Rowan Calmer Cabled Hat

Wow, its been almost three weeks. In my defense I've been very busy and doing some traveling yet again.

This time I went home to visit my family in Rochester. I had a wonderful time seeing some old friends and hanging out with my Mom. The week before I left I began this lovely cabled hat. I completely underestimated the time it would take me to knit (and the amount of yarn I'd use) and I didn't finish it until a few hours before I boarded the plane to go home.

Here it is in all its cabled glory:


I used a pattern from last October's knitty breast cancer supplement for a hat called Sirdar. Its knit with one skein of Rowan Calmer for a hat that is soft and stretchy so it can be worn over a wig or on a bare head. I thought it would be nice for Mom and that she could wear it around the house in the fall and winter to keep her head warm since she lost her hair from the chemo this summer. Its all preventive therapy, they haven't come up with any remaining cancer anywhere (cross your fingers) and at least when I saw her she was looking and doing great. Preventive or not she still has no hair though you'd never know it for the beautiful wig she sports in public. I wanted her to be comfortable and feel good about herself right now so I made a hat that is not only functional but flattering.

Here is a nice closeup of the cables.

They all join up into a pretty start shape at the top. I am still amazed at the people who write these patterns. I have another skein of calmer in an ice blue and I am thinking about venturing into pattern-creating territory with my stitch book this fall because I don't want to make another hat that is exactly the same. We'll see where it all leads...

I don't know if you can tell but I ran out of yarn at the very crown of the hat with about eight rounds left to go. I couldn't just pull the stitches in together since there were still too many so I borrowed a little leftover yarn Mom had laying around in a red-orange-yellow variegated colorway and a similar weight. I decided that the crown of the hat was just special since it was different colored and that it would protect Mom's head from bad things. Kind of a special magic hat. That makes me feel good because even though I can't be there with Mom all the time, I left behind this special hat that will protect her and keep her safe.