False starts

I managed to get all the beads strung on my Phildar Frimas and got started on Odessa on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, since the Frimas is thicker than the recommended Rowan Cashsoft DK, I needed to make some adjustments. I think the pattern is a simple 10 stitch repeat so altering the width shouldn't be a problem.

In theory.

Except that I am also using the wrong needle size for the yarn. Since my head is huge, I wanted to make the hat a little larger than the pattern called for anyway so I thought I could stretch it around a 24 inch circ. I figured, if it is taught on the 24 inch, it will be perfect on my head.

So I cast on 80 stitches (instead of the 110 called for in the pattern) and managed to knit about an inch of the ribbing before noticing that despite the usually "duh" instruction in all patterns ever written for knits in the round, I managed to twist the stitches. Rip.

I started again, got to about the same point when I also remembered that the ribbing should be knit on smaller needles than the main part. Ah, crap. Rip. Now 80 stitches on a smaller needle won't stretch around my huge head. 90 is too much. 85 won't work with the swirly pattern...

Then my head sarted to hurt, so before I had another potentially disqualifying false start, I decided to put it down for a while and cast on for my Project Spectrum red Bristow. Ain't she purdy? I had finished the back during the Olympics (to free up the needle) and got started on the left front last night and am loving it. There's lots of mind numbing stocking stitch with a neat cable for interest and motivation.

Ahhh...