Smocked Slouch from Genuine Purl - Done!

It’s finished.

I can’t decide if I love it, and that’s SO frustrating. 

On the one hand, it’s so warm and comfortable.  I actually like the extra room, and I seem to be all about green this year, so the color appeals to me.

On the other hand, I put it on my head and think “Are you sure you can pull this off?  Are you sure you should pull this off?”  In the back of my brain I hear passersby snickering and thinking unkind thoughts the way I do when someone wears leggings as pants.  You know, I’d stand up on a soapbox in the middle of Times Square and reprimand the female half of the world for wearing leggings as pants.  If I can see all of your backside--or worse yet, if I can clearly see what color underwear you have on--you need more substantial pants, sister!

Ahem.  I digress.  It’s a gift.

I do like the hat.  I wore it shoveling the huge amounts of snow that dumped on Chicago this week, and I have to say I’m impressed that it didn’t totally destroy my hair (see left--no small feat!).  I have not yet mustered the gumption to wear it out and about.  I, who drive a moss-green Nissan Cube, a car some people (i.e. my teenage son) consider the ugliest car ever made but which I adore, have no business being hesitant about a hat.

After all, there’s quirky, and then there’s just plain in appropriate.  Me in a Cube?  That’s quirky.  Me in a bikini?  Inappropriate for at least another 25 pounds, and probably not even then.

But, really, it’s either a quirky or inappropriate HAT, not a national crisis.  DestiKNITters, what do you think?   Should I wear it proudly, as a reminder of my wonderful visit to Genuine Purl in Chattanooga or tell my 20-something daughter she has a new hat?

Smocked Slouch from Genuine Purl - Day 5

Closing in...

I’ve finished the prescribed rows of stockinette, and am starting the decreases needed to make the crown of this hat.  Decrease rows are always fun, because you pick up momentum as the rounds get shorter and shorter.  You’re rounding the last corner, careening toward the finish line, and that’s always fun.

I never truly get a sense of a hat’s shape until the decrease rows.  Mathematically, it’s a small percentage of the hat, but it seems to dictate shape almost more than the band does.  Perhaps that’s because it’s so visible.  Or just that the structure takes its cues so strongly from the crown.  That’s not a bad thing; it strengthens the creative process of making a hat--you’re never really done until you’re done.

I’ll admit, doubts are creeping in about my extra-slouchy choice.  I look at this hat and it looks, well, roomy.  Not sloppy, just slouchy.  Aptly named, I guess.  One thing I’ll say for this design and this yarn; this is a cozy hat.  It’s warm without being bulky or hair-smushing.  

Come on, northern girls, you know what I mean--most knitted hats can ruin a hairstyle in ten minutes flat.  You get inside a restaurant and remove your fetching headwear only to find your bangs plastered to your forehead and the volume sucked out of your hair.  Not to mention enough static to power a small country off your noggin.  This one sits far enough back on your head (if the style magazine instructions are to be believed) that my hair might just survive the day.

That alone would be a deal-maker for me any day.

Smocked Slouch from Genuine Purl - Day 3

Ever wonder?

I admit it...I don’t always act my age.  I’m fifty, and I’ll be the first to tell you I’ve got all the charming medical issues that come with that...um...seasoned chronology.  

In my head and my heart, I’m a young fifty.  I want to be that spry 80 year old everyone looks up to.  I want to keep my adventurous spirit and my zest for life.  Now if only someone would tell that to my circulatory, digestive, and skeletal systems.

Working on this pattern, I began to take special notice of the hats around me.  I’ve worn watch caps, stocking caps, and berets, but I’ve never work a “slouch.”  The more I looked, the more it seemed to be the purvey of...dare I say it...younger folk.  People who instagram, who sleep with their earbuds in, and have never known the joys of a rotary phone.  In other words--despite the magazine test my son had me take recently that declared me a “hipster” whatever that is--not me.

As I move away from the headband and work my way through the stockinette increases--nice and zippy, by the way--my doubts increase along with the stitches.  I love the color of this hat.  I love the feel of the yarn.  I love how soft and warm it is.  Should I finish it and discover no one my age wears a slouch, I shall be annoyed.  

But maybe I’ll discover my defiant streak.

Hey, I’ve got a friend who got a tattoo for her 50th.  Maybe I will take up the slouch.

I’ve done odder things...

Smocked Slouch from Genuine Purl - Day 1

Squishy Satisfaction...

I find hats even more satisfying than socks.  Mostly because there’s only one of them, so when you’re done, you’re done.  Hats also seem to offer a wide range of structural options, where socks pretty much are...foot-shaped.  Granted, both leave lots of room for creativity and both are marvelously portable.  Still, I maintain that hats offer the most bang for your creative time (shawls, while my absolute favorite, do seem to take longer).  Plus, when you live in Chicago, a winter hat is pretty much a survival tactic.

I’ve been looking forward to working with a chain-construction yarn.  While I’ve also such yarns in large scale versions--finger-thick, rather like knitting with an giant's i-cord--this one is tiny.  On the upside, it makes for an incredible loft and softness.  This is some seriously squishy yarn--perfect hat material.  On the downside, it’s like working with six-ply, which gives you millions of splits to avoid.

The smock stitch is a smart addition to my knitter’s toolbox.  It looks complicated but is rather simple (my favorite kind of yarn trick!).  Like most stitches, it’s best learned in person or on video, but I did manage to pick it up by the written directions--the second time.  I won’t lie that it took several attempts to get it right.  I’m glad I had a photo of the finished band to guide my exploration.  

I do like the texture and the bit of panache this ads to an otherwise workaday hat.  So far.  Only a few inches in is no place to declare your affection (or lack thereof) for a knitting pattern.

CHATTANOOGA, TN: Day Two--Downtown

A little bit of everything...

The thing I love about small cities is their downtowns are so manageable.  Chicago is a sprawling city, walkable in neighborhoods but not the whole.  Chattanooga, with a picturesque river running through it (not unlike my native Chi-town), has a set of lovely districts as well...just right-sized.  

Today we’ll start with coffee at:

Stone Cup Roasting Co

330 Frazier Ave 

Chattanooga, TN 37405

423-265-5010

www.stonecup.com

“Black as hell, strong as death, sweet as love.”  That’s a Turkish proverb about coffee that heads the company’s website, so you know these folks love their beans.  Those beans get shipped all over the country, but you can grab a cuppa--and some nice little baked goods--at this open-feeling spot overlooking the river.  It has just the right amount of artsy feel, but no so funky that you feel out of place. What I loved was the solid wall of electrical outlets for us laptop fiends--aren’t you always looking for the table with an outlet??

Take an hour and wander up and down Frazier Avenue’s charming neighborhood.  Don’t miss Clumpie’s Ice Cream or N2Shoes, along with several other nifty retail establishments that caught my eye. Make sure you see the dance steps in the sidewalk--where else can you do the "Hokey Pokey" in public and not look foolish?  A click to www.chattanoogafun.com can help you plan your outings, but it’s one of those places small enough to just “wing it.”

When you’re ready for lunch, head to

Taco Mamacita

109 N. Market Street

Chattanooga, TN 37405

423-648-6262

www.tacomamacita.com

Not your ordinary taco stand by any stretch, DestiKNITters!  My server here was the nicest one of my trip...very friendly and quick to offer good suggestions.  The Chicken Tortilla Soup comes with all the elements and broth separate so you make it yourself right in front of your eyes.  I had a very good “Taco Royale” with some excellent sweet potato fries (my fav).  Bueno, indeed.

Ready for your fiber fix?  You’re only steps away from:

Genuine Purl

140 N Market St, 

Chattanooga, TN 37405

423-267-7335

This is the great thing about yarn shops--you can have two in the same small city and they feel totally different.   Genuine Purl is like going over to your favorite aunt’s house--the one with the cool friends and miles of yarn.  You’ll sit around the table, chat, find some new fiber to play with, and no one will look at you sideways when you drop your third stitch in as many rows.  A beginner could walk in panicked and come away calm.  

It’s pleasantly cluttered, down-home cozy, and filled with projects.  Owner Kathy Brunson has serious professional fiber chops and a staff that all started as customers (the best ones always do, don’t they?).  “We carry everything but the super-chunky,” Kathy says, “because you’d roast in that down here.”  

Another neat twist:  many of the sample projects shown in the store tell you the approximate cost of the yarn required...a smart and useful service. The store offers a pattern of the month (often free) and loads of encouragement to learn and try new things. 

Some projects to scope out while you are here:

Knitterella’s Smocked Slouch hat

Done up in two balls of Rowan’s chain-structured Lima, this hat offers an embellished band under a cozy, slouchy crown.  I love that it comes in two versions:  regular and extra-slouchy.  The smock stitch is a new skill for me, so I’m looking forward to learning it.  Lima is super soft and heathery, but Kathy tells me 200 yards of any 5-stitch-to-the-inch yarn will work.

TGV Shawl

This Ravelry pattern from Susan Ashcroft Designs makes cozy use of Kauni Effectyarn’s stunning colorways.  400 yards will wrap you in a rainbow, a forest, or whatever your imagination makes of the gentle stripes this yarn is known to produce.  According to the pattern, this thing knits up lickety-split, which makes it ideal for gift giving.

Toboggan Neck Warmer

Another great gift item, this neck warmer takes two hanks of Classic Elite Toboggan, adds a trio of spiffy buttons, and makes for a stylish winter accessory.  Kathy tells me no buttonholes are needed, so that simplifies things considerably.  Toboggan blends merino and superfine alpaca--so you know it be as soft as it is chunky--and comes in lots of wonderful colors perfect for brightening up cold drab days.

Ishbel Shawl

This delicate shawlette by Ysolda Teague can be done up in fingerling or lace.  Kathy recommends Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend.  I love these because they are seasonless--draping just as nicely over bare shoulders to ward off overzealous air conditioning in summer as they do to around a turtleneck in winter.

Once you’ve filled up on yarn, take your senses in a different direction and dive into the

Tennessee Aquarium

1 Broad Street

Chattanooga, TN 37402 

423-265-0695

http://www.tnaqua.org

It’s the perfect size for a pair of afternoon hours, and I find the design clever and user-friendly.  Gaze at the river otters and decide if they really do look like Benjamin Cumberbatch (click here if you don’t know what I’m talking about...but make sure you are somewhere where loud laughing is appropriate).  Perhaps the fish will give you color ideas for your next project!

When you’re ready, dive into a deep dark of another kind at:

The Hot Chocolatier

201 W. Main Street

Suite 101

Chattanooga, TN 37408

423-266-3066

www.thehotchocolatier.com

I admit, it sound like the title of one of my novels, but my favorite moment came as we entered the building.  A woman leaving the shop exhaled with such bliss that we all burst out laughing.  Yes, it’s that good.  You know how I love my french macaroons, and theirs were excellent.  Big glass windows let you peer in on owners Wendy and Brandon Buckner as they work their magic to make your tastebuds happy.  It was here that we met the two owners of Gin Gin’s and struck up a lovely conversation.  Southern hospitality in action!

Should you need dinner after that, or if you want to be conventional and eat dinner before your chocolate (heavens, why would you?), wander over to 

Urban Stack Burger Lounge

12 West 13th Street

Chattanooga, TN  37402

423-475-5350

www.urbanstack.com

Suddenly everyone’s into gourmet burgers.  Urban Stack boasts “Killer Burgers and Manly Drinks” along with a commitment to locally grown foods and a certified “green” building, so you can feel good about the environment as you do damage to your cholesterol count (evens things out, don’t you think?).  Where else can you sip a Bacon Manhattan with your awesome burger?

I’ve already decided I need to come back to Chattanooga to do all the things on my list I didn’t accomplish.  There’s so much more to this town than a song title.  You owe it to yourself to check it out.

Next up, I tackle the Smocked Slouch from Genuine Purl.