Shoal Bay Slouch - Part 4, More knitting

Yesterday afternoon, I went to the post office and dropped off the last 2 boxes for my conference next week and that means my work week is finished and I can knit.

When I set my project aside, I had finished the braided edge, the ribbing and the first few rounds of the main body of the hat. (Part 1, part 2 & part 3 have those details.)

I completed the first repeat of the pattern and then the second repeat and then set it aside for the night. I had come to the point where I needed to plan the crown and decided I should do that in the morning. (I tend to make mistakes when I'm tired.)

Back again after a good nights sleep, I set about planning my crown decreases. I've already figured out that I'll make 8 decreases on each decrease round and I'm planning to make the decreases at the same point in each round. My math is 112 ÷ 8 = 14 stitches between each initial decrease location and 8 stitches remaining (1 between each decrease location) after 13 decrease rounds.

Shoal Bay Slouch - Part 2, Developing the Pattern

Having figured out my yarn and pattern and finished my gauge swatch (Part 1, Preparation), now it was time to plan my pattern. Since this is all math (and no photo opportunities), I thought I'd throw in a couple shots of my knitting environment.

My head is 22-inches around and a couple pattern standards documents I've found recommend anywhere from 1 to 2 inches of negative ease for a close-fitting hat. My idea is a bit of a slouchy hat, but I want the ribbed brim to fit. So, my brim measurement should be 20-21 inches. Using my 1x1 rib gauge of 16 st = 3-inches
     21 ÷ 3 = 7 and 7 x 16 = 112 stitches
     20 ÷ 3 = 6.67 and 6.67 x 16 = 106.7 stitches

I've noticed that many hat patterns use an 8 "gore" decrease in the crown section and 112 divides evenly by 8 to 14 stitches, so I decided to go with 112 stitches.

(I was sitting in the gray chair when I did these calculations. Bill usually sits in the brown one. We're still a few items shy in our home decorating and are using storage boxes as side tables.)

Socks: Serenity / Pyroclastic / Widdershins

Now that they are finally finished, I thought I'd write up the pattern for the socks from my Knitting in Kauai / Second Sock, Second Time posts. I named these "Serenity / Pyroclastic / Widdershins" because ...

Serenity is the yarn — Deborah Norville Collection Serenity Sock yarn. Pyroclastic is the source of the lace pattern. Widdershins is the source of the heel.

Here are a few photos of the finished socks.