Chemo Cap Pattern

I just found out that a friend's teenage daughter has leukemia. She's been undergoing treatment and seems to be responding well, but, you know how it is with hair, it doesn't like the insult of chemotherapy.

As is so often the case these days, I decided to say I care by knitting her a gift, a chemo cap.

The Patons Bohemian is incredibly soft, machine washable and quick and easy to knit.

Cuddly Chemo Cap

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This cap can be knit either on a 16" circular needle, changing to double points when necessary, or by using the Magic Loop technique on a long circular needle, or two shorter circular needles.

20" circumference, but stretches
Gauge, 2 stitches per inch.
1 skein Patons Bohemian (uses about 2/3 of the skein)

Size 11, or size to get gauge, needle(s) for knitting in the round

Tapestry needle

Pattern

Cast on 40 stitches using long tail method.

Join circle, making sure not to twist stitches.

Place marker at first stitch and knit about 6 inches.

Decrease Rounds

Round 1 Beginning at marker *k2tog, K6* (35 stitches remain)

Round 2 *k*

Round 3 *k2tog, k5*  (30 stitches remain)

Round 4 *k*

Round 5 *k2tog, k4*  (25 stitches remain)
Round 6 *k*

Round 7 *k2tog, k3*  (20 stitches remain)

Round 8 *k2tog, k2*  (15 stitches remain)

Round 9 *k2tog, k1*  (10 stitches remain)

Round 10 *k2tog* Leaving 5 stitches on needle(s)

Finishing
Cut yarn leaving 8 inch tail, thread onto tapestry needle and run through 5 stitches remaining on knitting needle(s). Cinch tightly and weave in tail. Weave in tail at bottom edge of hat.

Cut a 24 inch length of yarn, thread onto tapestry needle at pull through stitches at top of hat. Adjust so approximately half of yarn is on each side, then tie a bow. Knot the ends of the yarn so it doesn't disintegrates.

Can be worn with edge flat or rolled as in picture.

Updated to correct errata 2/4/19

Glamorous But Featherweight

She's prettier than GlassHead was and way less breakable, but, somehow, I don't think I'll ever forget my first head. And I'd, just a couple weeks ago, bought GlassHead her very own Miley Cyrus wig. I'll bet GlamFoamHead would look down her patrician white nose at $6.97 synthetic hair.

But she is purty.

Glass Disaster

I'd soaked the Bryce Canyon Cap and stretched it over the glass head to block.Sigh. I guess the smell of wet baby alpaca was too much for Sachi to resist.

Fortunately the sink contained all of the glass shards and the cat wasn't cut.

Unfortunately, none of the Pier 1 Imports in the valley have any glass heads in stock, some guy doing an art installation bought them all up.

Now where can I find a new head?

Travel Knitting

You know you're addicted when you take your knitting along with you on a photo expedition. Not that it's unreasonable; one cannot, after all, take pictures twenty-four hours a day. So while I was touring the red rock country of southern Utah, I brought along a skein of half priced yarn to while away those evening hours in the motel room as GuiGirl and I talked about color, shadows and light conditions.

I must have been inspired by the landscape. The end product of my knitting was the Bryce Canyon Cap, seen here modeled by GuiGirl.
Note unexpected undulations of rust and ocher so reminiscent of the geological formations of the area. There are swirls of dark green like the omnipresent junipers along with leaf patterns and twisting trails in the lacework. Wow, after that analysis, I'm thinking I maybe should have been an English Lit teacher. I can find hidden meanings in the knitting of a hat like they can find hidden meanings in the prose of Moby Dick.

Either that or I can really pitch some bull...

Latvian Baby Jacket - and Beanie

I'm headed out of town for five days, but managed to finish my latest project before traveling. Of course, when I get back and have time to write the accompanying letter, the baby togs are going to be traveling as well. All the way to Latvia. Which is way longer than my trip.

When I get back I will post the pattern for the little hat and a bit of commentary about the making of the items.

Later --

Shawl On Lovely Model

Sunglasses have been added to protect the innocent.

Thanks again KC.

Blocking, Blockhead, Something Like That...

The Civil War shawl is finally blocking in the primary guest room. (Are the Engineer and I weird? All of the rooms in our house have names.) KC, who is one good cookie, has said she will model it for my camera tomorrow, so watch this space for further photos.

I went on Ravelry to look at some of the 1354 versions of Susan Lawrence's Forest Canopy shawl just for comparison and was amazed at looking at how quickly so many of the people who knit this pattern turned it out. A couple of days in many cases.

Took me a month.

I think I must be the world's slowest knitter.

Or maybe I just make and fix the most boo-boos.

Big Tink or Little Frog

Sometimes you just have to wonder...

I had knit all of the edge rows on the Civil War shawl and was doing a final count of stitches to make sure everything was copesetic when I saw one big mess. Dang! How did I do that? More to the point, how did I not realize I'd done that?

Sure as heck didn't want to frog a dozen rows to fix a localized problem like that.

One of the things that Susan had taught in the shawl knitting class was backtracking and repair. I'd already done some of it before her lesson, so it wasn't entirely new material, but it's always good to have necessary skills reinforced.

Here goes...

Unraveled the offending stitches. Good grief, look at all those loose strands. I'm not going into the details. Don't want the air to turn blue with the required colorful language. Suffice it to show...

Tah-dah! It ain't perfect, but I think it will look okay once it's blocked.