This series of hats is my purgatory. It’s a mini-hell of bad yarn choices built up over time, hence the name for this month. Yeah, they are great ways to start out learning (because they don’t cost too much and they come in every color imaginable) but once you feel how soft alpaca, wool and mink (mink yarn? Heck yes!) a lot of commercial brand acrylics are squeaky, rough and ever present. I’d still do a Doctor Who scarf in them for now, because I am unemployed college graduate who can’t afford copious amount of wool. (Do you remember about Wovember? You should! Go over and sign the petition now and wear wool.)
These next two hats were my joy. I'll reveal one today and the second tomorrow. I can't go about showing off all of the work that I've done. I proposed one hat and day and I will stick to it, even if you think you are suffering from deja vu. They were made from 1-ply Softie wool/ acrylic blend. So soft. So very soft before and after crocheting red heart hats.
It’s a pretty standard ribbed beanie. A pom-pom of extra yarn was added on top, mostly because I truly hate to waste yarn. I used 58 to 60 stitches with a k2, p2 and decreased at the top.
The one problem with this yarn was the fact that the 1 ply twist would gradually come apart if I let it. I had to be very conscious of the twist and occasionally had to retwist the yarn. It made it exciting!
Dad is modeling Softie #1 for you all. He was a good sport. I popped it on his head, took a picture and then ran away cackling. I already had a picture of me modeling a hat, I don't want to inundate you with my beauty.
I keep saying that this yarn is so soft. This is the excess from Chachi’s hat. Chachi was a neighbor and still is a good geek friend. He and Alpha can talk Doctor Who into the ground. He begged for a hat for 3 years and then after we both moved away I gave him one for his birthday. That kind of diligence should be rewarded. I don’t say patience, because he doesn’t have a lot of it. So I had this extra yarn around and decided to make more hats. I touch that yarn and I want to swoon, and afterwards it’s even more of a penance to work with cheap yarn. I am paying for all my young exuberance in stash burning.
I still have a month and a half before hats/ scarves are officially due, since this is all a part of service project for ACCA. I have a bag (my wonderful, jute Dover bag... which I haven’t replaced even though the corners are ratted out) which I intend on filling with my stash burning goodies. Maybe if I am really, really dedicated, I’ll have extra hats and scarves.
Day 2 is an exciting day! It's the 3rd official post of Hat Hell 2011 (I will say the prayer again, please don't let there be another one) and the 2nd hat featured. I give to you, Fungly #2, Fungly #1's bigger, little sister.
Made almost exactly like Fungly #1, Fungly 2, bigger and better, features a top cap of black and a little black flower. (I ran out of fungly yarn near the end and didn't want to rip out all of my hard work and so I used black. It goes with everything. Then I added the flower to balance the color out.) As you can tell, it's a cap for a girl or a very, very secure boy.
I actually took a picture with this hat as per my introductory indication. I can't claim to take bad photographs when I am not even the one taking the picture. Dad took the picture.
There I am. Doesn't Fungly #2 look cute? The flower is perched slightly askew.Don't I look so cute? (I'm hiding my many insecurities right now.)
Oh well, I can't pass up the wonderful story I have about pictures and insecurity. I have the mindset of an anorexic, even if I do act on my mental disorder. I can fit into petite sizes and so I intellectually know I am not fat at all, but I still am a little insecure about my chin area. The soft curves that reveal I am indeed a woman drive me absolutely bonkers. So, when I care, I do my best to minimize the double chin. Once for a very important presentation for college, I and other seniors were photographed. All the other seniors had engaging pictures being taken of them looking at the audience. My picture? It was taken while looking at my notes (which I didn't do often) and it was taken from the side. It was one of the most unflattering angles ever. It was a bad photograph of me, but it didn't even do me the justice of appearing like a bad photograph. It was a well-taken, unflattering picture. My insecurities about doubled (ha-ha) that day.
Anyway, there I am in all my adorable, insecure glory.
Day 3: Tomorrow Dad models the ribbed look. And the day after.
Once upon a time, there was a girl who wanted to do all the cool things that her mom did. She wanted to knit and crochet and sew and do physics... well, not really physics, but then who could blame her? Anyway, she asked her mom to teach her to do these things... but no matter what they did, the little girl could not learn how to crochet or knit. It was a frustrating time for all.
Then one day, the little girl found a book that explained how to crochet. She finally learned! Then she decided to learn to knit from a book and she learned that too. She was very happy. She made large afghans and small scarves. The little girl grew up, found a wonderful alpha male and then learned the purl stitch before she got married.
The girl and her Alpha went on a trip to England, where the little girl found a yarn store in Canterbury and bought sock yarn and double pointed needles . A new page was turned. She started making socks all the time.
Then the little girl became interested in something that she never thought she’d be interested in. Physics. Of course, it wasn’t the same physics her mom did, but it was kind of close. You see, the little girl learned to spin.
So I now embark on a new obsession and quest (not for the Holy Grail) to learn to spin and teach others the talents and skills necessary to denude a sheep and clothe yourself. On this journey, you may encounter references to family and friends, but for the purpose of not being stalked I will disguise them all! The people you see in pictures may look like people you know, but you are being fooled by advanced picture technology!
- Alpha- my husband. A sweet, wonderful man who agreed to marry me. Little did he know... He would probably still agree to marry me... but his acceptance would be peppered with caveats and compromises.
- Momar- a pet name for my Mom, the physicist.
- Dad- doesn’t have a nickname... though I could call him the Gamer. Dad is better though.
- Imp- is my sister and she is one.
- Mei-mei- my youngest sister. She is sweetly indulgent to my madcap adventures, often aiding and abetting them. We may not rob a bank together (both of us value the law) but we will raid the library and engage in tickle wars.
There you have it! You may encounter other encoded names, I am not a social hermit, despite my inclinations. Have fun unraveling the names, but not too much fun unraveling projects.
