London Bridge Is Falling Down

November 22, 2008

The Wardens were at war with the Djinn.  "Windfall" by Rachel Caine ♦♦♦♦♦

Okay, I don't get it. #1 Grandson has requested a hat (and scarf) for Christmas. His mom has suggested the London Beanie, found at a link from the Head Huggers webpage. Check out Joe Studley wearing the beanie here. See how Joe looks all manly and the hat goes over his ears? Hold onto that... it will be important in a moment.

So I swatch and I swatch because the pattern says worsted/aran weight yarn, 20 sts/4" with US 7's. Well, for me to get 5 stitches per inch, I would have to go down to a US 6 - and the darned thing would stand up by itself over in that there corner. After swatching with different needles for an hour, I decided to be brave. Okay. At 5 stitches per inch, the pattern says to cast on 72 stitches. If I do my math correctly, that's 14.4 inches. Nooooooo, it can't be 14.4 inches. The ribbing must stretch a lot.



Or not.

(The pink is only to hold live stitches - the beanie will be red and white.)


So I go over to Ravelry and check it out. (And why, when I click someone else's link to a Ravelry page/pattern, do I get sent to the front page and not where I'm "supposed" to go? It has NEVER been successful, that clicking stuff.) Oh. I'm back. There are 406 London Beanie projects. 26 blog posts about this puppy. Glowing, glowing, glowing... but everyone who's mentioned it says it fits their "little boy" well. One person said it fit her 18-month-old perfectly.

WHAT? Other than the blog posts, I see nothing on the Head Huggers pages, the pattern page, or the Ravelry page(s) that says this is a child's hat. Joe Studley sure didn't give any indication. And I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure that Isaac's head is larger than 14.4 inches around.

Okay, so I don't actually NEED a pattern to make a beanie like the London Beanie. In fact, it was totally unnecessary for me to spend the 2½ or 3 hours swatching, knitting and researching this thing.

But I had whined or griped or sent pissy vibes to The Girl about always (okay TWICE) having to make up patterns for what the kids wanted and she was kind enough to find some patterns for me to use. Damn.

I know, I know. It truly was generous for the designer to share his hard work with the masses for FREE. I sure haven't done any such thing (though I always have grand plans). If I say 'I'm not complaining' I'd be lying because that's exactly what I'm doing. Ungracious? Probably. Inaccurate? Possibly not. But then again, maybe I'm missing something very, very basic and obvious here. If I have, I humbly apologize for casting asparagus upon this pattern.

I think I'll go back to my standard hat recipe and try to inject some non-pompom-related cool into it. There may not be pictures until after Christmas...!

Labels: knitting

permalink 3 Comments:

At 11/22/2008 5:57 AM,  Julie Babbled Back:  

Hey, blogs are a great place to vent. Go right on ahead.

At 11/22/2008 6:39 AM,  Darcie Babbled Back:  

I'm not a knitter...so all of that is Greek to me. But you certainly have me laughing out loud!

I agree...do your own thing. Afterall...The Girl was just suggesting that pattern...right?! They'll never know if you don't tell them. ;-) Enjoy the process.

At 11/22/2008 11:31 AM,  Kyla Nicole Babbled Back:  

Haha, totally, I didn't intend to imply that you HAD to use that pattern...I just googled pictures of "simple beanies", and that one stood out - it was simple coincidence that it happened to be an actual knitting pattern ;) lol

I should be on my way to work now, but....really? You own a styrofoam head? I didn't think you could surprise me anymore after the foo foo ruffly aprons! X] Where does one purchase a styrofoam head? And what would a person use as packing material when shipping a styrofoam head??

This is going to torment me all day, yanno...

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