Saturday, February 20, 2010

Silly Little Baby Hat

I decided to demo at JoAnn's today. I took along the baby hat, thinking I would buy a pom pom maker to make a pom for the top of it, and then drop it in the basket for the supervisor to display on the wall for the March/April offerings for classes. Instead, I set up my little table and chair and my knitting in front of the yarn area of the store, and set up flyers and my little hat on the table, along with the "We Teach" advertising. I grabbed the pom maker, made a pom and attached it, and proudly displayed my little masterpiece standing up as cute and as proud as could be.

It really is an adorable little hat.

Then I pulled out my ever-present socks and started to knit using magic loop.

Presently, a young father and his 3-month old daughter wheeled by with a store cart, and the father picked up the little hat, and smiled. Shortly after, he brought around his wife to look at the hat as well.

"Oh, that's pretty cute! Will that fit a 3-month old?"

To which I replied that I didn't know, and could we just try it out and see if it could be placed on the head without waking the young child in the car seat, who was clearly sound asleep, warm and comfortable....

Ah, no. Far too small for a 3-month old--to which I rather sighed and lay the little hat back down on the table. The child, lovely little girl, remained asleep. Lovely, because she didn't wake during the endeavor, take one look at me, and begin squalling.

I have that effect on children these days. It didn't used to be that way. Perhaps my appearance has changed from youthful motherhood to old crone? I can only suppose. But when I look at myself in the mirror--even when I'm at my worst....

Okay, who am I trying to kid? There are times when I look at myself in the mirror in the morning and run screaming into the hills. There are other times, when I look, and I actually startle myself--as if "who the is that?"

So the hat is newborn sized--maybe even preemie. I resolved to make one slightly larger so that a 6-month old could wear it, as the picture in the advertising communicates. This means adding stitches--which I went from 60 to 72. I also used bamboo needles instead of the Susan Bates Aluminum dpns. The hat is turning out quite a lot bigger, and now looks like it will fit MY head, instead of my fist. Okay, I exaggerate. It looks like it will fit a child's head just fine. The patterning of the self-striping yarn isn't turning out quite a spiffy as the little hat turned out, but lightning never strikes twice in exactly the same spot. Same goes for knitting, I guess. I'm going to have the check the size of the aluminum needles I used, because the pattern calls for a size 7, and the aluminum seemed smaller, while the bamboo seemed so much larger. The stitches are larger with the bamboo needles, too. So I am wondering if I'm using the right size needles, either then (last night) or now.

I waited most of the day for hubby to show up and go to lunch with me. I asked him to meet me just before I left. I clearly heard him say "Uh, huh". Of course, he was horizontal in BED at the time, even though it was nearly 11am! By the time I left JoAnn's it was almost 5pm! So I called.

"What happened to you?"

"What do you mean 'what happened to me'?"

"You were supposed to come to town and meet me for lunch!"

"What?"

"Yes, I asked you this morning! I poked you, and you stirred, and I told you, and you said 'Uh, huh."

"I don't remember doing anything of the sort!"

"I see. Okay. Nevermind then."

"Bring something home for supper."

"Uh huh."

I considered feigning ignorance of the conversation when I got home, but since I was vertical at the time, I thought better of it. I was horribly low on sugar, and a bit on the hungry side, I stopped at McD's and picked up a number 2 for me and a number 3 for him. We ate, but it wasn't very satisfying. I made chocolate pudding shortly after, which seems to have become a regular staple in our diet, nearly as important as protein.

Afterward, I was so exhausted, that I couldn't keep my eyes open, and decided to take a short nap. (Of course, this exhaustion is due to my not eating for over 7 hours, and then "carbing out" this McD food, but I digress.) Short nap turned out to be a 6 hour nap. It's now 11pm, and I'm pretty much wide awake, as hubby snores behind me.

Morning isn't due for several hours, and I really should try to go back to sleep. The thought that I have a good deal of knitting yet to do on the larger hat is calling me, and I wonder if I should head to my knitting chair and work on it. The urge isn't one of those critical "hurry up" type of urgings, like the sound of the ambulance on it's way to the hospital, but more of a siren song, soft and tantalizing, the tender prompt of a lover's voice.

Hmm...perhaps hubby needs to wake up?

Nah! Let sleeping hubbies lie.

I'm going to go see what I can do in my knitting chair. Bye!

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