Work In Progress

Katoomba - Ruined Castle

The last place I went in Australia was Katoomba.  Katoomba is a wonderful little town, hidden in the Blue Mountains.  I found out about Katoomba from my friend Chrys's mom (Chrys, who I visited in Canberra) last year.  This year, it was my ultimate destination - where i wanted to spend nearly a full week.  My goal was to relax, hike, and knit.  It's not the iconic Australia of tourism advertising, but if you ever get a chance to go to Katoomba, do it.

I've wanted to tell you guys about this lovely place but I've always been a bit overwhelmed by it all.  I literally have hundreds of pictures and so much I would say.  But, rather than risk never telling you, I'm going to take Melissa's advice - a post with a lot of pictures, and not that many words.

Last time I was there, I discovered youth hostels (a wonderful, cheap way to travel).  I love the staff at Katoomba YHA.  It's an old hotel - popular in the early 1900's when Katoomba was the place for the Sydney set to 'relax in the country.'  I met some great folks while there.  It's a quieter hostel, popular with hikers.  Though, I fear some young boy is serving detention in a French school somewhere after I turned him in for running through the halls wearing only a towel as a cape to the encouragement of his fellow students.  Not a normal occurance, I assure you.

Like quaint towns everywhere, there is a main street and then quieter residential streets.  On the main street was a lovely tea shop with a few teas to choose from and divine desserts...

a great place to knit... and eat on dark chocolate filled coconut nests (more on that knitting in another post).

And there is also the Blue Mountain Chocolate Company that makes lovely Belgium chocolates.

While I did a fair bit of eating and shopping, my daily goal was to hike.

My first hike was to Ruined Castle, a destination promising a 360 view of the canyon.  A 15 km hike described as strenuous and requiring 7 hours.  I didn't do it in 2009 because it was raining and they said at the hostel it wasn't worth the effort because I wouldn't get the views.  This time, i was determined and went the first day when the weather was forecasted to be best.

Perhaps I should have known as I broke off from the main road...
But I had been told the mist would lift...

I love the blunt warnings of Australian trails.

And down the Golden Stairs we go...

These were probably the slippery steps the sign mentioned...

Rain running through lichen on a tree...

Left or right?  Right first and then back past this sign on the way out...

This walk was ethereal at times....

There were no elves around the corner... I wasn't sure at this point...

 

Again, I love the signage... not "don't go here," just, "if you go here, don't be stupid."

though it was off putting to find this sign lying in the bushes beside the trail...

this was the path that led up to Ruined Castle (looking down, here).  After covering 3.4 km in 30 minutes, it took 40 minutes to go 600 meters.

But Beeyore and I reached the top in the "mist." I'd call it rain, but, whatever.

I climbed to the top of Ruined Castle, ready for 360 view of the canyon...

What do you think?  Stunning and worth the 3 hour walk, huh?

I found out later that behind all the mist, was this.

Beeyore and I climbed to the top... well nearly...common sense prevailed on climbing slick rocks with nobody else around.

Beeyore was very proud of our climb.

And then back down we went... one of the coolest things?  I didn't see another person for the first 4 hours I was hiking... and then only 4 Germans heading up to ruined castle... proving Partner's theory once again that if you walk 1/2 mile down a trail you have it to yourself... especially if it's raining.

The last part was to cross a rock slide from the 1920's.  I thought this was pretty simple when I started.  I didn't quite understand why they said this part was strenuous.

here's the trail... can you tell?  fortunately there were yellow poles to tell you which rocks to climb over.

there was a beautiful view of the cliffs from whence the rocks had tumbled.

but then the mist rolled back in.  I bagged it a little ways after that... I took the steepest train in the world - 52 degrees - instead of hiking the 45 minutes out of the valley.

(as a brief aside, it really did take me 6.5 hours to walk 15 km... an hour longer than it had taken to finish a marathon the week before.  if the views had been clear, it would have taken me 7 hours, stopping to take pictures and all.  I thought, being reasonably fit, I would move faster, but it wasn't the case at all).

I still didn't get those views of the canyon, but this was probably my favorite day of the entire trip....

Distraction (FO)

I'm continuing to plug away on the cardigan and one of these days I'll even post an update, as I've been threatening.

In the mean time, I found a quick distraction, the Darkside Cowl:

all that shine?  It's real!

I bought this yarn at my first Stitches West, two and a half years ago.  A new knitter, I had no idea how much yarn to buy or what I could make.  There are many single skeins of beautiful yarn that were bought when I had money but no knowledge of yarn requirements or my skill level.  This yarn, a tencel/merino blend, remains one of the more expensive yarns I've ever bought. (Hint: more than Red Heart and less than quivut)

I've lovingly petted this yarn for awhile, pulled it out to show people, and moved it twice.  A couple years ago, I was able to go to Nancy Finn's dye studio in Willits, CA.  I have to say, walking on to her land, with llamas curiously watching what I was up to, had me ready to quit my job and become a dyer.  I may have gone a bit crazy on the yarn purchases.  This yarn is pure squish and pleasantly warm.

I'll admit that I'm still not quite sure about the whole cowl thing.  It kept me warm while working outside on a cold "summer" morning, but I'm still not convinced as to its utility.  I'll let you know this winter.  

And I can't really say that I can complain, BUT... I picked this pattern because it called for 180 yards of yarn - exactly what was in the skein.  But now I'm done and I have nearly half a skein left.  In the end, I used only 109 yards.  Who can complain about having beautiful yarn left over... but still, what to do with the remaining yarn?  There is a satisfaction in finishing a project with no yarn leftovers (assuming it's not accompanied by a growing panic of running out on the last row).  A friend suggested fingerless gloves, so we'll see how that works.

 

 so, in addition to considering my clothing, I need to remember to wear lipstick when taking cowl pics?!?!

Oh, and because one distraction wasn't enough, on impulse I took a class on fair isle, something I've wanted to learn for awhile.  Amazing what can be created, but fiddily as can be.  I won't be doing any Fair Isle sweaters on US3s any time soon.

this is about the size of a cell phone/I-phone cozy

Far less interesting, but infinitely more necessary, we've been working on this:

This is most of a lot of a little bit of the stuff in our garage.  We're making mad progress 
and - PSA - if you live in our area, we'll be having an awesome garage sale soon....

But really, I'm going to work on the cardigan, I promise....

Pattern: Darkside Cowl (and my rav link - which isn't too enlightening at the mo)
Yarn: Chasing Rainbow Dyeworks, tencel/merino blend, colorway: Tartan - this is NOT the yarn on Ravelry.  This is a single ply aran weight yarn.
Modifications: None
Knitting yardage total 2010: 2,367

Celebration Foliage (FO)

For the Fourth of July, we headed to Mount Shasta, staying at the KOA campground.  A first time camper, Beckerman was very happy.  Unfortunately, he REALLY DIDN'T like the six-hour RV trip so I don't know if there will be another camping trip in his future or not.

 

In addition to the five mile run (the largest small town walk in America) and enjoying the street faire, we also went to the Mt Shasta lavender fields.  It provides some of the most fantastic views.

I'm not sure what the pink streak in every photo of Mount Shasta is about.  Perhaps it's the lemurians.

We picked English lavender, which is perfect for cooking.  

I love wandering the lavender fields.  You can smell the lavender and hear the hum of bees.

All the relaxation time allowed me to finish the hat for my colleague's wife.  

 

I hope the celebration of the weekend has knit it's way into the hat and will buoy her 
spirits. 

 

  I'm applying for a job with the MInistry of Funny Walks

Here are Boy #2 (left) and Boy #1 (right), with Partner (Dad) in the middle.  Quite the trio.

* All photos except first and last are courtesy of Boy #2

Pattern: Foliage (and rav)
Yarn: Lion Brand Cottonease
Modifications: size 4 on the ribbing and 5 rows instead of 8; this hat is a little big, but I hope it's okay.
Yardage: 130
Knitting yardage total 2010: 1,959

My five hour sweate... (FO)

Given my poor fashion choices during photo shoots, I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear I'm quite fashion forward.

If you don't believe me, just check out my five hour sweater:

  Fierce.

Uber fashion forward, cutting-edge, avant-garde.  You name it, it's a statement. 

However I was not sure new moms will share my unique fashion perspective, so I knit a little longer and I've renamed this the eight hour sweater.  A little more traditional, but two sleeves:

I wasn't super happy with my first attempt.  I feel the collar was a little loose: 

So I tried again with a smaller needle size; given mama is tiny, I believe this will be okay.  I'm also much happier with the end result.

And a visual lesson in gauge.  Same yarn, same pattern.  One sweater with US10 and one with US9.  Two sweaters for two very different sized babies. So the first sweater will be my first package for Bundles of Joy and the second to a new mama.  

I have one complaint about the yarn and one about the pattern.  For the yarn, I used Bernat's CottonTots.  I used this a few years ago for a crocheted baby blanket.  When I washed the first sweater, the yarn really pilled quite a bit and gives a bad fuzzy halo to the sweater.  I don't remember it happening before so I don't know if it's because the gauge was loose or the yarn is older.  

For the pattern, I didn't realize that there was no direction for putting in a button hole.  Maybe y'all read the pattern all the way through before knitting, but I don't.  So, the first sweater has no button hole because I was quite a ways through the sweater before I realized there wasn't going to be a button hole.  And you already know I loathe tearing out my knitting (even when it's in my best interests).  You could argue that the problem is with me and not the pattern, but the picture with the pattern shows buttons.  The sleeves are a little fiddly, because you knit the sweater in one piece and really need to be aware of holes under the sleeves (which the pattern is good to point out); a friend of mine put the sleeves on waste yarn and did it after the fact, in the round on DPNs.  I liked having the ability to continuously knit, but after-the-fact sleeves are an easy option.

Here is a picture of my button, which I think is unbelievably cute:
Oh, and another shot that will give a knitter much joy.  You know besides perfect gauge, yarn that is always on sale, and unlimited knitting time.  This is the yarn I had remaining at the end of the second sweater.  

 Yay! No leftovers. :)

My next project is for a colleague at work who's wife has a brain tumor removed last year.  Unfortunately, at a check up they found the tumor had returned.  They decided to use a gamma laser and she has lost a circular patch of hair.  With everything else, my friend said it's really bothering her.  So, I'm reverting to an old hat pattern that I enjoy and hope will quickly yield a hat.  I'm using Lion Brand Cotton ease with the hope that it will be cool enough for summer.

Pattern: FIve Hour Sweater (and rav)
Yarn: Bernat CottonTots
Modifications: US 10 and US 9
Yardage: 162 and 155
Knitting yardage total 2010: 1,829

9494

A few people have asked for an update on the cardigan.

It's not much, but I give you:

 

That, my friends, is 9494 stitches of lace weight yarn on US4.  

The colors aren't quite right, but this one shows the color variations a little bit.

The most exciting part so far can be seen in the upper-center right of the next pic.  My first decrease:

 

Wahoo!  

I'm actually a bit further past here, 12,260 stitches, to be specific.  But in this case, 12,260 
 doesn't look much different than 9,494.

For something a little more visually interesting, here is our dinner from a few nights ago:

 

 

We've been eating vegetarian, so that is tempah, yellow chard, button mushrooms, purple onions, diced tomatoes, and various spices including yummy Korean red pepper paste.  I bought the pepper paste on a flight back from Korea and it's one of my favorite duty free purchases ever.  Take that Louis Vuitton. 

 

Two random FOs

I know knitting on a knitting blog, right?  Crazy.  I'd intended to do a blog entry on cleaning, but I had a small mishap when trying to reinstall the operating system on the computer.  I can't find the product key.  Rather amusing that I can't write a cleaning post because of a misplaced item, no?  So I'm on partner's computer and it's a little difficult to find the correct photos.  

So the number of FOs kind of snuck up on me.  The first is the Birthday Kool, Koolhaas #2 for Boy #2.  You may remember that I finished this hat and discovered it was far too small:

So I tore it out to the fourth repeat and started on a fifth.  Things seemed to be going well
but half way through the fifth repeat, things started to look... umm, short:

But nothing says mistake like ignoring intuition.  This is after the fifth repeat before the 10 row crown decrease.  I tried doing a modified, shortened crown decrease.  But finally, even I had to acknowledge what I'd known for a few short rounds:

So I tore back to 4.5 repeats, round 5 if I recall correctly, slipped two stitches and started the crown decreases.  I ended up skipping row 7.  So yes, I reknit the top three times to get six extra rows.  But in the end, I had a hat.  Barely:

So you can make a smallish Koolhaas out of one ball of Knitpicks City Tweed DK.  Honestly, that's just not a bad deal for a modern, kool hat.
Details:
Yarn: Knitpicks City Tweed DK, Splash ($3.99)
Needles: US6 and US7
Modifications: 4.5 repeats, slip 2 stitches; skip row 7 of the crown decreases
Yardage: 122 (of 123 in the ball) 

Moving on to less traumatic knits.  In amongst the hat and Knitting Olympics, I finished 
the January dishcloth KAL from KrisKnits.  This is a fun little no drama knit.  I'm considering collecting the year's worth as a Christmas gift.  March's KAL starts in the next couple days, if you're interested.

Well, I think this is enough for now... next up will be my Knitting Olympics success... and 
failure.  Plus an update on the Mountain View cardigan.  You have to come back, just to see what 6900 stitches of a laceweight cardigan looks like (hint: not much!)
Details:
Yarn: Lily 'N Cream, Soft Teal
Needles: US3 straights 
Modifications: None
Yards: 85 

Knit yardage total 2010: 674

Works in Progress - January 2010

I've been trying to decide how to do this, and so, I've decided that I'm just going to do consecutive numbering through the year and mark things done as I get there... I think that will work.  I have not been photographing my yarn... I can't decide if I want to group by weight or type.  Okay, that's an excuse, I've just been lazy.

1.  Mystery Stole #3:  No progress.  Zip. Zero. Nada.

2.  Seascape.  Done!  Woot! (<--- whatever that means, I just know it's an exclamation of joy)

3.  Oakland Athletics supporter scarf.  See item #1 above.   

4.  Gnomes tripped in the forest (these socks) I ripped.  I did it.  I started working on these while we were coming back from Mt. Shasta.  It was a little painful, but I made it through.  I did an extra repeat on the one sock and then started restarted the other one.  I'll have a picture update next time.

5.  Crocheted blanket.  Uh hum.... I don't think moving this blanket from room to room counts as progress...  

 
6.  Sag Harbor Shawl.  Okay, I finished the fringe... about an hour's worth of work.  Then I washed it... and forgot to block it.  So, it needs to be wetted again and blocked.  I'm a horrible friend. 

7.  Green Tea Raglan.  We will not speak of this project.  We'll pretend it doesn't exist.  Trust me, we will stay friends longer.

8.  Mystery project #1.  This has been designated the April project for 2010 knitting goals.  I can therefore ignore it for a bit longer.

9.  Mystery project #2.  This became partner's successful Christmas Koolhaas.

10.  Mystery project #3. This is going to be a Koolhaas for Boy #2.  Because a sixteen year old boy asked for a knitted item!  Here is the yarn and pattern book:

Oh, pardon me.  Beckerman thought it would be a good time to jump in the chair, apparently.  Here's another attempt:

 

I already have the original project magazine, but this new Accessories edition is packed full of patterns... some awesome patterns that I've coveted for awhile.  So, if you missed Koolhaas the first time, it's in this magazine.  If you want a lot of nice, small projects, this is a publication you should seriously consider.  Oh, and the yarn is actually more tweedy and sage than this.  It's City Tweed DK Splash yarn.  I'm gambling that I did the math right on the last one and only need one ball!

11.  Mystery project #4.  See WIP project 9 above.  Dum da dum.  Nothing to see here.  Move along.

12.  Sue Trout hat. - Done!

13.  World War II watch cap - Done!

14.  Felted slippers (rav).  Here is an update:

What is that you say?  Three guesses. 

You'll never guess. 

It might be more familiar as the toe of this:

You see the size comparison?  Yeah.  I have a size 8 foot.  I'm pretty sure my friend's foot is the same size or smaller.  That thing on the right has been felted seven EIGHT times.  Partner independently took it to the laundromat, washed it and put it in a very hot dryer.  I think it helped.  But not enough.  The thing is, I don't know if it's the yarn or my knitting.  A friend asked if I had enough space between stitches.  But I got gauge.  So maybe it's the yarn.  But the spinner said it was feltable!  Either way, I think I need to start over.  But I don't know if I should try with this yarn again.  Thoughts?

15.  January dishcloth KAL.  What a fun idea, a dishcloth a month.  This is a KAL with which I can keep up.  And check out her other really awesome dishclothes.  Fun, practical knits.

So, I've also decided to keep track of yards knit.  Because maybe it will reign in my purchasing.  Though, probably not.  Especially considering that I gave in and ordered another 880 yards of sock yarn.  Check it out, a free skein of sock yarn with purchase!  I love Karin's colors!  They are so beautiful and interesting and I've seen some great projects with her yarn.

So, yarn count for 2010 includes Sue Trout, World War II watch cap and 20% of Seascape... 467 yards.  Huh.  Well, it's been a satisfying 467 yards...

Until next time. I'm off for the weekend for a mystery date... the plane leaves in 8 hours.  I guess I should sleep before then!

Stormy Seas (FO)

This finished object has been a long time coming.  Awhile ago, I was having a bad time and partner came back from a day with the boys with several awesome gifts -- a wonderful book on Tibet, a little Eeyore (known as Beeyore), and a skein of Misti Alpaca handpainted lace weight yarn.  At that point, I'd never knit with lace weight yarn and was in love.  This yarn is ssooo squishy soft!  It's like down, like cotton balls.  It's simply wonderful.  I used to just rub the skein against my cheek and dream of what it would be. 

The colors are amazing.  The  picture on Misti's website doesn't do the yarn justice.  I wouldn't have named it Blue Stone, because the greens and purples are so much more prominent.  The colors remind me of the ocean on a stormy day.  One of my favorite places in the world is Stump Beach, in Salt Point State Park.  Amazingly, I don't have any pictures on this computer, but here is a sunny day shot I grabbed off Flickr:

(photo by Scott Kane, Flickr)

On the far side in this picture are some trails that wind along the edge of the cliffs.  I love to take a camping chair, a book, and a bottle of wine and hide over the edge all day.  People walk right by above and never notice we're there.  One wondrous day, I read for almost 12 hours straight and was only chased away by the setting sun.

And this yarn reminds me of my favorite beach on a stormy day...

I am amazed by lace.  I am amazed at what blocking does.  This:

Becomes this:

Becomes... Stormy Seas:

And a little closer:

I finished one other lace project before starting this one and it was hell.  Swallowtail -- I hate nupps.  But Kieran Foley's SeaScape was a joy to knit.  You really wouldn't know it from the time it took to knit (15 months) but it was actually a quick knit.  It just got put down often (two Christmases, birthdays...).  It's an intuitive pattern.  If you're an experienced knitter, you probably wouldn't need the pattern after awhile.  I finished the last 20% on my recent trip to D.C. Something clicked and it flew, as if it were tired of being on the needles and wanted to be used.  And now that I have it, I regret I didn't finish sooner because I love it!  The pattern shows all the subtle, yet beautiful color changes of the yarn so beautifully. 

I was going to knit until the yarn was gone, but after 7 repeats of the center pattern, I knew it was long enough.  Perhaps, if I had had more confidence in my skills when I began, I would have added another repeat to widen the shawl.  I used only 638 yards for a shawl that blocked to 19 x 70 inches! 

I still have nearly a quarter of the skein left!  My only modification was to do an extra repeat of the central pattern, seven instead of the suggested six. 

I love this shawl!  It's light as air and yet wonderfully warm.  I thought pictures in the wind would show how airy it was but it wanted to fly away!

 
There is something wonderful about knitting, especially lace.  I am willing to patiently (most of time!) work on a knitted project, investing untold hours on some blob.  Occasionally, you stretch it out and "get an idea" of what it is going to look like, but you don't really know.  And then it transforms, magically, into something that is as light as a breeze.  It amazes me.  I love it.

 

 

World War II Classic Watch Cap (FO)

I think I may be setting you all up for disappointment.  See, back-to-back(-to-back) posts with finished objects IS NOT the norm in this knitter's life!  But this post is loaded with creative goodness.

Last year (or maybe it was the year before), my brother-in-law said he'd sure like a hat and why didn't I knit him a hat for his birthday?  Now, I've only been knitting three years, and my BIL?  well, he's a big guy.  He and my sister met when he was on the football team.  Yeah, BIG.  And I was so slow when I knit.  I envisioned this monstrously long trudge through a hat and - to be really honest - I was a little greedy about my knitting time.  I wanted to knit whatever I wanted and the idea of putting aside what I wanted for what I thought would be a never ending knit... I just dreaded it.  Wow, that sounds really bad. 

But, it kept niggling in the back of my mind.  He had asked for something hand knit and, really, not a big something.  So, I kept thinking about it. 

After the success with Partner's hat and my hat, I began to think it might be possible.  My brother in law gets up early, around 3 a.m. most days, to go to work and lives in an area that can be fairly cold in the morning.  I wanted to make something that would really keep his ears warm.  He likes blue and I'd won some Wool of the Andes as part of a wonderful package I received from Yarny Days giveaway (thank you Rima!)  BIL is more traditional, but I didn't want to do a boring ribbed watch cap.

So, the Classic World War II Watch Cap (rav):

It was hard to get the true color of the yarn in the pictures, but I finally managed it in the pictures above.  But it looks  weird on it's own, so:

And despite all my dread, it was a three day knit!  Details:

Size 7 needles
200 yards, Wool of the Andes in Winter Night
Size - XL, 120 stitches

An interesting thing happened when I pulled out my trusty scale.  The hat weighs 91 grams, the leftover yarn weighs 6 grams.  What happened to the other 3 grams?  Do you think that is standard or was I just (un)lucky?  Anyway, the lesson is that from now on, I'm going to weigh the project and the leftovers... just so I know what I actually have left over.

I'm beginning to think that I might just knit hats.  Talk about instant gratification! This pattern has all kinds of modification available with garter stitch, cables, etc.  It makes a nice base for your imagination.  Tomorrow this will be wrapped and mailed, just in time for his birthday this week. 

Did I mention it was big?

I also have to show you a Christmas present I got this year.  It was a little late because of the boys being in town, but it was worth waiting for.  I had mentioned to partner I really wanted a cart near the oven.  We looked at several in stores, but all were made in China, and we try not to buy anything from China.  I'm so glad we didn't buy one!

Check out the beautiful top:

It's a removable cutting board.  Can you see the freehand wood work and the Celtic metal piece?

 

I love it!  And finally, I started a dishcloth, it's part of a KAL at KrisKnits.  She does fun, but pretty things with something that has a practical use!  (Thanks Kelly for pointing it out)  Beckerman likes it (or at least the needles):

More tomorrow!

Sue Trout frugal hat (FO)

I'm trying to post every week, but you'll excuse me if I'm a day late.  I was distracted by the scenery:

We went up to our favorite ski park, Mt Shasta Ski Park.  Though it pains me, I'll admit the snow was mostly crap.  They only have about 17 inches at their base... if you kind of squint and look sideways.  The night skiing on Saturday was fantastic, but it was just too warm on Sunday, turning the snow into sand and we quit early.  I'm really, really hoping they get a good storm, and soon.

Last week I mentioned that I was trying to finish up a hat before my Washington D.C. trip.  Well, an hour into the plane trip, I realized that yes, I should have brought that other skein of yarn and couldn't finish it.  Given that it was in the 20's and windy most nights, I was quite sad with my decision to save 1.5 ounces of weight in my luggage.  I came back Thursday night and we drove to Mt. Shasta on Saturday.  On the way up, I finished my Quaker Ribbed Bottom Hat.  This hat (rav) was knit with some Sue Trout handspun yarn that my parents gave me for Christmas this year (season, technically).  It seemed like it would make a fun and quirky hat and with my D.C. trip on the horizon, I immediately thought of this hat.  According to my mom, Sue Trout raises the sheep, shears them, spins and dyes all of the yarn.  The tag that came with the yarn is simply white and has the handwritten notes: "Handwash 78 y/o, 1 1/2 oz, 117 yards, Sue Trout Tillamook."  Unfortunately, I could only find this picture of Ms. Trout spinning at the county fair.  I ended up using a little of a second skein to finish up (it says 72 y/o, if that means anything to you spinning types). Approximately 128 yards total.

This is a heavily modified version of the hat.  I used handspun instead of worsted (the yarn really varied, as handspun does); instead of size 9 needles, size 7 needles for the purl rows and then I switched to size 6 for the body so it would be a tighter knit and warmer; 5 purl rows instead of 4 so they'd cover my ears; I also knit it until it was 8 inches long to ensure my ears would be covered; let's see... oh, I cast on 90 stitches instead of 76 and decreased to 80 near the top, in the neon green stripe.  I did do the decrease as recommended(!).  And finally, the directions at the top seemed really fussy; closing the top and then knitting a 15 stitch loop and sewing it on.  I decided to just pick up three stitches after I'd drawn the yarn through the stitches at the top and then did a 3 stitch I-cord until it seemed long enough and secured it on the other side of the opening.

I like it:

I'll admit that I don't like the HUGE pinkish stripe in the middle, but otherwise, it's just as funky, bright and kooky as I wanted.  Going down the slopes, my head wasn't cold at all.  And it covers my ears!

Next post will show a big first for me, I hope to start blocking soon!