Working The Crown

Not much knitting got done yesterday. Even though I know that I am getting close to completing the Fair Isle hat I still couldn't summon up the enthusiasm to sit down and get on with it although I did get as far as starting to place markers between every 12 stitches ready for the decreasing for the crown.

It was only once I was almost at the end of the first of the decrease rows this afternoon that I realised that the markers should have been placed between every 14 stitches. So, it was unpick the row, reinsert the markers (in the correct places) and then do the decreases again. I have now done two of the decrease rows and I've removed 24 stitches from the hat; there is an ordinary pattern row between each of the decrease rows.
Even though there have only been two decrease rows completed it can be seen in the photograph above that the crown shaping is already apparent.

Somewhat annoyingly, now that I have only about 20 rows left to knit, and with steadily decreasing numbers of stitches at that, I have managed to get a really good difference in colours on the two balls of wool.

Isn't that just the way of things.

Something For The Cold Weather

One of the things that I noticed with the change to very cold weather last week was that I seem to feel the cold so much more than I have in the past.  I don't think I have worn a proper pair of shoes for more than a year, and the only time I wear trainers is when I am working in the garden; I have been wearing sandals all the time and I haven't really felt the cold in my feet. However, last week I noticed that I had cold feet in bed, and that is something that I hadn't noticed for years, so it was popsocks and shoes when I went for psychotherapy on Friday instead of sandals.

While my body and feet were taken care of, I noticed that my ears were freezing and it was then that I determined that I would knit myself a hat, hence the purchase of wool for a hat and mittens on Friday after psychotherapy.  I finished the hat today, and having sewn it up I felt a photograph was called for.  It is a beret style of hat with a quite easy cable panel alternating with plain stocking stitch panels.  Nothing very glamorous, but I'm more interested in warmth than appearance these days.

I've started knitting the jumper with the wool that I bought at the same time as that for the hat.  It is very chunky yarn and is knitting up quickly.  But it will probably end up being my fall-back knitting over the next couple of weeks.  That's the knitting that I have on the go when I am knitting something very complicated that I sometimes need a break from.  Tomorrow I will be starting to knit the Shetland lace shawl and I am sure that I will need to take breaks from it now and again.

I will keep you posted about how the shawl progresses, and will add photographs regularly so that you can see the delicate patterns that are included in the shawl.  Wish me luck, because I have never knitted anything so fine before, and I am a little nervous about such an undertaking.