Knit Along: Sweetie Pie Baby Hat from String Theory Yarn Co. - DONE!

It’s done!

That’s the beauty of little projects--you actually get to the finish line. We won’t talk about the 1000-yard-lace-weight-on-size-6-needle shawl that’s been in my “in progress” box for three years...

Speaking of how long, yes, I had more than enough yarn to finish the hat. You’d think I’d have gotten over that little phobia by now, having been proved wrong over and over. The folks at BeSweet can be trusted. Still, the trauma of being even one ball short on a project years ago can leave deep wounds. We won’t talk about the foray for months on ebay to find that black wool so Mom’s sweater could actually have sleeves....

I was a little stumped by the double i-cord, figuring out how to divide up the eight stitches into two 4-stitch i-cords, but I got around it. The gap between the two cords was larger than I would like, but a few stitches with the tail from the yarn reattached for the second cord took care of that quickly. And I do love the look of a tiny one’s head all tied up like a pretty gift. When they lay down over the crown they look fine...but if they stick up at all they have the disturbing tendency to look like antennae.

Now to the very best part of such projects...deciding which adorable head gets to wear this cutie. A delightful dilemma, to be sure.

Next up? We venture to my other hometown fav store in Downers Grove, Illinois. A yarn store coffee bar...as my son says, “everything you really care about in one room!”

Knit Along: Sweetie Pie Baby Hat from String Theory Yarn Co. - Day 4

Crown me...

With the bobbles behind me, the crown feels like an easy downhill slide. Although I am staring at the small amount of yarn left and wondering if we’ve got enough to make it through the two lengths of i-cord. I’m following the directions to the letter, that should mean I have enough yarn left to finish the pattern. But you know how we second-guess ourselves on these things; maybe I knit too loosely or I’ve somehow managed to use the wrong size needles. Give me a finite amount of fiber and I’ll convince myself there’s a problem ahead. It’s why I always buy an extra ball of whatever---and why I have a gazillion “extra” balls swelling my stash drawers. I need a repertoire of stash-buster patterns to be a good steward of my stash. Then again, if I really were a good steward of my yarn, would I have such an enormous stash to begin with? Best not to get too philosophical about such things.

The softness of this yarn continues to amaze me. It’s just so dreamy between the fingers. It’s a natural for baby things, but I’m greedy for my own projects. I picture a big sweater knit out of this, the kind you pull on when the sun goes down after a day at the beach. In sherbet colors with a big scoop neck. Yeah, that’d be dreamy.

Ha! In my dreams. I don’t have time to consider a project as large as a sweater. I’d be done by Christmas if I’m lucky, which isn’t really the season for beachwear (then again, cruise?). Smarten up, Allie; maybe someday, but not likely someday soon.

Best to just adapt the pattern and make a beanie for myself--I tend to look ghastly in them but it’ll be such a comfy sort of ghastly.

Knit Along: Sweetie Pie Baby Hat from String Theory Yarn Co. - Day 2

The trade-off...

Sometimes I get cocky.

I look at a pattern, I set my markers, and I cruise along like “I’ve got mad skills,” as my 14-year-old would say. I let my attention stray and, well, we’ve all been there. It generally involves saying impolite words, grunting, and undoing no less than three rows.

Now, you’d think the fact that I’m doing this in a hospital setting--where it’s forgivable to have my attentions focused elsewhere--makes it less humbling. Nope. It’s just as much a dent to my ego in the “Day Procedure Room” as it is in the comfort of my own home. Perhaps more, because there are people watching who know how devoted I am to the craft. I have probably boasted of aforementioned “mad skills” to at least one, if not all, of the nurses.

This makes me question my previous assessment that this project might make good travel knitting. I’m still not sure. Travel knitting can’t be boring--endless rows of stockinette won’t help the miles fly by like an engrossing pattern can. It becomes a trade-off: does to potential to mess up offset the engagement factor? Even after three rows of “tinking”...twice...I’d still say this pattern offers a worthwhile travel distraction. Allie-approved for the airport. The Department of Motor Vehicles. Hospital. Or anywhere you need to kill multiple hours.

The heart pattern, which offers the trap...ahem...challenge here, is too cute to hold a grudge against. I do wonder if the combination of blue and hearts might not come off--do hearts cancel out boy colors in something like this? Do real tiny men wear hearts? I remember hesitating to put my baby girl in anything blue unless it was covered in ruffles, simply because folks jump to boy if blue is involved. Chime in here, DestiKNITers, and let me know what you think.

Next up? The dreaded bobbles. Let’s see, when are we due back in the hospital...?

Knit Along: Sweetie Pie Baby Hat from String Theory Yarn Co. - Day 1

I never met a picot border I couldn’t botch.

This one was no exception. Only I didn’t botch the picot, I botched the associated provisional cast-on. I have a college degree and I’ve been knitting for over a decade, you’d think a provisional cast-on wouldn’t prove much of an obstacle. Yet, somehow, I managed to do the cast-on (or maybe just the effortless pop-off of the stitches that should unravel on command) backwards. Instead of the stitches zipping off like magic, I had to unravel each of them individually. Not effortlessly at all. Annoying, time consuming, and rather humiliating.

Did that stop me? No sirree. Just because I couldn’t make it work like it was supposed to doesn’t mean I couldn’t make it work. It was sort of the knitting equivalent of “winning ugly.” It did work, and I like the border a lot. The last picot border I attempted came out looking rather like the end of a fuzzy green saw blade. This one is actually cute. And the yarn is so soft. Definitely baby-worthy. The kind of yarn people involuntary “oooh,” after touching.

I was surprised by the abrupt color change--I think I expected it to be a dye graduation rather than connected pieces of different color yarn. No matter how I wrangle it, the knot always ends up in the wrong place. Still, Janet’s right about the pattern--it offers just enough change-ups to remain interesting while not taxing too many brain cells. I’ve got a cable fingerless mitts pattern if I want to stretch my gray matter--baby hats should be pure joy to make. And the heart pattern in the stitches? Adorable.

I did notice it has a bobble in a couple of rows...and I’ve botched my share of those, too, so stay tuned.