October 07, 2005
Me, Tarzan. You, Jane.
I’m inordinately proud of my most recent FO, a hat based on my Mafrash Pattern—now renamed the Ram’s Horn Pattern because, (a) let’s face it, “mafrash” is just downright unattractive (en par with, oh, “spoor” or “uvula” or “phlegm” or “rectum”), and (b) because, according to my research, the main motif has something to do with rams’ horns and virility and machismo and dragging women to your cave by their hair and...oh, let’s just say it, penises, apparently curly ones. Not that I want to celebrate the Neanderthalian “crush a beer can on your forehead” mentality but I do want to, pardon the pun, tip my hat to the history and culture behind the original inspiration for the pattern. (The pattern came very close, however, to being named the “Space Invader Hat” because the main motif looks a whole heckuvalot more like the alien attackers in the old arcade game than a ram’s horn, does it not?)
The original inspiration for the hat:
The hat:
Ultimately the hat didn’t really work because, well, what is with that nerdy flare at the bottom? And I decreased too sharply at the top, but that’s what I get for assuming the decrease that works for one 92-stitch hat will automatically work for another 92-stitch hat when the yarn weight, the needle size and the circumference are completely different. Another knitting lesson learned (like: The holes in the sweater front are not mistakes; they are button holes that you are deliberately making, you ninny).
On the positive side, this is the first stranded-knitting project I designed 100% from scratch. One could argue that I “designed” my Janine Pillow but the truth is Janine’s pattern spoon-fed me all the specs, and all I did was cobble together existing charted motifs from books. (In fact, Janine even picked out the colors of yarn for me. I believe the extent of my contribution was to say things like, “Oooo, pretty.” And sighing, “Janine, when I grow up, I want to be just like you.”) For this pattern, however, I started with nothing more than a picture of the main motif, and had to work my way up from there—although to give credit where credit is due, Ms. TMK herself suggested the beautiful black and terra cotta! Thanks and smooches to all my Feral peeps for giving me the know-how and courage to get from “there” to “here.” It really is possible for knitting with both hands simultaneously to become second nature. Who knew?
(Poop. In deleting some spam from my blog, I deleted some of the legit comments from my last entry. My apologies to anyone whose comments I deleted. I did get to read them before my apparently uncontrollable Flying Fickle Finger of Fate made them disappear. $%^#@!@#! spammers.)
Posted by Ryan at October 7, 2005 10:00 AMWow, great hat!
I'm first, whee!
wowee! that was amazing. Thanks for the inspiration.
Posted by: anj on October 7, 2005 10:24 AMThe hat looks great. I think that Flying Fickle Finger of Fate may just have to enter my conversation in the future. What a great saying.
Posted by: Mindy on October 7, 2005 11:33 AMOh, Mindy, you must be a young 'un. The FFFF saying comes from this old TV show: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laugh-In.
I feel so old.
Posted by: Ryan on October 7, 2005 11:37 AMI LIKE the "nerdy flare at the bottom."
Posted by: Annie on October 7, 2005 12:05 PMOooh, nice hat.
My parents rarely let me stay up late enough to watch Laugh-In in the old days, but I did recognize the FFFF reference.
Annie, the nerdy flare is just part of an overall problem. Because of the thickness caused by the stranding, and because of how tight and stiff I knit the top trying to force it to close up when it wasn't ready, when you put the hat on, it doesn't fit all the way snugly on your head. Once the circumference of the hat matches the circumference of your head, you can't pull the hat down any further with any success, so you end up with a large pooch up at the top, and the flare out at the bottom--and the result is just really not attractive. Although this theory is suspect because it is all based on trying to put it on a teddy bear because the hat is too small to fit an adult and I don't have any children handy...
Posted by: Ryan on October 7, 2005 12:59 PMNot to fret...on wednesday I had to try to tell someone who Edith-Ann is! I got one of those stares that translates to getthef___outtahere! Oh, and trust you though I may on most things, I think the whole knitting with two hands thing is a lie, maybe even a scam!!
Posted by: marylee on October 7, 2005 01:45 PMHmmmm Well now I'm curious if there is some connection between the shape of the aforementioned 'Space Invaders' and the also aforementioned "dragging women to your cave by their hair" Neandethalian mentalities.
Hmmmmmmm
Posted by: Bling! on October 7, 2005 01:50 PMDid you use double pointed needles while stranding two colors? I suspect you did, and have (finally) gotten over that "hump". (Remember when you used to whine (and it WAS whining) that you couldn't do it?) The hat is marvelous!!!!!!!!!!! Love the colors.
Suggestion: Pier 1 has these "glass heads" for $15--they make a wonderful model for hats--fully proportioned for an adult sized head. Makes a great deal of difference--especially blocking.
Does anyone know of a similar kind of blocking model for a child's hat?
Mary B
Posted by: Mary B on October 7, 2005 02:10 PMIt's not a hat, girl, it's a CLOCHE.
And I totally thank you from the very bottom of my self-centered little heart for including me on the "list". I will be there. Or square, depending on who you ask.
Posted by: Libby on October 7, 2005 02:16 PMNo, dear MaryB, I used circulars. I have never gotten a handle on using dpns for stranding. Here's the problem: I'm fine as long as I'm plowing along on the main shank of the dpn, but get me to a transition point between two needles, and it all goes kaflooie. I can't reconcile the fact that you have to pull tightly between the two needles to prevent laddering with the fact that you have to strand loosely between the two needles to prevent puckering. Ack! My head is spinning!!
MaryLee, *I* know who Edith Ann is. Feel better? Or did you assume I would know...which makes me feel old again.
Bling, you're a silly girl. But I hear ya'!
Posted by: Ryan on October 7, 2005 02:19 PMBut Ryan just think what you could store in the "pooch" at the top.....maybe a mini hot water bottle to keep the grey cells ticking over nicely in the winter or a warm pie to munch on when your caught short collecting your spilt stash????LOL...any other suggestions??:)
Posted by: Diane on October 7, 2005 04:18 PMThe pic in the first paragraph does kind of look like space invaders! :) I like the hat alot!! How long did it take you to make it?? I bet only like three hours huh....fast knitter you!! Well I hope you have a good weekend!! (Wow....every single sentence except for the question ended in an exclamation....ima weirdo.)
Posted by: Courtney on October 7, 2005 04:19 PMI can't say if this makes you feel older or younger, but even *I* know who Edith-Ann is; I happen to love hir very much, actually. One of my favorites. It was hard to catch Laugh-In when I was young, but I did have Johnny Carson (for a year) and there was always Mary Tyler Moore -- and Taxi. Oh, the days ...
Wish I could be at the Knit-In. Maybe I'll end up out there for Grad School and can join in another one. Let's just hope I get in ...
Posted by: Sara* on October 7, 2005 04:27 PMSnort! I just hurt myself laughing about the curly penises.
Also? I'm pretty sure that that 'nerdy flare' can be passed off as a trendy design feature. Just sayin'.
Posted by: Cassie on October 7, 2005 07:42 PMBut I LIKE The funky flare at the bottom!
And that's the truthbpthbhthptpth
Posted by: Helen on October 7, 2005 07:49 PMWhat a gorgeous rendition of that motif! Bravo!
Posted by: reb on October 7, 2005 09:30 PMWow, Ryan. The pattern on the hat came out wonderfully. Kudos to TMK for the color combination suggestion. When I grow up, I want to be just like you.
Posted by: Samina on October 8, 2005 08:47 AMIt really is beautiful Ryan. Would it work, do you think, if you did it straight up from the brim and then decreased so as to produce a flat top - like a toque?
Anyway, it rocks :) Sock it to me, girl!
Posted by: Robbyn on October 8, 2005 06:10 PMInordinately is one of my very favorite words! And you have a right to be proud of this hat--you know, I worry when people are proud of something they have purchased, but it is totally appropriate to be proud of an achievement like this. Beautiful design, beautiful execution. And to think I knew you when...
The flare? Stranded knitting usually results in a tighter gauge than stocking stitch. Couple this with a garter stitch border (is that what I'm seeing?), which has a wider gauge than regular stockinette--well, you got double the gauge incompatibility issues, a.k.a. flare.
If you don't think the hat is retrievable for human use, I've seen a method of cutting up one side of the hat and turning it on it's side. The circle top becomes the back of the baby bonnet, the cut edges become the bottom sides--attach a cord to each corner and voila, a warm, ear-covering cap. (I learned this from one of Elizabeth Zimmermann's books.)
Posted by: Janine on October 8, 2005 06:59 PMCloche. Gawd, you went all French and trendy on us...
I'm truly glad to never have experienced the curly penis phenomenon. It looks...uh...painful...
Posted by: Lee Ann on October 8, 2005 07:32 PM