Back to square one...

The featureless blue expanse of Dad's birthday jumper is finished and blocked and awaiting Saturday to be tried on by it's new owner (so that I can heave a sigh of relief if it fits or get knitting again if it doesn't). As a reward for finishing (on time and with my sanity intact), I cast on for this little beauty. I've had the yarn in my stash since hogmanay, just waiting to get onto the needles.


Three evenings later, after several hours of angst that it was going to be too small, I was casting off and beginning to have a sneaking suspicion that the opposite may be true...


Oh yes - much too big. I'm carefully balancing it on my head in the photo above to stop it falling off!
The pattern is lovely and beautifully written and the finished item is wonderfully soft and warm, but not even two hours of watching TV with the beret balanced on my head could convince me that I would really wear it in this state. So (after a few photos) out came the ball winder and the yarn went back to the frog-pond... immediately... before I could convince myself that a light felting might render it the necessary two inches smaller (come on brain - this is 50% angora, even a light felting would render it suitable only for a doll's head).


Finally, after three evenings knitting and five minutes ripping, I was back to this... not so far really from my jumping-off point!


I've already cast on again - this time for the medium size which is a pattern repeat smaller.


Clearly nature was trying to cheer me up about life this morning - this was the beautiful weather on the walk to work - it just about makes me believe that spring is on the way again...