WIP Wednesday 175: Satsuma for Christmas

Ancestral Path Tarot

So my reward to myself for completing my (admittedly small quantity of) Christmas knitting was to dig out some of the yarn my friend Paula sent me in return for the shawls I made her:

This is a gorgeous mellow orange colorway called 'Mai Tai Heather'; 2 balls of it is 274yds/250m. 

Coincidentally, I've had a hat pattern in my queue for at least 2 years, which my friend Steph gave me for my birthday last year, which requires almost this quantity of yarn. How lucky is that ?

Yes, you're right, not at all lucky - I am far too unspontaneous to leave such an important thing to mere Chance. 

However, when I came to read it through closely before starting, not only did it require 2 sets of 3mm circular needles, it necessitated 'Judy's Magic Cast-On'. Then and there I nearly gave up. But owing to the wonder that is YouTube, a few minutes later (if by minutes we mean 5 hours) I had got a somewhat shaky grasp of it.

I have even reached - and pushed on - past the inserting the craft foam (finding and fudging the right thickness is a whole 'nother story) into the brim, repairing the 2 dropped stitches that had laddered down 6 rows while I was knitting the brim edges together, and making a circle that looks like it might eventually be hat/head-shaped:

Yes, you do have to use your imagination a bit right now to visualize a hat, but I am really chuffed with both the hat, and myself for learning this new scary thing. Unfortunately I have to put it to one side just for the moment, as an In-Law has announced a visitation, and I don't want them to realize quite what a slovenly slattern their brother married - I've managed to keep that information hidden for 11 years, I'm not letting that go without a struggle ie. I must do some housework.

While I sacrifice my time and hands on the altar of familial duty, you may go and look at lots of nice things over at Tami's Amis ....