kind hearts and Coronets

Now, I don't know if you're familiar with the British movie of the same name as my subject line... if not, you should see it. A true classic. I was so chuffed when it came on TV the other night!


But, to me for other reasons, it was an obvious title for today's post. Hopefully at some point in the post I will be able to make it obvious to you as well.

Why "kind hearts"? Well, my resident kind heart...

J. "Rock, Paper, Scissors?! Bloody hell? Is this some kind of wanker British game? Ye'd think they'd have somethin' better to do wi' their time, no?" J. has abandoned me today and left me to my own devices.

(All right, all right - he had to go to work. But don't feel too sorry for him. He has been whingeing about whining worried about what he calls a "canker" on his thumb. This must be some kind of esoteric Scottish usage... anyway, a callus that was becoming painful. Then he realised last evening the cause... too much Spider Solitaire at work!!! He also made a big mistake in sharing this information with me, obviously. But I'm not bitter...!)

OK, OK... so why "coronets"?

More about this topic later. First, I want to rant about my various travails today.

First off, when we work up the heating system in the building had malfunctioned. It was 10 degrees C (50 F) inside the apartment!!! Seriously. This is how I've had to go around all morning...

Then I realised that I had not planned very well for the storm and that I actually had to leave the apartment to pick up some essentials:

Anyway, this was the walkway on my way out the door...

... and here was the sidewalk on Bathurst Street (a major thoroughfare, mind you!)

So, taking my life in my hands, I crossed the street - the pavement is like a skating rink, and I can't even skate! - only to find this sidewalk on the other side:


Not again!!!

This is what 30cm (12 inches) of snow in two days looks like, folks.

(Now, you may well wonder what compelled me to buy ice cream when I had just forged through 9 inch deep sidewalks - but seriously, could you pass up Oreo Loaded?! Huh? I didn't know such a thing existed. And, gotta love the French name:

Indeed.)

So, all in all I'm not in the greatest mood. However, there is an upside to stormy weather. I managed to whip up this little number in a couple three hours last evening!

Isn't it cute? Not my usual colourway, I know... but everything being equal it will be winging its way southward to Amy in Oklahoma tomorrow. It is intended for her friend Dona.

The pattern is called Coronet (a-HA!) and is highly recommented for a quick and fun knit. I love the cable pattern on the hat band!


It will be hard to part with it. I made it with one skein of Rowan Calmer (I LOVE this stuff! I have yet to use my hot pink blush Calmer stash, but this is making me think about it again) - it's very soft and stretchy. This version is not suitable for winter weather, which is partly why it's heading to OK (L-A-H-O-M-A OklaHO-ma!!! yay!).

(Sorry, Amy - couldnae resist. It was only a matter of time before I broke into song about your home state, really.)

I modified the pattern somewhat as the yarn I was using was much different to that called for in the pattern. I've got a list of the mods here (or if you're not on Raverly and you're interested in making the hat with Calmer, just drop me a line).

In this regard, I'm very glad for my wee hat model (as yet unnamed. I wonder why? Let's call her ... Ado Annie!)

(Man, I wish I looked like that!!! Instead, I get to be the geek in the hat:

Sigh. Good thing it's going to Dona, eh?)

Anyway, if you're making hats, I recommend you get your hands on one of these. Ado Annie cost me... oh, $4 or thereabouts. There is a mannequin shop across the street from my office... how cool is that?!?

I knit the hat on two circular needles, one long enough so that I could stretch out the hat enough to check for fit throughout.

And, because I couldn't leave well enough alone, I've started another hat!

This is the Sunflower Tam by Norah Gaughan in her book Knitting Nature. You will see that it is off the needles in this photo as I have managed to @#$(*&#(*$@ up what is actually quite a simple pattern. But that's only because I hadn't had any of this at the time, mind you:

(I have to say I'm rather flabbergasted by this coffee logo. "Jump"?!? "Extreme Energy?" Of late I've been wont to wonder just when it was that everything became "extreme" in our society. But, it's hazelnut vanilla, so I won't complain too strenuously).

And, here's a sneak preview of the other end result of nasty weather... the Stormy Weather scarf!

Hey - maybe I'll have a snow day tomorrow!!! hee hee hee

Well, that's more than about enough for now. Time to get back to knitting hats to procrastinate from starting clue 8 of the SOTSii housework. Or something like that.

weekend warrior

1. Victory over the Goddess

Bowed and bloodied, I present to you... the Goddess by Stitch Diva!

Front:

Back:

Detail: neckline:

Detail: border and hem:

Cannot say I enjoyed knitting this too much, largely because of the very slippery yarn. This caused me to tune out and make silly mistakes, which then of course were virtually impossible to rip. Verdict: liked the pattern, hated the yarn. This was on commision from a fellow co-worker. I am modelling it although it is a tad bit small for me. As yet unblocked.

I will likely make one for myself using Handmaiden Sea Silk...

Specs:
Yarn - Lang Opal Maxi, Chestnut (nylon blend) - 6 50 g skeins
Needles - 3.75 mm and 3.0 mm
Time spent - way too long (2-3 weeks)

Notes: do not use the yarn called for (Lang Opal) unless you are a far better knitter than I and not prone to booboos. I modified this pattern slightly by using a different stitch pattern on the hem (because I was sick and tired of an instruction that said "knit through the back loop twice" for every 2 stitches...

2. Morrigan - beware!

So, I decided, having just finished battle with one goddess to take up the sword (my trusted Addi Turbo lace needles) against another one... the Morrigan by Jenna Wilson in No Sheep for You.

Despite all enthusiasm, I lost Battle Number 1 when I misread the first pattern sequence:



... but, thanks to Laura's kind help (from the NSFY blog) I finally got on the right path:





I suspect this will actually be quite fun, in the masochistic sense of the word, to knit. I have started with sleeve #1 because (a) it is smaller than the body; and (b) having seen Laura's body of Morrigan completed, I suspect I would be tempted to just leave it as a vest otherwise! ;-) I also think I'll finally have to teach myself that "cabling without a needle techniqu.

This will most certainly not be a "TV knitting" project. As such, it will likely take me several months.

I'm using Rowan Calmer in blush colour, Addi lace needles 3.25 mm size and Clover bamboo 3.0 mm size.

3. Kristina's First Lace!



This is the beginning of the Montego Bay Scarf by Amy Singer in IK Summer 2007 issue. About 10 minutes worth of knitting. Started this at about 9 last night but it took me about 45 min. to cut 200 strands of yarn off for the fringe. My personal challenge (as posted on the Do Something New blog) is to have this finished by Sunday.

It has also helped me realise that I've been knitting YOs wrong all these years! SIGH...

Yarn: Handmaiden Sea Silk - one skein - Paris colourway (I think)
Needle Size: 5 mm