Odessa, Serrano, Snowflakes & Arrows

This weekend + today (alas, I didn't get the holiday off), I knitted up an Odessa. I used my sample skein of Knitpicks Merino Style in Tidepool (later I bought 10 balls from which I will knit a sweater eventually, but it's a different dyelot). I followed the instructions precisely (except for using size 5s for the ribbing), and on Saturday afternoon I had a fetching hat that fit exactly as shown in the picture. That is to say, a hat that doesn't cover my earlobes. So I tried to get all secret-ninja on it and snip out one row, work up from the ribbing and graft it back on.

First official note to self of 2007: don't try to graft on a lacework pattern.
With the corrolary: just because it looks like nice, easy ribbing doesn't mean those ssks and yos can't mess up your grafting.

24 hours and several swear words later, I decided to work from the bottom edge of the hat part (as opposed to the ribbed brim I snipped off) and work the ribbing back down. After incorporating every inch of that ball of yarn (minus the foot or two I wasted rejoining the parts I snipped off), I have a fetching hat that has a wider ribbed edge than I'd like and covers 2/3 of my earlobes. But I have to say, I think it was pretty successful:



I don't know if I'm going to keep it, however. It's a great pattern, but I think it's better suited for Grumperina's cute round head:

than my more eggy head:

(Heh. I'm an egg head!) Or maybe it would have been more flattering if it were looser; I have only worn loose hats in the past, such as:

I think I'll mull it over for a couple of days and send it to Afghans for Afghans if I decide it's not for me. Still, I love the pattern: fun construction, rhythmic "readable" knitting, BEADS, and one-skein-erific.



Also, here is a photo of the Serrano I have been only occasionally working on:


I haven't even gotten to the shaping yet, but my stitch count is somehow horribly wrong, and I've been too lazy to deal with it.



I finally got around to hemming the steeks and blocking my snowflakes and arrows vest, which smoothed out the ripplies very nicely. It also, however, relaxed it. The thing is HUGE: both too long and too wide at the shoulder (although a nice fit in the bust and waist. I can deal with the shoulders by undoing the hem and turning more under, but I'm worried about the length. I re-wetted it with some Eucalan, and blocked it agressively (as Danielle would say):

I appear to have shortened it by THREE INCHES. I haven't taken it off the board yet, though, so I don't know if I've horribly ruined the fit. This was very much an instance of process knitting, though, (and only cost something like $12) so if it doesn't work for me, it's not the end of the world. I'm sure it would fit someone out there and look fabulous. I'd even consider making it again.