Furry Brim Rib Knit Hat
I just adore this hat! I am new to knitting and let me tell you, it's so much fun to find a pattern that knits up really fast and looks good when you are done. I have since added a knit flower to the crown and the hat now looks balanced.
The story that goes with this is a little bitter. I, as I said, am new to all of this knitting stuff and I have been checking out the few yarn shops nearby. I went to one called "Yarn" and found a dusty store with piles of knitting books heaped in stacks making it difficult to peruse them and a few rather dusty examples of things to make hanging from a peg board on the wall. However, sitting on the counter right next to the cash register was this hat. Oh, how pretty!
There were several ladies in the store at the time, all at least ten years older than me and since I'm in my sixtieth year, that's saying somethin'. Busy, busy, busy they were talking about this and that and the other and I began to feel, well, invisible. I am not the kind of person who walks in and says to no one in particular, "Can you help me?". I usually wait. I just assume that the person who is supposed to respond will start the process when they are ready. I find myself waiting a lot. Is having a patient nature a character flaw in today's world? I don't know. I just know I stand and wait. A lot.
About 940 seconds later, one comes over and asks what I want today. I say, "Do you have the pattern for that hat available?" She says, "Yes, it's around here somewhere." And off she goes digging under a big pile coming back to me with a handwritten, photocopied and slightly ripped piece of paper. "Here it is. Do you want some yarn for that?"
Now, again, I am loathe to ask for something and not give something back, so I say, "Well, how much yarn does it take?" She looks at the paper and tells me that the ribbing pattern calls for knitting with three strands of yarn on size 17 needles. The fur is a two strand process. So, I figure I need a total of 5 balls of yarn. However, the pattern also has notes for the matching scarf and the scarf is knitted with two strands of yarn on size 17 needles. Hmmm... I am on shaky ground here. I don't know if I want to make a scarf to match, because for all I know I won't make such a nice hat to begin with and all of my learning will just be me, putting my time in, but not wearing the product.
I stand there looking blank, but the mental motor is whirring. Finally, I ask, "What kind of yarn do you recommend for this hat?" At that point, her face brightens and she goes to a bag on the floor and pulls out a wool/polyester blend in off white and then finds the white eyelash stuff, too.
"Let's see." she says. "The hat needs three strands and the scarf needs to strands and the eye lash is two strands too. You should get five of the wool blend and two of the eyelash."
Now, I am new to this, but I am thinking, "Isn't that a lot of yarn for just a hat and maybe a scarf that I won't make?" Of course, by this time I am in hunger mode. I really want the information on that scrappy looking piece of paper 'cause I really want to make that hat. It never even dawns on me to question her thinking about how much yarn I really need. I feel like an idiot. Just like I feel when going into an automobile showroom and asking to see a certain car, I know that the salesman is going to push and push and push for the most bucks for the car and then will add the guarantees and extra warrantees and service contracts. I know it's going to be a horrid experiece, but I have to go through it to get what I want.
As you have surmised, I am not very Zen.
And I really want (there's that not Zen thing again) the instructions on that flimsy, torn, yellowed piece of paper.
So, I say, "OK" and off we go to the register with the seven balls of yarn, the to-be-cherished piece of paper and my credit card. Five minutes later, and $43.28 dollars poorer, I am out the door with a purple plastic bag holding my new stuff.
When I get home, I immediately rewrite the scrawl, cutting it down to neat lines, spellchecking it and saving it onto my PC, onto a CD and even onto my Zip disc. This piece of paper has now taken on the importance of an ancient scroll and is locked down forever. I print it out.
Five hours later, using size 17 needles, I am the breathlessly proud parent of one fuzzy brim rib knit wool/polyester/fun fur trim hat. I put it on. It is 92 degrees outside. I look ridiculous in this hat. My dark brown hair peaks out from beneath the rolled brim and my glasses poke out beyond the fuzzies. But, I am happy. I put it on the gold painted head and leave it on my kitchen counter to look at during the day.
Not very Zen, but hey, I figure I'm here, I might as well jump in and enjoy all the stuff I'm creating around me. And, I mean that literally.
Anybody else read "TheSeth Material" by Jane Roberts or see the movie/DVD, "What the Bleep Do We Know?"
PS - I have enough yarn left over to make at least 8 more hats. Anybody want one???
