I would say “perfect” — but that’s not really true, nor is it really my goal (well, it is, but I try to fight my perfectionist tendencies…)

When I started really knitting, I wanted to be good RIGHT THEN.  I wanted to knit quickly and nicely and make really fancy things lickety-split.  Now, there are some prodigies out there, but I’m not one of them, and it made me crazy to not be faster, better, stronger, smarter, etc.

But I kept knitting, and guess what?  Without realizing it, I achieved the level of competence that I wanted to have at the start.  I still have a lot to learn, but I am thrilled beyond belief that I can now knit fast enough that I started a hat for Mark Friday night while waiting to ring in the New Year, and after 3-ish evenings of knitting:

The man has a new hat.

Perfect?  No, but good enough to keep my poor husband’s shaved head warm.

This is a lesson I have to keep relearning, made even more annoying by the fact that I am constantly giving my quilting students permission to be beginners and to not be perfect — I have to keep remember to practice what I preach:  that you have to put in the work and be patient with yourself.

I offered to make a cabled hat that matched his scarf, but he was of the opinion that cables are great, just not on hats.  He wanted plain stockinette with a ribbed cuff, and the pattern I found was perfect.

Now, he wants mittens to match his new hat and scarf…he says the mittens can be cabled.

Project Notes:

• Yarn:  Cascade Greenland (Aran weight superwash wool)
• Needles: US 6, bound off with US 8 (Used Magic Loop technique)
• Pattern: Top-Down No Math Hat:  The Manly Version Mark had pretty specific requirements:  plain stockinette to a certain length (8.5inches), with a 3 inch ribbed cuff.