Monday, November 07, 2005

Do not attempt to adjust the colour settings on your monitor.

An email from my 15 year old nephew...I can't believe I have a nephew that's 15!



Dear Auntie Carolyn: I love my hat so much from last Christmas that this year I
want 2!!!My Dad would also like one.I wear my hat now to the hockey arena on
Saturdays.So cool.My Dad said he would wear one if he had one.What colors do you
have this year??? Thanks Kurtis
He even attached a photo of him wearing
it...



After asking for specifics...



I was thinking for me a striped black and baby-blue combo. Can you do vertical
stripes? that would be cool. ya i dont need another plain black one because my
old one is still good. I really love that hat, its the only one i wear, because
its so long and so i can get all my hair under it nicely. nick wears his often
too. he would like a combo of half and half red and black. He would prefer a red
bottom and a black top. Dad says my head is about 24" inches around. i guess
nicks would be about the same size but a few inches smaller because i have the
hair. and my mom says that your blogs are very funny and good to read. okay
thanks for the hats, and we would love new ones for this year.

Time for a little hat knit-a-long. Thank you laura... Cover Your Head Knitalong.

Vertical stripes....eh? So, it's time to learn fair aisle. With my trusty Vogue Knitting at my side and the new Holiday knitting book, I started this:



That's right people, two colour knitting...I didn't think I could do it either! The pattern is really simple and perfect for learning the basics of fair aisle knitting. Simple colour stranding with short floats. Mind you, it takes me twice as long to knit because I can only do it with one hand. I can't even imagine mastering this with two hands...but maybe one day!
This is the first time using Patons Classic Merino for me. It is quite nice.

Because I am not afraid to bare it all, here are my nice and neat floats:


A close up of the striping...not really vertical, but I think it is fun and hopefully it will be "COOL"!


As you can see, I skipped the rolled brim and did a simple 1x1 ribbing. I am also going to skip the icord top...I just don't think it will work for him! I haven't really looked closely at the decreasing, I may need to shape it differently...it looks kind of square up top. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it...hopefully this evening.

My only doubt is the fit. I want it to stretch to fit...and hopefully it will with the floats. We will see.

15 comments:

Jenny said...

I love that hat! I just bought that book last week and I thought that would be a great project for 2 color knitting. Yours is looking great!

Anonymous said...

Your nephew is so cute to write you such nice e-mails! Wow, he loves his hat so much, he wants another - the best compliment! His new hat is coming out very nicely, and I know you'll have no troubles with a red and black one either.

Mrs. H said...

Cool hats! If you can impress a teenager, especially a teenager BOY, you must be THE BOMB. haha The new hat looks great and I do think he will like it. I'm crossing my fingers for you on the stretchy-ness issue. I've never two-colored something that needed to be that stretchy. Two-handed is so fast and fun once you get the hang of it but it seems harder to catch onto for "continental-ers". I'm an English knitter and I took to it like a duck to water. quack!

Laura said...

Thanks for the plug for the knitalong! That hat looks great. I agree with your design mods--for a teenage boy, the i-cord at the top seems like asking to be teased. LOL! I think he will like the stripes. I have done two-color knitting, but I use only one hand too. Someday... :)

Anonymous said...

Well, that is the sign of a successful knit!

I love the spiral stripes. That was a great idea.

Anonymous said...

I love those emails! What a cute teenager!

And I'm so impressed that you are trying fair isle. I've been contemplating trying out colorwork for the first time too. I just have to finish up a few things and then I'm going to try it!

Anonymous said...

What a cutie! As a continental knitter it was almost painful at first to make my right fingers move so much, but I've gotten the hang of the 2 handed fair isle. It took one project. I've been using the Patons for fair isle mittens lately. Just make sure your nephew knows not to machine wash and dry it or it'll felt!

Jillio said...

that hat is sooo cool! and i think it's wonderful that your nephew loves your knit hat!

Anonymous said...

That is so great that he wrote you that letter! I so enjoy knitting for people that love what I've made them : ) If they are that excited then I want to make them something else! The striped hat is too cute. Very impressive and the wrong side looks perfect!

winnie said...

your nephew is just too cute. doesn't it feel great to know that your knits are deeply appreciated? and that two-color vertical stripes look really good. I might have to try knitting with more than one color now that i've seen yours!

Allison said...

Looks fantastic so far! I have "the book", too, and I'm so in love with all the projects that I really can't decide what to do first. Those over-the-knee socks are up there on my list, though...

Reb said...

That's so sweet, the whole thing--his note, his pic, his requests, your learning Fair Isle and aiming to please!

Anonymous said...

That´s really cute! Oh how I wish my younger brother would appreciate my knits so much!
Im making "tychus" from knittys man issue for him as a christmas present (you see? vertical stripes everywhere...). That pattern would be a good choice if the fair isle hat won´t get stretchy enough.

Tracy Batchelder said...

It must feel good to have your knitting loved so.

Anonymous said...

Wow, isn't it great to be so appreciated!

Kathie