It's just a hat!

Nothing like a simple project to bring you to your knees. I've already told you that I'm a rather novice knitter: I've never made an adult-sized sweater, but I've made (and even designed) many scarves and other smaller projects. So I consider myself to be capable if somewhat inexperienced.

Anyway, you're looking at attempts three and four of the Kim's Hat pattern in Last-Minute Knitted Gifts. If you're really interested (and bless you if you are - I wouldn't be if it weren't my own dumb project), here's the saga:

1. Measured my head and decided that it's a little on the large size (physically speaking, not metaphorically) so I decided to make the men's size instead of the women's size. This was not a good decision, as I neglected to take into consideration the amount of stretch in the knit. Net-net: finished the hat, tried it on, decided it was gigantic on me, frogged the hat.

2. Started the women's size, got about halfway done and discovered it was still too big. This is odd because I was knitting to guage. Ripped again.

3. Trying the child's size hat. Seems a tad bit small. Not sure this is the best approach, so:

4. Trying the women's hat again, using smaller needles and knitting a little tighter than I had been. Not sure of the outcome yet. I think I'll knit a little further before deciding whether to continue with this option or go back to option 3.

I certainly hope the Hourglass sweater goes a little more easily for me. My crafting time is so limited these days, and knitting with double point needles is such slow going, it just pains me to rip anything because I know how many days' worth of knitting I'm undoing! And I was planning to make a matching hat for the baby, too, so hopefully solving the big hat troubles will eliminate potential problems with the little hat.

So that's what I'm doing these days. That and laughing out loud while reading Julie and Julia!