Always swatch first!

On Saturday I decided to knit the Elsie hat from Rowan’s Cork pattern book. Cork knits up quite fast on size 8mm needles so it was finished on Sunday evening. I tried it on and thought that it looked ok and then someone, who shall rename nameless, decided to put it on and stretched it! When I tried it back on it was too loose and didn’t fit right. I was really pissed off. I thought that blocking might help so I gently washed it in Woolite and left it to dry. Tried it on today and it’s huge, it doesn’t fit me at all. 🙁 This just proves that not only should you swatch but you should also wash your swatch to see if the fabric changes.

I still have nine balls of Cork in the same dyelot, it’s a purple of course!, which are destined to become a cardi. If I find that the nine balls aren’t enough, although they should be, then I will frog the hat.

The Elsie hat is sort of beret like. I have a few beret patterns and will try and make one from some other yarns in my stash.

This time last year we went to Paris for a few days. I ordered an Anny Blatt pattern book in January so that if I liked any of the designs in it I could pick up the yarn in Paris. I waited and it never arrived. I forgot about it until last week when I decided to clean up some of my email folders and found the confirmation of order email. I wrote back to them asking where my magazine was and they confirmed that although I’d paid for it it had never been despatched. They apologised and sent it out last week and it arrived today.

I quite like this. It’s not very clear in the picture but the sweater has a furry trim around the neck and bell sleeves. I don’t like the top that you’re supposed to slipover it though. I’d just keep the sweater plain and simple. It uses a yarn called Rustique that knits on size 6mm needles. The tension is 20 rows of 16 stitches produces 4″ in stocking stitch.

For the moment I’m planning a top down cardigan in the rest of the Rowan Cork and Round Trip cardigan from the fall 2003 Knitters. Well that and a hundred other things! 🙂