However, the knitting group I attend, plus others in the local area, were so keen on the idea that I felt I’d be letting them down if I didn’t join in. In retrospect I am glad I did. Sometimes being a part of something bigger is more important than standing your lonely, cynical ground. My contribution wasn’t huge (I knitted 5 hats whereas many of the ladies knitted dozens) but I know that it was appreciated. That in itself was quite special.
I also loved the process. Having recently mastered simple knitting in the round (as recently documented) I was ready to take on something a bit more fiddly. Innocent issued some free patterns but they were knitted flat. I wanted to utilise my new love of DPNs. A “top down” pattern would allow me to check and adjust the fit as I went along. Working in rib would mean a nice stretchy fabric, making a snug fit easier to achieve. I consulted my library and Susie John’s “Bobble Hat” egg cosy pattern satisfied all my criteria.
When my BeechBumb and I holidayed in a little cabin by the beach in Devon I took my knitting with me. Between some lovely coastal walks, pub dinners and rock pooling escapades, I hosted my own private knitting retreat. It was a great way to develop a new skill. On the mornings when we stayed relaxing in the cabin I would sit on the sofa, needles all over the place (occasionally falling on the floor), tongue sticking out of my mouth, desperately trying to make 3 intricate stitches turn into 6 and then 12. I’ve heard the initial stages of knitting in the round referred to as “taming the hedgehog”. Having the acquaintance of both an angry hedgehog and this spikey method of knitting I can confidently say they are not wrong. It took me numerous attempts and an entire morning to get the tiny start of the first tiny hat under control but eventually I did it.
Here are the finished 5:
I photographed them outside as artificial light never quite seems to cut it but the dull October day didn’t prove to be much better. I tried an indoor shoot as well. Armed with my camera, a towel spread over the bed as a backdrop and a precariously balanced desk lamp I felt like I was making hat porn. I like to call this one “Good Wool Humping”:
Here’s a photo of them all ready to go: