Knitting!

I haven't posted about any knitting (besides a few teasers here and there) in this space in a really long time! It's not because I haven't knit anything in almost a year, it's just that I've been so bad about photographing them and getting them up on Ravelry (and here).

So, this is going to be the first of several knitting "catch-up" posts that are really long overdue.

I cast on and completed this cute, cabled, very pink hat within just a couple of days at the beginning of June, right before Fiona broke her leg. I intended it to be the first of what I hoped would be a series of knitting projects to be completed in our many hours at the pool over the summer (between swim team and swimming lessons, we were at the pool about 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, plus 6-hour meets on Saturdays!). Instead, when Fiona broke her leg and needed constant holding and care, my husband and some friends took over the pool duties, my plans were set aside, and this was the only completed knit for the summer.

The pattern is the Cabled Greenspun Beanie from the book Nature Babies by Tara Jon Manning. I knitted it using Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort (peony colorway), which is a favorite yarn of mine (it's also the yarn called for in the patttern). I really like that it's mostly wool with just enough cotton to give it a lighter, cooler hand, and an interesting texture, without losing any of the stretch of the wool.

When I made it, I intended it for Fiona, who didn't have a well-fitting hat at the time. With outdoor swim meets to get to by 5:30 in the morning (it's still very chilly at 5:30, even in the summertime!), I thought it would be useful. However, it ended up being way too big for her. I actually knit it a bit smaller than the gauge called for in the pattern (I'd knitted it before, so I knew it ran big), and it still ended up being huge. It could be because we are a family of small-ish heads, or it could just be that the pattern runs really, really big. Anyway, it fits Elisabeth much better than Fiona, so it ended up belonging to her instead. And she did get a lot of use out of it this summer at meets.

I decided to knit the hat in the round this time rather than seaming it. I liked the way it came together so much, even though it leaves a barely visible line up the back (no more visible than the seam would have been, in my opinion). I just cast on two fewer stitches to make up for the fact that there wouldn't be a seam. It was so easy and looks great.

Anyway, I have a pile more knits to share with you in the coming days. Yay for handknits!

Oh, and one last thing, the cookies that I did this week were these Halloween Whoopie Pies.

They tasted great although mine baked kind of flat compared to the picture. I think that's because I live at altitude and didn't make any adjustments (I don't always need to, it really varies). But the verdict on these was "yum!"