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!