Bless me Blogger, for I have sinned.

It has been four years since my last confession. 
    How does this work again?  Blogger looks almost like a word processor now.  That's to the better.
      I'm not capable of playing catch-up all at once.  I have knit a LOT of things and finished a few.  I have pictures on different devices, which are not necessarily this device.
      Okay, not this device.  I'll get back to you.  Promise.

Click➔ Interlude and Sing-Along  

Hats for Cold Heads
   I realized something one day when dear ol' FOIKTIB (Friend of I Knit Therefore I Blog), Sue, got upset because she thought I was going to present her a knitted object.  She thinks that means she has to do the same for me.  My response to that was a loud, What the Hell Else am I supposed to do with all this shit I'm knitting?*  I don't always feel that way, but it happens sometimes that when I give myself a project to knit for a special occasion it starts out fun, but gets to be a chore and an obligation.  So most of the stuff I knit is for no good reason, outside of socks. And inside of a sock, it's too dark to read.  I generally enjoy my knitting more if it's an impulse, rather than compulsory.  I don't wear hats, but I knit them.

        Here is a finished object that currently rides around with me in a Mo's Irish Pub bag in my car.  Sometimes when I find somebody asking for change I ask the person if he or she would like a warm hat.  Sometimes they do.  If there is time, they get to choose.  The last time, was in a strip mall.  I wasn't going to ask because the guy already had a hat, but I reconsidered since we weren't in traffic.  The guy chose 3 for  people he knew.  After I came out of the dollar store, he told me where to come to find a couple of homeless families after dark.  So that was nice.  

This hat was not one he chose.   

Pattern: Advanced Beanie by Gralina Frie

Yarn: 220 Superwash Aran.  It is very soft and squishy, though a touch slippery to work 

    The Advance Beanie is bottom up  It has crown shaping that was new to me.  There are 3 rows between every decrease row.  That gives you a lot of room to play with stitch patterns, but every decrease row is a doozie.  In this case, they are 14 stitches each.  I have used it successfully on another hat.  Give a look-see.  The pattern is free.  Thank you Gralina Frie!
    I usually prefer top down hats and toe-up socks, for two reasons.  One reason is that cast-ons have a big number of stitches. I keep loosing count, so I have to keep starting over.  The next reason is that I tended to cast on too tightly.  Did you notice the past tense?  Tended.  Recently, Laura, another FOIKTIB, taught me how to cast on loosely using the plain old long tail method.   So I am 50% more confident with bottom up hats.  There is no help for the counting problems.

   **I will be swearing more often on the blog, now that I am not teaching children anymore.  (Woo F**n' Hoo!)