It’s done! I sewed on the last bit of the I-cord headband last night, and I get to wear my new fuzzy hat to work with the kids today. My computer room is often very cold, as it is in a building built around 1920, a building almost impossible to heat or cool efficiently. I need my berets indoors almost every day. (I really need to knit a stole also, but haven’t been inspired to do it yet.)

I am so very pleased with how I made this hat fit. The patterns I’ve used thus far for berets (actually they are tams, knit in the round and usually knit from the brim to the center top… berets appear to be knit flat on a machine and seamed before fulling). I have tried a rolled edge several times, I’ve tried ribbing. I’ve tried a casing to hold elastic. They either are too loose, or so springy that they slip off the head.

I finally figured that I-cord (a three-to-six stitch knitted tube) would be firm enough to not fall off my head, and as similar to the edge on my commercial berets to perhaps actually work. The patterns I’ve seen that use I-cord, though, attach the cord to the body of the hat as you knit the I-cord. This assumes you know the perfect number of rows to knit the I-cord before you try it on. I didn’t like that idea, it seemed to promise infinite ripping out and re-knitting. So I knit the hat from the brim up (no band) and then I knit an I-cord, continually trying it on my head until it fit exactly as I wished. I grafted together the two ends of the I-cord (kitchener stitch, not fun on a small fuzzy tube).

This is where my years as a handsewer came in handy. I divided up the band into eight equal measurements, and did the same with the circumference of the hat brim. I matched those locations (there was a bit more brim than band as expected) and then hand stitched the two together, matching at the 1/8 markers. It is great!

I now have only two active knitting projects, and one waiting to be active again. I’ve been knitting a few rows at a time on a rug made from Peace Fleece yarn, which may take forever because I’m allergic to the wool. I have the same problem (itchy eyes) with Philosopers Wool, but when I wash the item I have no trouble with it at all. If I had realized I would have trouble with this yarn, I would have washed it before starting. By the time my excited self realized I had trouble, I was unwilling to unknit the piece and wash it. For now it’s a few rows at a time. Some things are worth the wait.

My only truly active projects is pair of purple alpaca sox in sportweight (pure luxury) which are my knit-in-line sox for traveling. And now I’m planning to re-start on a sweater I started the first week in September. This is the sweater I spent time working on with my knitting teacher the other day. The sweater will require more thinking than I can do out of the house so it will go slowly, too.
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I’m making “Hoppin’ John” for good luck today. It’s Blackeyed peas and rice, basically. In the south of the US, they eat this on the first day of the year. I used to work with a lot of folks from the South and once even got invited over to someone’s house to eat blackeyes with her. It was a gift of love. She’s passed on now, but I always remember her fondly on New Year’s day.

One woman I know grew up in Texas. She says some people even put dried blackeyed peas in their change purses on New Year’s day to bring luck in the “money department.” Maybe it worked, if this woman’s life situation is any indication.

We went to a party this afternoon and I took the Hoppin’ John to the potluck. It is interesting to hear who has heard about eating blackeyes on New Year’s Day. Mostly it is folks with some family ties to the southern states in the USA.

I tried to sew the hatband on my purple beret when I was at the party. I need better bifocals and very, very good lighting to really do this without straining. I got maybe one-fourth of the band sewn on before giving up. So close, too! Only another fourth of the way and I can block and then wear it.

I really want to take a nap, but I have a box full of hand-dyed yarns that I want to photograph and put up for sale. I thought I might get them up and running in time for Socknitters’ Ad Day, but I can’t imagine how I’ll get it done soon enough. I guess I have other ways of announcing the yarns when I get it together. Meanwhile I’ll enjoy touching and thinking about these lovely yarns.

I started a purple mohair beret/tam (hat) Monday night, and worked on it much of Tuesday. The yarns are Berocco Mohair Classic and Trendsetter Charm as a knit-along for interest. It is knit on size 10 needles (except the headband and I-cord “tail”) which is much larger than I typically work. I really needed an instant project after the last few sock projects.

The great news was that I needed just one skein of each yarn. I had less than three yards left of the Charm, so it was a close call. The headband I-cord is only mohair, but that makes it more comfortable and it looks great.

I finished it (except for the I-cord headband) just before midnight on New Year’s Eve. I’m sewing the last half of the I-cord into the hat right now, and it looks promising. I think I will actually wear this one, Yippee!!!

It is easy to make a shape that looks like a beret, but very difficult to make a headband that actually fits well enough to wear. I wear a beret most every day, almost the whole time I’m awake. It has to be comfortable. I can’t even count how many hats I’ve knit and either given away or sold, because they were not “just right.” I might have figured it out this time.

I’ll show pictures of the beret soon. Meanwhile, I wish a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year to you all!