Sunsets, Stars, West, Wind
Last Sunday I started my first crochet project of 2011 and this morning I finished the Brimmed Cap. Not without some stress and do-overs, especially on the brim. In fact, I may re-do this entire project again later in the month. The first time I do a pattern, I learn it and by the second or third time) I work all the kinks out of it.
Sunday afternoon became more distracting as it approached evening. Aside from the numbness and tingling which reasserts itself every few minutes, I find it difficult to count stitches and determine multiples of double digit numbers in my head while remembering the end goal of max stitches for that row all while the rest of the family watches a movie or taunts the Rotts into playing boisterously.
At row fifteen, I stopped and took a break for a bit. I read a few pages in Grand Conspiracy. I then found a piece of paper to write out the next seven rows numerical stitch pattern. For example, until row twenty-two, I need to increase each row by adding six stitches evenly spaced around the round. I wrote the following quick chart to aid in my stitch counting:
| Row | x2 | x3 | x4 | x5 | x6 |
| 16 | 32 | 48 | 64 | 80 | 96 |
| 17 | 34 | 51 | 68 | 85 | 102 |
| 18 | 36 | 54 | 72 | 90 | 108 |
| 19 | 38 | 57 | 76 | 95 | 114 |
| 20 | 40 | 60 | 80 | 100 | 120 |
| 21 | 42 | 63 | 84 | 105 | 126 |
| 22 | 44 | 66 | 88 | 110 | 132 |
I made it to row eighteen last night before retiring to bed.
Part of the reason I enjoy crocheting, or music (which is tangential I know) has to do with all the finite math involved with the patterns. And the best part of all, at least when working a circular crochet pattern is the chance to use my favorite mathematical constant. Stretch your memory back to the days of algebra and geometry and remember the simple formula for determining the circumference of a circle:
Can’t remember? Well, let me remind you using the photo above. If the diameter of a circle is 10.25 inches, the circumference is the diameter multiplied by the constant pi:
C = dπ
Or, as illustrated above:
C = 10.25 * 3.14159
C = 32.2
I have four more rows of increasing before I crochet a band of a half dozen single crochets (with no increases in stitches). After that, I start decreasing. The pattern reduces to a head band circumference of 18.25 inches, which is too small for Rachelle’s inflated ego, er I mean head. Her cranium has a circumference of over 22 inches. So I’ll have to do yet more math to determine the proper stopping point during the reduction.
I’ve decided not to take this Brimmed Cap project with me to work today, even though with the vanpool I have over an hour I could be crocheting to and from work. Mondays (and Fridays) I usually have to tote quite a few things with me (like a week’s worth of lunches and a laptop). If I don’t finish the cap this evening, I’ll probably take it with me on the commute Tuesday.
Brief post in update to the Brimmed Cap crochet project: I’ve finished the first ten rounds (more successfully than my attempts last week). Marking my rounds definitely helps me keep track of the correct number of stitches.
And lastly, I needed to check my gauge:
I’m taking a break for a few minutes to give my wrists a break. Ten years as a legal secretary in the mid to late 80s left me with some symptoms of carpal tunnel – including tingling and numbness. But I’ll be back to this project in no time.
My first attempt, last year (or more accurately last week) ended in a tangled confusion of what round am I really on and how many stitches are left on this round?
So, this afternoon, I unraveled the chaos, found a safety pin to mark my rounds, and started over again with this Brimmed Cap pattern my daughter, Rachelle, selected as a belated Christmas gift. Last year I made her a Ruffle Scarf using Lion Brand Yarn‘s Homespun yarn in Wild Fire color. Using the same color, I’m crocheting the cap. I’ll post pictures once I have a bit more done.