Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Hat or Toilet Seat Cover

Like many knitters, I was very excited when the Fall 2008 issue of Knitty came out. So many great patterns! But the one that really spoke to me was Morgan. I love that hat!
Around the same time, my LYS got in some of its fall yarn shipment including some Sirdar Tweedie. Yum! I thought: "What a lovely yarn for my new hat. I know that it is a little bit heavier, but since I want a hat of substance, if I can get gauge I should be fine."
After much swatch I thought that I had achieved success! I started knitting... I knit the folded ridge. I measured. I thought: "I'm a little bit off but it probably the needle pulling it out making it measure bigger than it should be. Besides - it isn't that much bigger." I kept knitting. Before I put on the peak, I realized that much as I loved the pattern and the yarn, my hat was looking unmistakably like a knitted toilet seat cover. In a state of denial, I convinced myself that it would be better once I knit the peak... I wasn't completely wrong. I was much better! But it was still very wrong. Take a good look at it. It will never be seen on my head in this form. I looks like something a pimp would wear. It is going to be frogged and re-knit as a different and more suitable hat. (Yes - I am open to suggestions.)

Lessons learned here? Gauge swatches are mischievous liars and you really can't substitute whatever you want no matter how badly you want it to work.

4 comments:

sharon said...

ha ha.
sorry, but that is the hat I wanted to make and I am so afeared to do.
suhweet toilet seat cover though...

km said...

Maybe it does look like a toilet seat cover. But, it is kind of hard to tell without your smiling face for scale. How about a modeling shot?! ;0)

It is funny how we can be in denial so long while knitting. I try to tell myself that I'm just optimistic.

SissySees said...

Er, um... gee it's a pretty color??

Lisa said...

Denial is a knitter's best friend....I love the yarn and can't wait to see what it wants to become next....no comment on the toilet seat cover....