Fan of Green Cables

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I am slowly-but-surely progressing on the braid & bobble hat:


Here's a closer shot, and I'm folding up the bottom edge to show how it's to be worn:

I couldn't figure out, when I first started knitting this, why there was a cable on the wrong side next to that big section of seed stitch. It's not apparent (at least not to me) in the pattern picture that one is to fold up that bottom edge when wearing the hat. I like that design feature, but at this point I'm still wondering if blocking will be sufficient to keep that edge folded up, or if I'll need to tack it down with yarn or thread. Time will tell....

I love knitting this hat and although I'm painfully slow, I'm getting faster, now that I can better predict the upcoming stitches and have the cables and crosses (mostly) memorized. I've finished three repeats thus far, with seven more to go before it will be sewn together and the crown knitting begins. At first, I could only get through 8 rows in an evening of television knitting. Now I can get through an entire 16-row repeat (whoo hoo) in one sitting.

And I'm now in love with cables, (hence the corny pun in this post's title), and predict there will be many more cable-y patterns in my future. I'm currently eyeing the lovely Cable & Garter Stitch Turtleneck by Vermont Fiber Designs, and need to buy the pattern and start thinking about yarn. All in good time.

I've been buying lots of patterns recently, including a bunch from Heartstrings FiberArts, and all three of The Girl From Auntie's cute patterns. Very inspiring.

I'm also encouraged that my Dumb-Donald/Lidsville hat has contracted somewhat back into shape, after drying, from this:

to this:
It's still bigger than it originally was, and therefore may now be too big for the niece's head. She'll be given the option to reject it, if it doesn't fit or she doesn't like it. And I always give my knitted-gift recipients at least one "real" gift, along with their knitted item, in case they don't like the knitwear that's been foisted upon them.

That blue glass head comes in handy for drying purposes. It fits inside my dryer on the drying rack, and the glass heats up and therefore helps the inside of the hat to dry as fast (or faster) than the outside. An unexpected bonus. Glad I bought the thing!

This should be a fun week:

Tonight my beach-living sister and her daughters are coming into town, and we'll be heading off to dinner with our parents.

Tomorrow, I believe we're going to the Metro Richmond Zoo, like last year's excursion. Should be fun -- I love the zoo. And the people who own and run it are so nice. Last year, they told us that they're putting in a train this year -- I hope it's up and running tomorrow!

Friday I'm driving west to stay with my Lynchburg-living sister and attend Saturday's Sedalia Spring Fiber Festival with her and perhaps her knitter-daughter, as well. Can't wait -- I love fiber festivals!

In the meantime, why is it that, now that I'm finally ready to make the switch from old Blogger to new Blogger, I no longer have an invitation to switch? Isn't that always the way?

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