating bad desserts.

Then, the best part -- the fall Knitty came out yesterday, happy birthday to me! and I got my Ravelry invite this afternoon, very happy birthday to me! So I'm going to be spending some time browsing and playing, and dreaming of projects-to-be.

Baby Norwegian Sleeves

Tee hee... Knitting these is like eating Cool Ranch Doritos. "I'm just going to knit a couple of rounds..." and before I know it, I've polished off half the bag, er, um, sleeve. Gauge and evenness are much improved since the swatch.

On to the body!

Trying to get a head start

I'm patiently awaiting my invitation to join the fun at Ravelry, and it occured to me that perhaps I could get a head start on what I hear is one of my first tasks as a member; namely, posting pics of all my FOs and current projects and stash. Luckily, because of this blog, I've got a handle on the first two categories. But I'm not in the habit of taking pictures of all my yarn before it's knit up into something.

So that's a semi-big something to do; then to upload them and get them onto Flickr is another. But if I do little here and a little there, by the time Ravelry invites me (or is ready to move out of beta), I'll be ready to hit the ground running.

I'm off to take pictures of yarn (my poor neighbors!).