R is for Read, Rip, and Re-read (my Meathead story)

I signed up for this Meathead KAL at Stitch Marker. Larissa sent the pattern Friday afternoon, and I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to remember what color LP Bulky I had in my stash. And if I had #15 DPN/16" circs. Turns out I had forest green and chocolate brown. I didn't think the decrease line would show up that well with just chocolate brown. I sat right down and whipped up a Meathead hat as soon as I got the chance Friday night. It was a really quick knit. Tried it on and it was really short. Went back and read the directions again - I missed the "middle part" between the brim and the decreases. Rip.

The color combination I chose was a little swimmy - turquoise and brown. Since it was all ripped apart anyway, I found some other contenders and swatched.

The blue and green on the right (pea green and sky blue) got two votes from my family and the pink and brown above it got one. The orange and brown got a "second choice" vote.

So my next Meathead was made out of the blue and green held together. It was really really pretty. And I thought it would be a nice "Florida hat" as it was made out of cotton. Not much practical use for two strands of bulky wool in the Metropolitan Orlando area. I started to have misgivings, but I kept at it, just to be sure.

I was concerned that it was as big as Gloria Jo and baggy to boot. But it is an excellent concept for an "Absorba" bath mat from the Mason Dixon book. Soft and squishy and pretty. I will say, though, that that Nature Cotton is really linty when you frog it. I'm not sure what would have made it work - maybe moving to smaller needles. I think the nature of the fiber might have been it's own undoing, though. It's just not as stretchy as wool.

Third time's the charm. I went back to my original color scheme. Swimmy as it was. I really liked how the turqouise had variations in color that gave it bright spots. I'm a sucker for that kind of thing. (In my knitting life, I've found that (a)I tend to shy away from solid colored yarns and solid colored projects and (b)Outside of heel flaps, nearly all of my stockinette is in the round)

The LP Bulky was "wardrobe" yarn (like a pair of black pants, it just seems like it's good to have a couple of skeins of Lamb's Pride in your stash in case of a wool emergency.) and the Nature Wool Chunky was leftover from LaLa's sweater. I got to use up most of the wound yarn and not start a new skein. The hat is currently adorned with a bread tag, making this meathead hat a "breadhead".

I do, however, have some pretty buttons in line for consideration. I'm not sure if they really balance the heft of the hat, though.

Felted leaves, anchored by a button is another consideration.

The hat is quick to knit and very nice-looking. I suspect that I will be making more of these (but probably not for anyone in my house - but only because of the thermal situation - two strands of bulky wool. November 11 high temperature was 80 (Farenheit), Nov 13 is supposed to be 76. Chilly, but not bulky wool chilly. But I bet the Monkey asks if he can wear his scarf.)