Soundtrack for a trip to England

March 2006

Paul Weller, Stanley Road
The Jam, singles collection
Sisters of Mercy, "More" on repeat around the M25

Knitted hats

This week I knitted two beanie hats: one with Manos del Uruguay multi-coloured wool, one with two hand-spun wools.

The first, multi-coloured hat knitted up beautifully and fits me perfectly. It was a little smaller than I wanted... so I made the second, which is a real "head cozy" and will keep even the largest head warm in the coldest weather!

Hat one materials: about 2/3 skein Manos del Uruguay, straight needles size 5.5 mm
Cast on 42 stitches. Keep one edge stitch for each row in garter stitch. Knit in (purl 3, knit 3, purl 1, knit 1, purl 1, knit 1) rib until work measures 14 inches. Next row (knit 2 together) across entire row. Thread wool through all remaining stitches, pull tight to gather top of hat, and then sew the seam. Remember to reverse the seam for the folded part of the hat.

Hat two materials: about 3/4 skein of two types of handspun wool. One was about DK/worsted weight, the other chunky. Cast on 50 stitches. Keep one edge stitch for each row in garter stitch. Knit in (knit 2, purl 2) rib until work measures 14 inches. Next row (knit 2 together) across entire row. Thread wool through all remaining stitches, pull tight to gather top of hat, and then sew the seam. Remember to reverse the seam for the folded part of the hat.

Spondy-spine (or, why it hurts sometimes)

This is my "sit up straight" picture. See how that L4 has slipped forward on L5? And the small gap where the plump cushion of a disk should be?

Remember to stretch!

The first word

First posting to see if it works