I finished the hat for my second sister. She wanted a beanie type hat that didn’t fold, with white and maroon stripes of equal width. That’s not exactly what she’s getting — I screwed up the first repeat and made the maroon two rows wider than the white. This yarn (which my other sister picked out - Bernat Soft Boucle) does NOT like to be ripped — in fact, I was having a lot of trouble dealing with it in general. So rather than give up all the progress that I’d made, I just decided that she was getting a hat with slightly smaller white stripes than maroon stripes. I think it turned out looking pretty good:

Picture doesn’t really do the color justice; I cheated and put it on A and used the flash, and it shows. Blech. Overall, though, I’m really happy with the hat. I thought it was going to be too small, but as long as her head size is similar to mine, it’ll fit.

I also have a picture of the Coronet that I finished a few weeks ago:

I wish the photos showed the cable better; I think it turned out really well. I’m very happy with this hat. I do wish it had a smidge more length, and if I knit another (which I probably will) I will add about an inch to the length. In the large scheme of things, though, it’s nothing really to complain about.

As it turns out, I had to give up coaching soccer, so I won’t need it for soccer games and could have made it in a more attractive color. But I still plan to go be a spectator as often as I can, so I guess it’ll be nice to be decked out in school colors even though I’m not coaching.

I am also almost finished — okay, well at least half finished — with the back of my son’s sweater, and that is moving along quite quickly. I’ve finally gotten to the striped portion, so it’s a little more exciting to knit. I think I’m going to do the sleeves once I finish the back, and do the front last. (I don’t know why; I just don’t want the sleeves to be left to do when I’ve finished the rest of it.)

I’ve had a lot of time to knit lately — sitting in doctor’s offices waiting rooms. While I was in the ER taking my medication (I had to take it for the first time in the ER because they were afraid I would have a seriously bad reaction to it), I spoke to an older woman who told me she was very impressed to see me knitting — that she had never been able to master it. I told her I certainly wouldn’t call myself a master of it, but she said she’d been watching me and I was absolutely more masterful than she was. It made me smile. In the opthamologist’s office, I had a woman come over and say “I’ve been watching you do that from over there, and wanted to come watch from up close; my neice bought me a how-to-knit kit and I just can’t figure out how it works.” So I showed her what I was doing and we chatted about it a little bit. I try not to get annoyed, because I realize that I bring it on myself by doing something “unusual” in public, but I really just don’t like people bugging me when I’m working on something. I think I managed to be pleasant about it, though. At least the comments and looks I get are more friendly than when I was nursing in public!

I think I’ve figured out that I’m actually knitting wrong. I think I’m wrapping my yarn around the needle backwards when I make a knit stitch. I figured this out by watching one of the little “how-to” clips on the internet about a YO, and noticed that the following knit stitch was done differently than I do. I tried it the other way, and it’s just as comfortable as the way I’ve been doing it — so I think when I start a new project, I’ll start doing it that way. I think doing the way I do has resulted in all my knit stitches being a little weird — maybe being twisted. It still looks okay to my eyes, but I’m going to try doing it the other way and see if I prefer one over the other.

Speaking of next project — what is it going to be?? I have a few things in mind:

• a shawl. I go back and forth on which one I want to do — there’s one in one of the Melville books that I think I’d really like to do, and there’s also Clapotis. I can’t decide! But I’d like to have one.
• Mariah from Knitty. I don’t know that I’m an advanced enough knitter for this one — but really, that hasn’t stopped me from anything, and I can learn as I go. I wouldn’t do it in wool, but I know there’s a knitalong going on where they’ve discussed yarn subs. I could use it in the place of my green jacket thing that I wear at work all the time!
• Hurry up Spring Wristwarmers from SnB Nation. Again, to wear at work, because my classroom is so cold all the time. I already have yarn that I could use for this — a deep red wool/acrylic blend that I really like. I can’t remember what I was thinking I’d use it for when I bought it . . .
• Mom’s purse. But she’s gotta get me the yarn for this one. She’s coming to town next weekend; I’m thinking I’m going to drag her to the yarn store.

So there are possibilities — in fact, maybe too many possibilities!! Those listed are only the things I’m seriously considering as next; I didn’t include things I’d really like to do soon, but maybe not right now. I think most likely, since I already have the yarn, the next thing I’ll cast on for is the wristwarmers.

Okay, time to go get ready to go to dinner. I’m really hoping to have the back of Nate’s sweater finished by the end of the evening!