k r o o m (knitting room) : First hat

First hat

The hat is knit on 8 or 10 circular needles. I'll have to check for specifics. I'm making it for my husband, who requested something along the lines of a "Rocky Balboa" toboggan. Only the manliest in knitwear for my man. He didn't blanch when I reported that there could be a tassel involved at its top. But definitely no pompom. I wouldn't wear a pompom on anything either. I'm continually surprised at how much I like working with the circular needles. They're so ergonomic.

I bought 2 balls of this yarn several years ago. So long ago in fact that I'm afraid that it has dry rotted, or whatever it is that yarn does when it gets old and stays un-used for a great while. It's beautiful yarn, a lovely dark green color with flecks of white, red, yellow, and brown, I believe. And it's made in Ireland as well, always a huge selling point in any yarns' favor as far as I'm concerned.

But, the problem is this: Whilst pulling from the center of the ball, not once, but thrice, I've gotten an end when I shouldn't have. It seems that the simple pressure of gentle-extraction of the yarn is in fact pulling it apart from itself. I'm hoping that when Ian wears the hat that it does not spontaneously lace itself, though no doubt that will be an interesting effect. Of course, I have some gorgeous yarn from Beaverslide Dry Goods, so if there are problems with this yarn, this will give me the perfect opportunity to use those new skeins that arrived a few weeks ago.

More about this project as I get instructions about how much more to knit and when to begin decreasing my stitches.