mmm, i could really use a trip up to the drug store for some halloween candy .... i want mars bars!

i was sick in bed all weekend! sucks. i think it was a new virus, i was all queasy in the grocery store last night.

when i bought this gretel pattern a friend said that the designer, ysolde, was the next up & coming designer. i didn't think so, and now that i've made one of her patterns i'd like to reaffirm my correctness. the pattern worked fine but the hat does not fit!

• the 1x1 tubular cast on does NOT look good. it also makes the ribbing unnecessarily stretchy. i e-mailed the designer to ask her if she used a 2x2 tubular cast on and if so where i could find it on the net because it isn't in any of my books, but i didn't heard a peep from her.
  
• i made size small for my very small head, but it was short. i would add an extra 6 rows throughout to get an adequate length.
• so i washed it block in some length and it grew beyond belief! see all the extra fabric?! it's gotta be an extra pattern repeat! i hate silk, i always hate the way silk behaves (or misbehaves). i tried steaming the hat afterwards but it didn't do anything.
  
• you really need short cable needles for this. i have to get some brittany if i'm going to try it again. she refers to a needleless technique but it was a pain, not an asset.
• the cabling was a little niggly but i knew what i was getting into. still, not for novices.

it might work better with a yarn that doesn't have any silk in it, like a 100% merino like mission falls wool, and adding 6 rows and using the brittany cable needles.

i pinned the hat, at least the picture can look good.

and here is the cashmere metrosexual urban man hat. in the end it was only 2cm too long. steven sized it and got grabbey, so i think it is a success.