Sunday, February 26, 2006

done! done! done!

My needles have been a flurry of activity and yesterday I cast off with a completed hat. At the time, there was no way it'd fit on my head and I was fairly certain that I'd just finished a hat for my donation pile.

Then I blocked it.


( 18 degrees F and the wind is blowing...)

.....and it fits. It even fits over the hair "bump."


on the "sun porch" (it's screened in (read: snow blows onto the porch) and cold out there!)

To say that I'm excited is an understatement. The cotton liner has been sewn down and the only things left to do are figure out the "twisty" thing that is made up of the extra yarn AND go back and pull a few of the strands a bit tighter. The stitches evened out with the blocking (I used a peanut butter jar wrapped in some extra fleece fabric and a plastic shopping bag) but there is a looseness/ladder'ness where the needles joined.

If that knocks me down to silver or bronze it's okay.

It's done. And it fits.

(edited to add project specs)
Pattern: The "Kristen" Hat Kit from Bea Ellis Knits
I'd order from them again in a heartbeat and highly reccomend their website!
needles: dpn size us3 for the liner, dpn us5 for the hat
started and finished during the Olympics; I could probably have knit the whole hat during a weekend, but being tied down to a chart pattern meant it took a bit longer.

31 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations! The hat looks great and toasty warm too.

2:11 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It looks great (and hardly like the hat I saw on Wednesday)! Great job. :)

2:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It looks fantastic. I'm so glad you stuck it out AND that it worked out. I love the light/dark blue combo (and matches the vest quite well)

2:43 PM  
Blogger Marina said...

Awesome, I knew it would fit once it was blocked. Great job!

2:53 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

That is quite beautiful. The fact that it's blue entrances me not just a little. That it fits? Wondrous! I'd say it gets gold.

3:27 PM  
Blogger Pumpkinmama said...

Congrats - it looks great. I'm so impressed with all you brave Olympians.

3:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Love the hat! What a cute pattern, and its nice that it is your name too!

4:17 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's beautiful! Congratulations!

5:25 PM  
Blogger Theresa said...

Nothing like a little (or lot) of blocking! Congrats!

5:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Repeat after me: Blocking is my friend. I will not appear in public unless I am blocked.

Now call KnitPicks and let them know the secret (have you noticed that they don't block a lot of the garments in their catalog?).

Hat looks great--we don't care about style in the Olympic speed events so don't worry!

5:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, that turned out beautifully--I love the colors and the pattern. And isn't blocking wonderful magic?

5:58 PM  
Blogger Katy said...

Awesome! I'm so glad it fits you! Wear it with pride. ;)

7:49 PM  
Blogger Nikki said...

Hooray! Congratulations! I'm so tempted to order a kit and make one for myself. ;o)

9:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well Done!! It looks spectacular and the fit is perfect!

9:24 PM  
Blogger Rosemary said...

Way to go! Looks great. Isn't amazing how blocking fixes so many issues with handknits.

And thank you sooo much for the shot of icy snow. I don't think I'm ready to return, but I'll be back in the northeast on Tuesday. Eeek.

9:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm just loving your hat and that pattern. It's unusual but at the same time very comfortable and wearable! Props for selecting such nice colors and pattern and doing a fab job knitting!

9:41 PM  
Blogger Maria said...

Beautiful job! I love the subtlety of the colors and the excellent execution!

9:41 PM  
Blogger Carole Knits said...

Kristen, it looks great. Congratulations!

9:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Beautiful!! All the wonderful Olympic-related stranded knitting is making me want to go out and buy a Dale kit :)

11:09 PM  
Blogger Kathy said...

Very nice! The colors are subtle, but you can definitely see the pattern. I say you get the gold!

11:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations! It looks great. I'm so glad for you about the happy surprise of it fitting after blocking.

11:39 PM  
Blogger Karen said...

Congratulations! That is wonderful! I am so glad it fits. It is a gorgeous hat!

10:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It turned out so great!!! And you were worried about it being too small. Now I want to make it too... and since I still haven't put the physical copy of the pattern in the mail (so sorry!!!) now I may never send it back.... mwah haa haaa!

Just kidding. I *promise* I will put it in the mail tomorrow. :) (I left it at home by accident today)

10:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

congratulations! it looks stunning on you!

10:54 AM  
Blogger Martha said...

And the pattern's named for you! It looks great!

12:14 PM  
Blogger Jofrog said...

Yeah hat! It looks great, isn't stranded knitting great! Next project in mind...?

1:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The hat looks great!!

9:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yay! Looks great!

10:57 PM  
Blogger T... said...

That is absolutely gorgeous! I am learning the magic of blocking too - though it seems to be much better at making things bigger than smaller ;)

I like the way the colors turned out even if it was the reverse of your original intention.

10:34 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow! when i first saw it I thought it was just a variegated yarn...and then after looking at it close, the pattern popped out...it's beautiful! great job!

11:25 AM  
Blogger claudia said...

LOOK HOW NICE THAT IS!

Congratulations.

2:30 PM  

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