10/31/12 - realized yesterday that the decrease stitches I’d been using as markets to ensure symmetry were a problem. Removed all pins and started sewing on i-cord @ 8 PM last night. Finished hat @ 1:30 AM this morning.

10/29/12 - Running out of time. I’ve been distracted and traveling. This piece isn’t the ideal travel project. I knit way too much i-cord. My scheme to use bigger needles and stuff results in less footage required.

To assess how much I’d need, I wrapped the cap with the stuffed i-cord, added about 6” and cut off (and unraveled and rewound) the excess.

Basic gyri application guidelines: hemispheres are unconnected and symmetrical.

I’m using safety pins to secure the i-cord to the hat. It’s taken a couple hours to complete about two thirds of the i-cord. As long as it’s pinned in place, I’ll wear it. It looks just as good.

9/10/12 - I have about 40 feet of i-cord and think I’ll just finish the current skein of yarn, stuff the i-cord and see how that works. This is going to be awesome.

9/9/12 - After conferring with fellow knitters, I started on the i-cord last week. In an effort to make this go faster and also provide some visual interest, I’m using bigger needles on the i-cord than I used on the cap. Once the i-cord is knitted, I plan to stuff it with red yarn. The red color will peek through the stitches in the i-cord, giving it some depth and “gore”. I’m also thinking about using some red yarn to make some blood vessels on the outside of the cap before applying the gyri.

8/20/12 - I guess I was looking for a break from my double-knitting projects. I started the cap on Saturday and finished it this morning over breakfast. I now need to work on the i-cord gyri. They will take a while as I expect I’ll be knitting those by hand. The reviews of the i-cord makers I’ve investigated suggest they won’t work with yarn any heavier than sport/DK.

8/17/12 - Downloaded the pattern and am now considering a purchase of an i-cord knitter. A part of me feels like that would be cheating. On the other hand, it’ll help me finish faster and the i-cord will have more regular stitches.

8/16/12 - I’ve been pretty good about minimizing the number of projects in progress, … too good. I have just one project on needles right now and it’s half done.

I needed a fallback project. I’ve loved the idea of this hat since I first saw a picture. Today when I found a pink & gray yarn that looks like raw meat, I knew I had to do this. Halloween will be especially festive this year.