Well, I didn’t quite hit my 24-hour hat deadline - not quite, but almost. I cast on shortly after my post on Saturday:
And this was about an hour later, when I finished the ribbed brim. Mary Mac is making a debut appearance, poking out of the background. She is lovely.
(I went without tubular cast-on, as it takes me forever to do it in the round and it makes me stroppy.)
On Saturday night, I went out to eat and then to the cinema with Helen. We saw Up In The Air with George Clooney. It was good! However, it impacted greatly on my knitting time. Still, I got two full pattern repeats done when we got home.
On Sunday morning, Laura and I went for a stroll at a country park near my house. There were lots of swans, swanning about and generally looking a bit threatening. We had a nice energetic walk and a bargainous cup of tea.
I headed home back to my knitting and finished the third (and final) pattern repeat before nipping to Boyes (weird department store type place. I had a ribbon emergency (if such a thing exists) and Boyes sells ribbon) and having to get ready to go out for Neil’s sister’s - also, slightly confusingly, called Helen - birthday dinner. So, at three o’ clock yesterday, my deadline, my hat looked liked this:
The brim is split open like that because I knit it flat and sewed it up later. Time was money! I suppose I could’ve just left it like that and always worn a ponytail poking jauntily through the top.
After our meal, I got clacking on the last 6 rounds before the crown decreases, and finished them last night. I had to stop there because I was at Neil’s and didn’t have my double-pointed needles, tapestry needle, or (crucially) the pattern. Not to be beaten, I got home after work tonight and finished those last few rounds. The hat is complete! Over deadline, yes, but I think my excuses are valid: I was barely home this weekend.
I liked my little deadline idea. It made me focus on one thing instead of flitting about procrastinating. I think I’m going to go and steam block Mr Hat. I wet-blocked my red one over a plastic picnic plate, but my brim stretched out pretty badly. Without blocking, however, the hat has little points poking out all over. A bit like a pine cone. Snazzy!
I’ll be trotting off to work tomorrow in my pine cone hat. I hope you all have a merry Tuesday at your various places of education and business. Powerdown!
