Yarn: Noro Silk Garden #271 and 279, about 1/2 skein each.
Needle: US#7. Or maybe it was a #6. Or maybe I did the ribbing on #5 and switched to a #6 or a #7 for the stockinette. Anyone? Bueller?
Pattern: A pastiche of hat patterns. I wanted a hat that got bigger after the ribbing, sort of a slouch/tan. This is that, if I rearrange the slouch — which is minimal — after I put it on.
Now I have a sort-of matched set of hat, scarf, and mittens. They are all Noro, just not all the same Noro.
* * * * *
Matthew requested another hat for himself, this time in charcoal and 2×2 rib. He specifically said, No cables, no cuff, none of that stuff that is such fun for knitters. Sorry. Mom. He also does not care for the lines formed on the crown by columns of decreases, thus, the 2×2 rib that can hide the decreases. I sent him links to about a dozen different superwash merino DK yarns in charcoal. He chose Tanis Yellow Label, a yarn I had never used nor even heard of before I googled.
As soon as I ordered it I started noticing all the Ravelry projects made from it. Once the yarn arrived and I cast on, I learned why it is so popular. Nice stuff! Soft like merino but still with a bit of woolliness. The color is tonal, and it looks GREAT in ribbing — very 3-dimensional.
What is that gap in the ribbing, you ask?
I could tell you it is for the unicorn horn at Matthew's hairline, but that would be… a lie.
Most of you already know this but just in case somebody doesn't: when knitting in the round, it is NOT necessary to join immediately after the cast on. That way lies madness twists.
Knit back and forth for a few rows, then join. You can easily see how the knitting should be joined and avoid that dreaded twist. Use the tail from the cast on to sew up the little seam; no one will ever notice when the garment is worn.
Observe:
In the case of the hat, above, the viewer will be so distracted by the jog in the stripes (does anyone have a good method for avoiding that job when the stripes are only 2 rows tall?) that they will never notice the seam in the ribbing. In the mittens, I defy you to find the seam.
* * * * *
In other breaking news, I tripped over something invisible in my office last night and fell. My can of soda and bowl of popcoarn went flying, and I smacked my hand on a chair. (I know the thing that I tripped on was invisible because after I got up there was nothing there to see.) No huge damage to myself, and Lucy The Wonder Dog was thrilled that I had thrown an entire bowl of popcorn onto the floor for her, instead of the usual few kernels, but the index, middle, and ring fingers of my right hand were very sore. So sore, in fact, that I could not knit.
Wah! It doesn't look bad — no swelling, no bruising — but it is sore.
The next day the fingers were still sore but not enough to prevent knitting, only to make it go a bit more slowly. Yay!
kmkat & her kneedles 
You are crankin’ out those project quicker than I can read about them! Hope your fingers are healing . . . and glad you didn’t do any more serious damage to yourself in that fall. Jared Flood has a technique for avoiding the jog in 2-row stripes in the round . . . it works pretty well. (I have it somewhere; it’s included in the pattern for the Turn-a-Square hat. I’ll look it up for you if you want.)
Love that hat and scarf — and the new yarn. Great idea for knitting in the round. So sorry about your “trip”! Glad no serious damage was done and you could resume knitting. Whew! I hate it when that happens! Have a great week, Kat. Stay warm and cozy.
Oh, Noro…
Thank you for that tip about knitting in the round! Not that I do it very often, but I didn’t know about this bit of brilliance.
You don’t join with the first row? Really? And yet I love you…
Dude! You have to be careful! The invisible stuff will get you every time if you’re not full alert.
Lovely knitting, btw.
Ouch!! I hate tripping over invisible things. Altho usually I trip over black cats in the dark… same thing, I guess.
Ouch, I hope that you heal quickly.
I have used the Techknitter traveling jogless join before, but on fingering weight wool and a 5-row stripe. I liked it a lot, it doesn’t show up much on the socks. Here’s a link:
http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/01/jogless-stripes.html
You are on Thing Almost Done With One Hand already?!? Don’t they want you at work? /jealousy
And poor hand! I hope it feels better. Those invisible tripping things are annoying.
I’m not even finished reading the post! I had to tell you! I loooove Tanis! I am a proclaimed addict of Tanis!
Beuller? Beuller?
I thought we’d all agreed that you weren’t going to trip and injure yourself anymore…
I usually use a tubular cast-on for hats and stuff that I’ll be knitting in the round – and I knit the required rows for the cast-on flat. It really is a lot easier to join it up after a good couple of rows. Twists can be heartbreaking…
I love your Noro “set”! Excellent reminder about knitting in the round and joining – maybe I’ll actually remember next time. (I’ve done it at times, and then I forget!)
I tossed a bowl of rice last night (darn those invisible gremlins) and I had two immediate thoughts “where is the dog?” and “/sad Aurora would be all over this and she couldn’t have rice.” Yay for Lucy!