Thursday, February 28, 2008

stuck in hartford hat

So, it turns out that it's not that easy to leave Hartford when it's snowing. I learned this the hard way last Friday. Trains are pretty infrequent and they sell out quick when the buses and planes shut down. Luckily for me, I had a small knitting project along to keep me company. Even more luckily, it was a hat, which was great because I had run out the door with only a scarf (ask me why I'm never ever ever counting on New Haven cabs ever again). It only could have been better had it been socks. (After trudging through about 4 inches of snow for about 4 miles in pantyhose and ballet flats, I really wished that I was sock knitter.)
The pattern is the Odessa hat, modified for thicker yarn (instead of 110 stitches, I cast on 70). I also omitted the beads, figuring that the many shades of pink were girly enough. I used this cashmere yarn from the Purl sale bin, and it is lovely. I've never knit with 100% cashmere and it's so soft that it almost made the Hartford train station seem cozy. And, at 40% off, I can almost convince myself that it was a worthy splurge. But what do we think about using cashmere for a hat? It seems a little wasteful to use the softness on something that will mostly only ever touch my hair.

I still haven't decided if I like the fit; the brim is a little floppy for my taste, so I might frog to reknit on smaller needles. But it does allow my ponytail to fit neatly under the hat, so I may leave it as is.

I have too many things on my needles right now and not enough time to finish any of them. Next up will probably be the baby blanket that has convinced me that I'm too stubborn for my own good...

1 comment:

Elizabeth said...

Super cute! I also think that hats are a perfect use for cashmere. Anything that can rub against ears and foreheads needs to be soft.