Have It Both Ways Hat

I've knit up another version of the hat with the simple basketweave brim. The new one is in two colors, with a turned up brim. This time I worked in the round, for an even quicker knit.



The original (lying flat in the picture) was made from Classic Elite "Waterlily", worsted weight 100% extra fine merino. This is a worsted weight wool. The subtle variations in shade give the color a nice richness, and the yarn is deliciously soft.

The new version on the stand is done in Knit Picks "Wool of the Andes" 100% Peruvian Wool, also worsted weight. Not as soft, but very economical.

They took about 125-150 yards of yarn.

The hats fit my 22" head closely. They measure about 19-20" around the brim when unstretched. So I reckon they would fit most women's heads.


If anyone would be interested in testing the directions for me, just send me an email (there's a link at the top of the sidebar where it says "Drop me a line"). Just be sure to include something like "test knit hat" on the subject line so I know it's not junk mail.

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For those who asked, here are my thoughts on Vista so far:

All the security pop ups are really annoying, but I haven't disabled any of them yet.

Word looks radically different to me. I don't know if this is specific to Vista, or is just a much newer version of the software than the one we acquired 9 years ago. There are toolbars instead of drop down menus, and some things are rearranged and/or function a little differently. I'm slowly getting it figured out.

I like the way I can see thumbnails when browsing picture files - makes it easier to select the one I want when I'm browsing.

So far, I haven't figured out how to add a website to a specific folder in my Favorites list. I can add it to Favorites, but then have to go back and Organize Favorites to get it where I want it.

After a fair amount of horsing around, I was able to get my Knitware Sweaters and Sole Solutions programs to run in "compatibility mode".

So all in all, it's going OK.

I'm back

I know, you probably didn't even notice I was gone; but yesterday was computer transition day, which meant I was without access for about 12 hours. OMG, it felt like a year. (Am I looking at a dependency issue here?)

Anyway, the good news is that the new computer is about eleven billion times faster than the old one, and I have a slick little flat screen monitor, and I can plug my camera card right into the computer, and did I say that the Internet is really fast? and the monitor screen no longer has an overall pinkish tone.... Other good news, the Geek Squad transferred all the files (and I seem to be able to find them), and our extensive "favorites list. The email is working.

The not really bad, but ambivalent news: Best Buy does not stock any computers with XP as the operating system, and a special order would have taken weeks, so we caved in and went with Vista. So far, Sweater Wizard and Stitch and Motif maker have loaded without a hitch. The little Sole Solution sock program gives me an error message, but maybe I can figure out how to get it up and running (I don't use it much, anyway). I haven't yet tried reinstalling the Knitware Design program that is my current favorite.

Mainly the whole file organization feels totally weird, but I expect I just have a learning curve thing ahead of me.

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This a not very good picture of the current hat. The exciting to me thing about it is that I loaded it directly from the camera card to the computer, and then was able to find it!




That's probably all until next week. Today I go back to installing programs, learning, playing with the new computer. Tomorrow is work at the library and shopping for the trip up north, Friday I take off for the mini-reunion (lake, deck, boat, good company - I'm jazzed!)