Unveiling The Hat/And Now For Something Completely Different/And Finally

Unveiling The Hat

The hat is finally done! It took me longer than expected for a variety of reasons:



* I was stitching a cable pattern that I created and had never stitched before. This meant a lot of referring back to my chart to make sure I was doing things right. Alas, I still got the cabling wrong, but it still looks good.



* I didn't figure out the correct number of stitches to cast on, which meant that I had to creatively add stitches to get the pattern correct. It was a happy accident, however, and I am going to modify the pattern so that the brim begins with fewer stitches and then add stitches to create the diamond pattern that the add-on stitches did.



* My circular sucked. The join was very bad and I constantly had to stop to guide more stitches onto the live needle. I have since bought a circular that is supposed to have a better join; alas, they are not Addi Turbos (Jo-Ann doesn't carry them) but the join feels much smoother than the Clover circular that I was using.

Not to get off track, but I am starting to see the merits of circular needles. I like that there aren't 6 needle ends poking out of the work (ala dpns) that perennially get in the way of what you are trying to accomplish. I bought a size 2 circular to knit socks, too.

So that's the hat. If you want to buy it, I'll be listing it on my store, Howard Knits, soon.

And Now For Something Completely Different



I took this picture last Friday during Columbus's Veteran's Day Parade. My grandpa Herb Seelbach was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame that day, and he was going to ride in the parade. He is 93, and when he saw that the car that he would ride in was a convertible, he decided that it wasn't the best idea for him to ride in a convertible on a slightly chilly day. This gentleman served in Korea and saluted all of the soldiers as they passed by. It gave me little tinglies and made me feel quite patriotic.

Grandpa was in the Navy and served on the Admiralty Islands during WWII; among other things, he helped with the soldiers hurt fighting in the Pacific theater. But his real claim to fame was his musical skill. He plays trumpet, alto sax, and clarinet and performed with Bob Hope and Frances Langford when they came to the islands with the USO (I have a great photo of this, but I can't find it!). He would have joined them on tour had disease not cut his military career short. After an honorable discharge he taught music for over 30 years for the Youngstown Schools (where he also taught his five children, my dad included, to play at least one instrument), conducted over 125 Broadway caliber shows at the W.D. Packard Music Theater of Warren, OH, and toured with the likes of Tommy Dorsey and his own band, Herb Seelbach's Dixieland Jazz Band. He worked with stars such as Robert Goulet, Shirley McClain, Andy Williams, really all the luminaries of the stage from the 1960's through the 80's. His legacy is bringing music to his community, as a teacher, conductor, and musician. He has inspired so many people - my cousin Renee taught music on a Navaho reservation for many years, we met someone at the swanky Inductees dinner who he taught trumpet to, the list goes on and on. He doesn't seem to want to be remembered for all of the Hollywood sparkle that is all over his resume; rather, he relishes that he taught and inspired so many young people to play and appreciate music.

And Finally . . .

This is a picture that Will took of me knitting (The Hat before it was done). I really like it. It feels real to me and the light is wonderful. My two-year-old takes better photos than I do!