Friday, July 29, 2005

If You Have Children, Hide Them Now

Since I'm supposed to be a photographer, when I post knitting shots I try my damnedest to make them good ones.

But life is not always pretty. If you're going to read this blog it means you shall take the rough with the smooth.

I finished Susan's hat. It began as a pillbox, as designed by St. Elizabeth Zimmermann for one of the "Wool Gathering" newsletters now happily reprinted in The Opinionated Knitter. However, a knitted pillbox has limited appeal in a cold, windy climate. Susan lives in Maine.

Meg Swansen must have thought likewise because the examples of the pillbox shown in the book have all been knitted with more depth so that they cover the ears. They do retain the flat top, which was the feature that drew me to the pattern in the first place.

But I kept knitting far longer than the venerable Mrs. Swansen, and wound up creating a toque. (Thanks to my dear friend John of Customworks, Inc. in Dallas, dressmaker/costumier extraordinaire, for confirming that this is, in fact, what I have made.)

The resulting garment was too large for Victoria to model, and looked ridiculous on Charlie Brown. I tried stuffing it with paper (too lumpy) and putting it on a coffee can (too skinny) and finally had to...well...I had to...

Aw hell, here it is. Sorry if you're reading this around mealtime.

Susan's Toque, Completed


I threw in the garter check on a whim while knitting at the Intonation Festival. I rather like it, and I've found a check pattern in Barbara Walker that I'm using for the matching scarf .

This was my first project with a knitted hem. I followed EZ's later refinement of knitting the hat from the bottom up, then picking up stitches and knitting the hem downwards, binding off live stitches directly from the needle. It looks very neat and is completely elastic, and I have one less process to be afraid of.

And I find I really do like the top. I think it's a nice change from the usual domed shaping.

Susan's Toque, Detail of Top

Susan, of course, is free to disagree with me. (If you don't like it, my dear, do pass it along to somebody who might.) But she has a model's long neck and a wonderful face for hats, and will be able to carry off a somewhat unusual design.

Oh, the particulars. This was made from Mission Falls merino on a 16" US4 circular and US4 dpns, which gave me EZ's recommended gauge. (Don't ask me. Go buy the book. It's fun, though probably not for the absolute beginner.)

31 comments:

Rabbitch said...

I love the top of that hat! And the colo(u)r is fantastic.

Congrats!

Susan said...

Wow! It's great! I can't wait to try it on! Sorry for the excess number of (!) but I don't know how else to express how impressed (and excited) I am! (Oops, there's another one! Ah!) Really, fabulous. Very tall. Is that how one should wear it? You are adorable. And I am madly in love with that color. I might just have to buy a new coat to go with it.

Franklin said...

Whew. I'm glad you like it, intended recipient. You certainly don't have to wear it stretched to full height, no. I discovered that if you smoosh it down it still looks fine.

And no, Felicia, no tattoo. I'm still dithering about that. I will probably never go further than henna, not at this rate...

Rebekah Ravenscroft-Scott said...

that adorable picture is going to be my desktop from now on! thanks a million, honey!

Anonymous said...

I am so not hiding my kid. Get real. You're too cute. And my kid is going to want one, you realise. One of the hat. Maybe one of you, too, but that is a knitting feat I am most certain I cannot accomplish. There is only one Franklin, and he's not *that* unravelable...

Yes, that is indeed a toque, but with a fabulous top, unlike the dorky toques you see around here in the dead of winter. Susan is a lucky sister :-)

dragon knitter said...

love the hat. love the post. love tricky's comment. boy, is this a love fest or what? that is a gorgeous color. i'm sure sis will love it!

Anonymous said...

Love the way your yarn choice shows off the pattern--delicious color, too! And as for the model...

goblinbox said...

Love the hem!

Anonymous said...

That is a mighty fine toque. Most don't have such elegant flat tops.

And those of us in cold climates don't always worry about how fashionable we look on the grounds that frostbitten ears are never fashionable.

Anonymous said...

Fierce Toque, Franklin! And in deep red, no less. great use of the spiral decreases at the top. You did the patron saint of all knitters proud.

With that hat, Susan will light up Maine. And the best part is when she can tell people her BROTHER made it.

You GO, boy!

birdfarm said...

"I have a secret - come closer, my pretty" is exactly what Franklin used to say all the time in college. Really.

Ok, not really. But he did sing "I feel pretty" once. That I know of.

joyce said...

i plant to try this! i was searching for a real pic of the pill box hat and finally found one!
thx!

Anonymous said...

Thank you admin
Film İzle
Dantel Dünyası
El Becerileri
Dantel

Anonymous said...

film izle - film izle Really liked your site very great paylaşımlarınızda occasionally I write a nice comment favorite topics:) 724indir - dizi - Excellent site. Theme of a site is very nice. There are a number of us to our site. But you more beautiful and wonderful sites. Thanks you very much real admin and boss.. An excellent site is very great. Thanks you very much love real admin and boss.. Excellent site. esenyurt - Theme of a site is very nice. Thanks you very much real admin and boss.. A great site too. dah shares so great. Thank you very much. Done a wonderful site. Liked it very much. paylaşımlarınızda very great indeed. Simply amazing. good day .. dizi ve film - Thank you so much wonderful sharing...

Anonymous said...

dizi izle - Really liked your site very great paylaşımlarınızda occasionally I write a nice comment favorite topics:) Excellent site. Theme of a site is very nice. There are a number of us to our site. But you more beautiful and wonderful sites. Thanks you very much real admin and boss.. An excellent site is very great. Thanks you very much love real admin and boss.. Excellent site. Theme of a site is very nice. Thanks you very much real admin and boss.. A great site too. dah shares so great. Thank you very much. Done a wonderful site. Liked it very much. paylaşımlarınızda very great indeed. Simply amazing. good day .. Thank you so much wonderful sharing... cam balkon

www.burgos-3d.com said...

Thanks so much for your article, very effective piece of writing.

iservepharmacy said...

Well, what can I say? I think you are dong an important work throughout the blog 'cos there are to many informations that have been working for us, and you know what, I would like to meet Mrs. Swansen, does she has a my-space profile?

Anonymous said...

Such sites, and comments are very nice to throw a two-site within the ideals film indir I 've got really liked them too, you hopefully enjoy. memurlar Thank you in advance for visiting: D
have done a great profile article first contact site film özet is also very much, radyo dinle liked the color images in fast girebiliyorum everything. I 've got a couple of my article yazıorum for them programlama I really liked your site based on subject content in a pretty good article with content shared between each one looks good
I hope there will be more successful your site is very wonderful site. porna Thanks to the efforts of.like shares, are very beautiful.

Howard said...

Pretty effective info, thanks so much for this article.
Manta Ecuador | cheap hotels | free cartoon porn

Informasi Terbaru said...

Wow amazing :D
Disukai | Global TV Streaming | RCTI Online | Erakata.Com | Saksuk.com | Cheap golf bags for sale

Unknown said...

Interesting article. I really like reading it as I enjoy reading. Berita Terkini | Kata Mutiara Cinta | Gambar Animasi | Bahasa Korea | Harga LED TV Terbaru | Kata Mutiara Cinta | Zodiak hari Ini

Anonymous said...

In this article, full film izle you have a say in the flash game site Let ucuz ukash me introduce you. Bedava Sohbet As you know, the internet industry is very different sohbet fields leaders in their field, each separated by a large number of that site, or brand revealed. yol tarifi In parallel with all this, the online game market intenet has become an area of demand. flash game in this Türkiye uydu görüntüsü area site to have a say in their field play service offering hundreds abaküs satışı of achieved.

Anonymous said...

Meetings, conferences, seminars, davetiye excursions, engagement, wedding and asked to participate in activities such as opening davetiye ceremonies and publicize this event and inviting people to post short text. Invitations are usually selected from a specially crafted invitation card, invitation cards printing press is davetiye suppressed and attention is given to be appropriate to the kapış kapış nature.

Anonymous said...

Engagement invitation davetiye to the wedding ceremony by FotoğrafıNişan a lot less people are davetiye invited. Only parents, friends, or just bi ceremony attended only by davetiye their families can plan. Home, work, your spaces that are open in fine weather, dust, wind, ambar snow, rain, air pollution, stoves and heating ambar works, street powder, like the noise of cars affected ambar by external sources and becomes unusable.

Unknown said...

Nice post! Can’t wait for the next one. Keep stuff like this coming.

Asus - 17.3" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Black

Asus - Vivobook 14" Touch-Screen Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Black

Gejala Penyakit said...

Ok, not really. But he did sing "I feel pretty" once. That I know of.

Download Aplikasi Facebook | Paket Internet Axis | Harga Galaxy Infinite | Gejala Asam Urat | Gejala Diabetes Melitus | Gejala Usus Buntu | Gejala Penyakit Tipes | Gejala Penyakit Sinusitis | 12 Kerusakan Hardware Laptop | Cara Memperbaiki Lampu BackLight Laptop | Cara Memperbaiki WMP Windows | Cara Memperbaiki Hardisk Bad Sector | Cara Memperbaiki Blue Screen Windows Errors

Anonymous said...

lig tv izle, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter ve daha birçok uygulamaya artık televizyonunuzdan ulaşabilirsiniz.IQ’dan izlediğiniz programları dilerseniz canlı maç izle facebook hesabınız ile sayfanızda paylaşabilir; You Tube üzerinden sınıflandırılmış video seçeneği ile fuar hostesleri veya arama seçeneği üzerinden videolara erişim twitter sağlayabilir.

Zhangjiajie travel said...

Congratulations for this wonderful article, very informative and interesting, I think you are a brilliant writer. I have bookmarked your blog and will return in the future. I want to encourage you to continue that marvelous work, have a great daytime!I am a china tour lover,You can learn more: China Land Tours and Beijing Trips

blog remaja indonesia said...

Blog Remaja Indonesia menyediakan macam kata kata diantaranya , kata kata cinta , kata kata galau , status fb romantis , gambar dp bbm cinta , jasa fotocopy murah , dugem house musik nonstop remix 2015 yang sengaja dihadirkan untuk para pembaca setia Blog Remaja Indonesia.

Obat Wasir said...

obat wasir alami obat wasir atau ambeien obat wasir racikan herbal cara mengatasi penyakit wasir obat wasir terampuh obat wasir herbal herbal denature

kata kata mutiara said...

Nice knittin', mister!