Sunday, August 23, 2009

Fun Wisconsin Weekend

Had a great time this weekend. Tami and Colleen came up from Chicago. Spent Sat at Devil's lake near Baraboo, hiked around the lake, I had forgotten how high the trails take you. We picnicked on the north side and just enjoyed the day. Sunday I went for a nice road bike ride. Ended up logging in 30 miles. Found myself on some new roads with new vistas south and east of me. The weather was great. The ride just made me smile.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Ganomey Hat

About 2 weeks ago I received my latest Vogue Knitting. The more involved in knitting I get the smaller the world gets. Ideas and techniques are starting to repeat. Reading Meg's article on the Ganomey from Elizabeth I realized I have the pattern in at least 2 books at home. I didn't think it looked like something I was interested in. Well I changed my mind and thought it would be a good idea for Christmas presents for all of the young children of my friends and family. The pattern as any from Elizabeth relies on gauge. I choose some blend yarn for ease of parental care and started knitting. Wow what a fun and easy pattern. I knit 4 in the past week, even with getting a crown, biking and driving way up north. The pictures only show 3, two were knitted with the same size needles. The first one I did in size 6 with worsted weight, thinking it would be too big for a 5-6 year old. Well it may fit a new born. Then I went with size 8, I think these are going to work for lower graded kids. Then I am thinking what size needle do I need for an adult size. The 10 worked but with the worst weight the hat isn't as tight as it should be to keep your head warm. I will use thicker wool for my next adult. I don't like knitting swatches especially for little projects. So why not knit complete hats. I forgot to mention the pattern includes inserting a ping pong ball in the end and tie in. I think it is a wonderful addition. As EZ says the hat will float if it falls off in the water. I will certainly experiment with colors and stripes like Meg did in the Vogue article.
The green is size 1o, red size 8 and the blue size 6 needles. All are knit with the same pattern and stitches.