NuttyIrishmanKnits

All Aboard!

Kiddie Cadet by Alice Schenbly
knitted in Rowan Classic Cotton Jeans, blue jeans
Ravelers see it here

My Jr. Conductor has an official Jr. Conductor's hat. And Annabelle is so excited about it! She wanted to wear her new hat to school today, but I hadn't sewn the bottom side of the brim on yet, and reluctantly she agreed to let me finish it.

What an absolutely delightful pattern Kiddie Cadet is! I finished the hat last night watching the Australian Open, and finished the brim this morning. The pattern was so easy to follow and made complete sense as I was knitting. The only thing I got flipped around on was adding the brim. Which is no surprise, because I always think I have the right side facing me, but I never do. Being left handed I get turned around! So the only thing different about mine is there is an extra row of garter ridges on the brim, and on the short rows I had to switch to purl when the directions called for knit and vice versa. But it was an easy adjustment and there were no hang-ups. And the extra garters worked perfectly for sewing the underside of the brim to.

I chose to make Annabelle's with the child-size pattern. I would normally knit the toddler for her, but this is my first time using Rowan's Cotton Jeans, and knew the hat would need to be able to endure both the washer and (possibly) a low-heat dryer. So I went up a size to allow for shrinkage. And even before being properly blocked the hat fits her well, even sitting just above her ears as denoted in the pattern.

So kudos to Alice! I love this hat! And will probably be forced to now knit one for myself using this great yarn again as well! So for all the NIK readers out there looking for a fun, fast, and adorable kiddie knit, I say All-Aboard for Kiddie Cadet!

Coffee & Tarts

Andy went to his first "Power Cycling" class this morning at 5:30. I don't think he intended to wake me up, but searching for a pair of sneakers you haven't worn in a year and a half will wake anybody up. So, up I got, and thought you might get a kick out of seeing the seriousness of my coffee addiction (see my About page). Here we are at 5:43 by my oven clock...

and again at 5:44... same clock.

Some may call it a problem, I call it a gift...

And I have to tell you I am a little bit freaking out right now. As of 3:00 this afternoon, I have had more than 200 visitors to the January Hat post today. That's a whole lotta people for a prairie wife. As a matter of fact I called Andy at work and sent him a copy of the pattern to proof for me one more time. (This is where his being Editor-in-Chief of his law school's law review comes in handy.) And he, once again, reminded me that he does not knit! And has no idea what any of it means. But you know, when you're freaking out, just having someone there to freak out at, helps a whole bunch. So, those of you who do decide to knit the January Hat, please let me know, send me a picture! I can't wait to see what you do with it! That's one thing I love the most about knitting... how we can take someone's pattern and revamp it into our own. Making something to suit you is a great luxury with knitting. And one I take full advantage of!

Now on to my latest FO. I just finished blocking Baby Tart by Cinnamon Cooper. This hat was a booger. But I think it turned out fairly well. It wasn't so much the bobbles that gave me a fit, it was the decrease! By the time I got into the decrease, and had to keep flipping back and forth in the instructions... bobble pattern, bobble decrease pattern, hat decrease pattern... I was completely turned upside down, and ended up winging the last of it. But I should have known this hat was going to be trouble from the start when I had to email the designer and ask, "Umm... where does it say how many stitches to cast on?." Yep, there were dark clouds gathering. But, I think baby Chloe will look adorable in it none the less!

Baby Tart by Cinnamon Cooper
Ravelers see it here