sunflower tam and headgear madness!

What with the Big Storm 2008 (this is what the media is calling it. I'm hoping they didn't jinx it for the rest of us, frankly!) I went stir hat crazy this weekend!

First, I knit the Coronet on Saturday.

Then I tackled the Sunflower Tam from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan!


I love this book, although this is actually the first pattern I've knitted from it thus far.

In the book, Norah gets into all sorts of geometric designs found in nature.)

This one is based on "phyllotaxis" (Greek word! We're everywhere!) which is one of three basic patterns found in the plant world, apparently.

(I wish Norah had taught science at my high school! That way, I might have actually learned something!).

According to Norah, in the phyllotaxis arragenement, leaves grow in double spirals around a stem, travelling clockwise and counterclockwise. Cool, eh?


Not only that, but the average between one leaf and the next averages 137.5 degrees. This according to the Greeks (!!!) who called it the "golden angle".

(Too bad I don't have a protractor any more... otherwise I would try to test this principle against my Carmen Miranda headdress...


...the only source of flowers in my house at present, really.


I wonder whether this works with fake flowers from the dollar store? Oh well, it doesn't really matter - I never figured out how to use that %#*$(@&#*$( protractor anyway.)

Anyway, the top pattern of this tam is meant to represent the phyllotaxis of a sunflower, daisy, or cornflower. Hence, the name.

It's knitted in Cascade Pima Silk on 5mm needles - all in the round using the two circular needle method. Lovely stuff, but next time I wouldn't go with a silk/cotton blend as it probably needs a firmer fabric to be at its best. Next time, I would also do a swatch - bad bad bad! - because the resulting hat is a tad large.

But it was a fun knit - and much easier than the complex design of the top would belie - although this didn't have to stop me having to frog knit backwards for about 20 rows on the top because I wasn't paying attention. Oh well! I guess if I were perfect, everyone would hate me... that's what I keep telling myself, anyway.

Here is the requisite geeky photo of me wearing the hat:

However, it too is by now winging its way southward to Amy in Oklahoma...

Not this one, though - this puppy is staying right here in TO!

This is a little headband I also whipped up this past Sunday... using Cascade Fixation from the stash.

(The rest of it, you may recall, was used in my Party Frock Top last summer.)


So, here's my geeky bad hair day hairband shot:



Maybe I need to stick to full hats... hmmm. How can I have had the same exact hairstyle for 37 years anyway?!


Hmm. Time to change hairdressers?



Hey, how do you think I pay for all that yarn anyway? By leaving my hair care to Vidal Sassoon? Sheesh.

But I digress. So, what's on the needles right now?

Well, the SOTSii, which I will be recommencing work on tonight - Clue 8!

Also, in light of the grand success with my Stormy Weather triangle, my new priority has become another scarf with the second skein of Camelspin of recent purchase (but not the last, I can assure you):

Which colour of beads do you think, buttercream or clear?? Please advise.

What pattern shall I use? That, my loyal readers, is a secret. Stay tuned...

Meanwhile, the Icarus and the Bespoke languisheth. I am so unfaithful. Sigh.

Happy Tuesday!

party frock... bit of a cheat

I have decided that this outfit deserves the title of "frock"... it does have that look to it, especially when paired with my fuschia cowboy boots:




Despite the encouragement of others, I decided not to sew these two pieces together at this point. Official reasons: the skirt is a bit large on me, I'm looking for a complementary colour, etc. etc. Real reason: scared of sewing. So, will ask my mother to show me how to do this next time I visit her....

In the meantime, check out the fab colours! I am now a convert to Cascade Fixation, I must say.

Specs:


Yarn: Cascade Fixation (cotton/elastic) - 4 skeins of the multi, one (only a little bit used) of black.
Needles: Addi Turbos: 4, 4.5 and 5mm

Pattern: adapted from two patterns by Joan McGowan-Michael in Knitting, Lingerie-Style - Party Dress with Knit Bodice and Racerback Tank with Mesh Sides
Model: Aphrodite
Start Date: 30 August 2007
Finish Date: 2 September 2007

Notes:
- absolutely loved the yarn (had not been so enamoured of it when trying out the leggings from the same book first... but the pattern was great and I guess it just took a bit of getting used to.
- the bodice pattern is excellent although I had to do quite a few mods given that the yarn called for was very different than that I used.

I'm not modelling this as yet as I'd like to wear it for a party I'm co-hosting a couple of weekends from now and prefer the element of surprise. However, I must say that I feel quite Mae West-like with it on. ;-)