What I Did on My Vacation

I didn't go to Disneyland. I didn't go to Hawaii. I went to the cabin in Idaho and spent a good bit of time there knitting. And knit on the eight+ hour drives each way too.

I finally finished the bunny slippers! Yay! Hurray!

Their story is: He's a country bunny, come to the city to visit, and she's a city bun who's no better than she should be. Let's hope he doesn't lose his tail. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.)

For a good friend who's undergoing chemotherapy, I knit two hats. The russet colored one is knit of Elsebeth Lavold Cool Wool, 50% wool, 50% cotton. Very nice. Soft. It's intended to be worn purl side out, so it's smooth on her sensitive scalp, as a sleeping cap. Since socks knit with the smooth stockinet side in on the sole are called "princess sole", I named this hat the "Princess in Disguise Bed Cap."

The other one is just for fun, knit from Crystal Palace Splash, 100% polyester. I call it the "Ditzy Blonde Cap."

And, just to keep things even (heads and toes, don't yah know), I knit a pair of bed socks out of Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds, 75% acrylic, 25% wool, machine wash & dry - I know the habits of the person who's getting these, they've gotta be indestructible.

I thought I was selecting an elegant pattern. It looked elegant in the sock book. Of course, when knit with chunky brown yarn instead of delicate, pale saffron, sock yarn... What can I say? Something was lacking in the translation. The "lace" looks like Tootsie Rolls appliqued to the socks. So I decided to call them the Tootsie Roll Sweet Dreams Bed Socks.

Does that make it sound like the end result was on purpose? (I hope.)

P.S. Yes, I do name all of my projects. I want them to feel important.

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

Trust In the Math?

I bought some very appealing Patons Bohemian yarn thinking it would make a nice chemo cap to give away. The cats thought it looked appealing too, just like a mousie, so they shredded the bag and were starting in on the first skein when I saved it.

I knit a swatch. Okay, I admit it, I'm weird, I like knitting swatches. I like seeing how the yarn feels and works and getting the hang of it without worrying about making mistakes. Then I usually frog my swatch and use it in my project.

Anyhoo, I knit a swatch on the suggested size 11 needles (ooh soft) and got the gauge - 2 stitches per inch.

To make the hat more one-size-fits-all, I decided to knit it in a 2x2 rib, so I cast on 44 stitches and knit a few rows. When I tried it on my head, it didn't seem nearly big enough. No way would it encompass my noggin -- and my head ain't that big.

So I frogged it and cast on 52 stitches.

Tried it on after a dozen rows or so and it seemed to fit fine.

Knittidy, knit, knit, knit. Try it on. Hmm... seems long enough, let's do the decreases and finish this puppy off. Once it was off the needles, I tried it on again.

Ever seen the old Cosby Kids cartoon? Remember Dumb Donald? Yep, that's how my hat fit. Less the eye holes, of course.

Crud. Shoulda believed the math.

So I decided to make it into a beret. I cast on 44 stitches. Since I'd found the yarn wasn't the least bit stretchy, I used the backwards loop cast on and knit several rounds in 1x1 rib. My yarn was running way low, so rather than casting off and sewing the band onto the hat body, I sewed it straight from the needle onto the hat.

Looked good...

Tried it on. The yarn relaxed, the ribs turned into ripples and it was still - too - big. Dang.

Guess I just learned to consider the yarn as well as the math.

Know anybody with a really big head who'd like a brown teddy bear
beret?

The Chemo Cap

The call came Wednesday night. "I've got to have the chemo cap for my cousin done by Thursday night, and I think I dropped a stitch!"

"Have you knit enough more on it that it's ready for me to close up," I asked.

"Just about," she replied.

So I had her bring over the cap and the needles.

She hadn't dropped a stitch, her tension was just uneven, so I picked it up and knit industriously away using two short circulars instead of the DPN's to decrease. I sure am glad I learned how to do that, I much prefer it to having needle points poking out all over.



When I called my friend in the morning to tell her it was done she was ecstatic and came right over to pick it up.

As she was exiting the door with the cap clutched to her chest, she turned to me and said, "I am going to tell her I knit it."

I grinned and said, "Of course. It never would have been knit without you."

I hope her cousin likes it.