Saturday, January 26, 2008

Lucky 7

A month and a half. Yikes. I could claim holiday madness, or the fact that I got a cold over the holidays that I'm only just now getting over, or that I've been so busy learning how to do my new (yet alomst-over) three-week job while interviewing for other ones, or that I hurt my back last weekend and couldn't sit up long enough to blog.

And all of that would be true. But the real reason I haven't blogged is because there haven't been any FO's. Not only have there not been any FO's recently, but if I think about it, the "newest" of my WIPs was cast on in June. All the rest are more than a year old, and it's just sad. I was so excited that I was going to finish Samus and cast on for Autumn Rose, but the ribbon placket for Samus has been the bane of my existence. One side went in fine, but I am currently re-sewing the second one for the third time, since I can never seem to get it to be the same length as the other one, no matter how carefully I measure. I am nowhere near being ready to install the zipper itself.

Finally, on Wednesday, just before I went to Late Night at my LYS, I cracked. The hat I was wearing totally did not match my scarf, and it wasn't handknit either! This is because before the holidays, I very sadly lost a lovely hat that my future sister-in-law knit for me last year. And the other hat I had knit for myself two years before has not been seen since we moved. I was desperately in need of a new hat! At least, that's what I told myself. But what I really needed was a new project, that I could finish quickly and use right away. Enter Knitgirl and the rest of the Late Night gang. KG recommended some Malabrigo worsted, and while everyone was helping me pick a color, she went onto Ravelry and quickly found me a perfect pattern: the Lucky 7 Hat by Knittywhipped.


"Lucky 7" hat in Malabrigo worsted (Damask Rose colorway), using magic loop on US #8 42" Addi Turbos

This hat was a dream come true. I cast on at the shop on Wednesday night, knit a bit on the bus ride home, a bit on my morning commute Thursday, and both my commutes on Friday. After another couple hours in front of Law and Order and the Australian Open women's final, I had my wonderful, perfect hat. There were no errors in the pattern, and it was very easy to follow. The only problem I encountered is that Knittywhipped definitely has a smaller head than me, so I wasn't able to don my new hat as soon as I wove in the last end. However, a good blocking seems to have taken care of any size issues, and I feel like a million bucks for finally having finished something. Who knows? Maybe this was the boost of confidence I needed to finally (dare I say it?) finish Samus. I am feeling pretty lucky!

7 comments:

jennsquared said...

Nice hat! I don't own any malabrigo but I will be sure to stock them in the shop!

I am super excited about the store too! :)

more cows than people said...

gosh it has been a long time since we've heard from you.

sorry to hear some of the reasons why.

i don't get all your acronyms- guess i'm not a serious enough knitter.

it is GREAT to hear from you now.

gorgeous hat, btw.

love the pictures on facebook that taz posted from the ny weekend.

your parents look like your parents.

warm memories.

Sneaksleep said...

Thanks, More Cows. :) Sorry about the acronyms:
WIP = Work In Progress
FO = Finished Object

Sneaksleep said...

Oh, and LYS = Local Yarn Shop

Jessica said...

Glad you found something quick and satisfying. Hope all the job stuff shakes out well!

Anonymous said...

Wow, great hat and so perfectly done. I always admire your uniform, perfect stitches! I hope to see it Wednesday!

Deenz said...

Wow - Lucky 7 is seriously the hat of the week in blogland! I've seen it EVERYWHERE in my catching up today! And I want to make one too...I love how the cables all swirl together in the top!!!