A dear friend of my MIL (and now mine, too, after 11 years) was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I actually found out about it the day before I started the Susan Komen 3-day Walk for Breast Cancer in November. She has just started her chemotherapy, and I wanted to knit her a hat. I chose Shedir from Knitty, because I had been wanting to try it, and had read on other people's blogs that it was a favorite of previous chemotherapy patients.
I knit this in Rowan Calmer, the first time I've knit with this yarn. I really loved it. It was so soft and smooth to knit with, and the end result is a perfect blend of this pattern with this somewhat stretchy yarn. I did have to go down a needle size to US2 in order to get gauge. I started it on 3s, but it was coming out a bit large, and I was concerned about running out of yarn, since the pattern mentions that there is nothing left at the end of the pattern. I ended up having 2g left out of the 50g ball, the same amount that the designer had left over, so I guess I'm just a loose knitter!
Here it is flat:
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And an attempt at capturing the great top pattern by putting the hat on a bowl:
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Pattern: Shedir from Knitty (link is a PDF of several patterns for the special Breast Cancer issue).
Yarn: Rowan Calmer (75% cotton, 25% acrylic), in Denim Blue (#479)
Modifications: I had to go down a needle size to US2 in order to get gauge.
I really really like this hat, and at some point will definitely make one for myself! I'm also planning on adding Rowan Calmer to my stash whenever I find it at a good price, I'm in love!