knitting, gauge and tiny hats

After a looong break (how about 15 years), I started knitting a couple of years ago. I started small, making scarves, gloves, toys, and baby hats. Little projects tend to satisfy those of us with a short attention span. If it can be finished in a weekend, it can be done! I have progressed to more complicated projects: cables, lace, larger garments and blankets.
All projects start with a gauge swatch. For some, knitting the swatch is like slow torture! You get this really yummy new yarn and you're jumping at the chance to dive into a new project, then, screeeeech!Hold it! You've got to invest a little time in making that gauge swatch! Really! Do you HAVE to do this? Absolutely! Unless you want that beautiful sweater to end up fitting Great Aunt Gladys!Suck it up, make the swatch. Adjust your needle size so that your gauge is as close to the pattern's as possible. The time you spend making that little square will save you a lot of heartache later. Unless you really want to give that sweater to Great Aunt Gladys for Christmas!
What to do with dozens of little knitted squares? Since they're supposed to be four inches square, I've decided to save them for a future afghan! I add ten stitches to the total number in the swatch and work ten extra rows. For example: if 22 stitches and 34 rows should work up to four inches, I cast on 32 stitches and work 44 rows. The first and last 5 stitches are worked in garter stitch (knit every row) and the first and last 5 rows are knit in garter stitch. The garter stitch border makes a frame for the gauge swatch. It's really easy to measure the gauge this way. Plus, I don't feel like I've wasted valuable knitting time. I have another square for my eventual afghan!
Sometimes, a "brainless" project is needed. Superbowl, Daytona 500, NCAA Tourney, World Series (notice that mine all involve sports?!?) all require brainless projects. This is a project that is so repetitive that it requires no thinking, and very little looking at the work. My favorite brainless project is knitted baby hats. These hats consist of a 2x2 ribbing (knit 2, purl 2), topped off by a series of stockinette st decrease rows. Stitch up the back seam, and you're done! I can make a couple of hats for 2 pound babies in an evening!
Please click on "Brenham's hats" at the right for information about a really worthwhile project. Kate wants to send a basket of hats, blankets, and other preemie items to the NICU where her little Brenham spent his all to short life. My heart goes out to Kate and her husband. Pregnancy is supposed to be a happy time. A time to anticipate the little life that will soon join the family. A time to imagine all of the things to come. No one ever imagines that that time will end tragically with a miscarriage or an infant death. My own Catie and her husband lost a baby last fall. I would have given my own life to protect them from such anguish! There will always be a missing piece to the family. Lots of families, like Kate and Catie's, develop projects like this one to help ease the ache in their hearts. By supporting others who are in the situation they were in, they honor the memory of the little angel who touched their lives. If you aren't able to send Kate a little hat or blanket, check with your local hospital. Most NICUs are happy to take contributions. A hand knit or crocheted hat made by loving hands gives comfort unlike any other to the frightened parents of a tiny or sick baby.
Knitting requires that you learn only 2 stitches: knit and purl. A tiny hat takes only an evening to work up. The impact on the lives of a family who receive a tiny, hand made hat is limitless! If anyone who reads this would like a pattern for an easy knit hat, please email me at currtail@yahoo.com. I'll be glad to send you a copy.