H Is For Hat

Of course!
I like making hats.
For a slow knitter like me, they give a quicker reward.
I can also experiment more easily, with less time and materials lost if it doesn't work out.

This hat is the Very Versatile Toque (VVT), made for my Bag Swap swapee.
It's my own design, but really, it's pretty generic for the most part. Knit a flat top, knit the sides, felt like crazy.Here Polly models the unfelted hat. It's way too big! Unfortunately, even after three hot washes and even drying in the tumble-dryer, it was still too big. The yarn was "hand-wash". Felting really is a random event.

The VVT is basic black felted hat that can be adorned to match any outfit -dress it up or dress it down – it will go with anything!

The secret is the in-built tab. This can be used to thread a scarf or ribbon, or attach a brooch, studs, an ornament or fascinator.

The integral tab is shown here.

There is a lined top form included inside the hat. This provides a firmer shape for the top of the hat. The photos were taken with the form in place.

Here the toque is adorned simply with a netting circlet and rosette on a brooch clip.

Here the leopard print scarf is tied through a buckle and added below the netting.

A simple twisted velvet ribbon passes through the loop at the end of the ribbon, and then through the tab and tied off.

A multi-coloured silk scarf is wrapped twice and knotted around the tab.

An extra-long scarf is passed through the tab once, then twisted on itself and wrapped around the hat again. The ends are tucked in.

I don't know if my swapee liked the hat: she didn't say. I don't even know if it fitted, or if she even tried it on. Oh well. Now I know why many people only knit for themselves.

F Is For Finished

I was taking part in the Australian Bag Lady Bag Swap on Ravelry, and now that my swapee has received her bag, I solemnly delclare, "It's Finished!" Phew.
Here is the Cheery Cherries Bag

Fellow Ravellers will find the details there. But there's some here too.

The pattern started out as an idea that came to me in the middle of the night. Luckily I keep pen and paper by the bed, so I jotted down a sketch with some notes.

Then I cut a piece of card to the size I wanted the finished bag to be.

I did heaps of calculations to get stitches per 10 cm, how to do the shaping, etc .

I spent a couple of days making charts in Excel and Photoshop.

This bag features

• a linen stitch background for the cables - I wanted a firmer stitch than reverse stocking stitch
• two "fronts", one white, one black, to suit the mood
  
• intarsia cherry pattern from my own charts
• three dimensional cherry-and-leaf zip pull
• a two colour cable done as intarsia rather than carrying colours across the back. I have no idea if that’s the ‘right’ way to do it.
• themed lining
• braid stitch edges on the outside pockets
• an adjustable and removable shoulder strap (in linen stitch) which can be threaded through to make short handles

I don't think I will do another swap.


I was very happy with what I received, and thought Laura did a really great job.

• 

I did feel disappointed with how the other side of it went.
While the swapee sort of made the right noises when she received it, (more fuss over the cost of postage!), the first thing she knit afterwards was a bag, stating it was because she didn't get what she wanted in the swap. This is despite her saying "surprise me" in the swap criteria.

Now, of course, she can knit anything she wants, at any time, for any reason.
But the timing of this one, and that pointed comment, was mean, hurtful and torpedoed all my efforts. There are many, many ways that bag could have been introduced - eg, "I got all enthusiastic about all the wonderful bags that have been knitted" or "I just had to add to my bag collection" or "I really need a market bag", or, well, almost anything, really, but what was written.

I've read many forum posts about disappointing reactions to things knitted for others. I now know exactly what they mean.
_