Saturday, January 28, 2006

Energy knitting

A couple of weeks ago, one of the Knitwits announced that she had signed us all up to attend a lecture on “Healing with Energy” at Adult Ed. From the class description, it sounded like this would be a presentation intended to drum up interest in two courses on Reiki and whatnot that the presenter would be offering later in the term.

Game girls that we are, we all showed up Thursday night for the class, but only I thought to bring along some knitting. I often do this when I go to events at someone else’s urging. A small project, such as a sock, is unobtrusive, doesn’t require a lot of concentration, and if the event is stupid, I haven’t totally wasted two hours of my life.

I didn’t have anything in progress that was in the mindless phase – the current sock in progress is at the heel – but I did have a ball of DK weight yarn that I bought at the same time as the Karaoke for the iPod pocket. I threw the yarn and the same size 5 bamboo needles into a baggie and stuffed them into my purse before I left.

When I bought the yarn, the ladies at the shop told me the formula for making a standard rolled brim baby hat in the round. It is:

Cast on a multiple of 12 stitches. Try 72 to start, or 84 for very fine yarn.
Knit in the round for about four inches. The bottom edge will roll up naturally.
To decrease for the crown-
First row: *Knit 10, knit 2 together, repeat from * all the way around.
Next row: *K9, K2tog, repeat from * all the way around.
Next row: *K8, K2tog, etc.
And so on. They assumed I would figure out how to finish it once I got down to three stitches, and I will assume the same about you.

I cast on 72 before the lecture started, and had a couple of inches done by the time it was over. Mission accomplished – some nice progress to show for my time.

Friday was unseasonably warm (*see below), and I couldn’t bring myself to work on the sweater, so I took the hat to our bookstore knitting get-together. By the time they ran us out, the hat was finished, and I added a few rows to a long-neglected sock as well.

Here’s the hat on the usual baby head stand-in, a Winfield mug.


The yarn is Magic Garden Buttons from New Zealand, 83% wool, 17% polyester effect yarn, and washable. I believe, based on my extremely unscientific method of holding the hat in one hand and the remaining yarn in the other, that the 50 gram ball would be enough for two hats. My team of enablers, though, is campaigning to have me make matching mittens and socks. We’ll see.

Extreme close-up!


This might be the ultimate in mindless knitting, and it would also be a great project for someone who is intimidated by learning to use double points, or just learning to knit, period. It’s quick, and there aren’t too many ways to screw it up.

*About this weather we have been having: Aser and Kathy have both written about how it is unseasonably warm in their locales. We’ve been having some of that action, too. Thursday’s high was 60, and Friday’s was 58. I went to work yesterday in short sleeves, without a coat. Terry and I went out for ice cream. Today is cooler, and rainy, and we may have thunderstorms. Are you sure this is January?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cute hat! I know what you mean about taking knitting along. Works WONDERS for parent nights at school. BTW -- my mom lives in DM. I'm in Germany. Clicked your blog on after seeing a comment of yours at Justinland. We're having super cold weather at the moment, just what Iowa usually gets around now. Kind of like UPS mixing up shipments? :)

Cheryl said...

Thanks for delurking, Debbie! I've seen the hits from Germany and wondered who they might be coming from.

At one particular meeting I sometimes attend, more than one person has whispered to me, "At least you have something to show for your time."