Knitting chatrooms

Went online t'other night and found a chatroom for knitters! From across the country, they talk about....food of all kinds, pretend to interact with each other (X walks across the room and gives a toy to Y) and meet and greet. A little talk about the WIPs and FOs, but not much. I think I'd rather be knitting.

Got into reading blogs, like dogseatyarn and grumperina and blue blog, and the concept of secret pal - a swap program along the lines of Secret Santa, for knitting buddies in a group. It seems really nice, getting to know a perfect stranger and sending parcels of things s(he) would like. Then the recipient posts a photo on her blog and everyone oohs and aahs! Seems like a super thing to do...but wait, wouldn't it be great doing this for the everyday people in your life? A friend you havent seen in a while, or maybe even one you saw yesterday? Just for nice? Wow. Then again, your immediate friends might not be knitters, but the idea of thinking hard for unexpected things someone would like, well, it reminds me of antics I did in high school.

Still need to get some photos up.

Up too late

So what am I doing, when I'm supposed to be getting up again in six hours? I finished a lovely 2x2 ribbed hat with a turnback cuff out of Karabella Bulky, pink with a magenta stripe, which I love for being soft and merino and washable. Now all the things I might have done - like use a smaller needle for the cuff ribbing, but then I wasn't sure how deep I wanted it. Like twist the colors so I didn't have to weave in all those ends from having two wide magenta stripes.

I'm still not sure how big a ribbed cap ought to be. This one was 64 stitches in the round, following the instructions for the largest manic hair hat in StitchNBitch. It's soft and comfortable and feels good. Third attempt at hat and one I would actually wear. The first one, following the instructions, is only a cap and not long enough for a cuff, which I think you need, to stay warm.

The second one was an Elizabeth Zimmermann practice cap (and my first try at Fair Isle!) and was charming but really too small for me. (and I thought I had a medium sized head!) Mom tried it and liked the color, but it was too tight on her also. Perhaps it's time to check GAUGE, as EZ says.

Now I need to take pictures of the FOs. More later.