ask me anything // the answers!

Last week I posted that I was taking questions - any questions you had to ask me - and would be answering them here on the blog. Today is the day for answers! You'll find questions asked in bold below, with my answers following them.

Q. Do you have any tips for starting a hat? The first few rows of ribbing are always so difficult for me until I get some weight on the needles. (anonymous)

My best tip for starting the ribbing on a hat out right is to simply knit it flat. If you struggle with those first two inches or so, don't join for working in the round until you're to the body portion of the hat! You can use the tail at the beginning to sew up the brim, and the join will hardly be noticeable

Q. My question is have you ever considered doing a video tutorial on your blog on some specific knitting skills? (Lindsay)

 Lindsay, I've tossed around the idea of doing video tutorials in the past, actually! The problem right now is that they take up quite a bit of time, and to make them the best quality I can, I'd need to have some sort of editing software, which I don't currently own. It's on my list of things to try to tackle in the near future, though - I'd love to do a series where we all knit a hat together, with each step (from casting on all the way to weaving in ends) documented in short videos.

Q. I would love to know what you have found to be the five most challenging things have been in Owen's first 11 months. (Meredith)

Meredith, this is a great question! So much of our lives transferred seamlessly (or so it feels now!) to having a baby, not much has been intensely challenging. It helps that I'm still staying home full time with him I'm sure! With that in mind, here are the five things I've deemed the most challenging almost a year in:

1. Body issues - mine, not Owen's (of course)! I didn't gain a ton of weight with pregnancy, and I actually weigh less now than I did before I got pregnant, but my body shape is VASTLY different than it used to be, including several areas that are pretty loose and fatty now. Granted, I'm not working out very much at all, but it's been a hard adjustment to go up a pants size despite weighing less, to not see my tummy and thighs look the same after the fact, stuff like that. I suppose that if I worked out more often (on the list for August!) these "problem" areas would start to take care of themselves, but as I'm not yet, this is an area of struggle still.

2. Teeth. Owen is currently locked in a battle of wills with his top gum. He's got at least four teeth that are begging to come in, and we're pretty sure Owen is willing them to stay in his gums. It's the only explanation! After his first two came in two months ago, we've had more crabby days than not, gone through more Tylenol than I'd care to admit, and still no teeth. Argh!

3. Sleep. Along with being willful about teeth, Owen is a pretty willful kid when it comes to sleep. Meaning, he doesn't see much need for it. He goes to bed around 8pm and is up by 6am, usually with one wake in between. He naps on average 2 hours a day - added up, that's not enough sleep according to all reliable sources.

4. Keeping the television off. This one is all me, I'll fully admit. I had all these visions of being the type of mom who took her kid outside all day long, leaving the television completely ignored. The string of 100 degree days we've had this month has meant something totally different, and I struggle with how much we've had the television on some days.

 5. Photos, and general memory-keeping. I try to snap as many shots as I can, and to write down the little things, but I'll openly admit I'm bad about it. I like to just let the moments happen and think about the camera later, which means many moments go un-documented.

  Q. What are the average head sizes for Newborn, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month, 12 month....then if your feeling good you can go up in years.? (Debi)

This is a great question, and one I didn't fully understand myself until I found this great graphic on Pinterest (thanks to Tot Toppers)! I've cropped the chart to show only use the top few lines (which are the only ones I use). These tell me how wide and long a hat should be depending on age/head size. this way, I can match up what patterns use for their sizing with what size hat I'd like to make. The hat sizing chart is actually much larger, with all sorts of useful sizing information. However, I've found these two sections are all I usually need to get the right size for the hat I want to knit! // Thanks so much for your questions! It's been super fun answering them all, and I hope to do this again around the first of the year!