Recently in Hats Category

Today's post will be in reverse order from prior posts concerning out visit to Europe. I just couldn't resist the title.

When I last wrote about our trip, we were in Cologne. For New Year's, however, we went over to Prague.

Mmmm, mmm. I first visited Prague three years ago, and at the time I thought "Everybody has to go to Prague." I felt the same way this visit, too. Everybody needs to go to Prague! Quick, make those travel plans. I'll wait.

Done? Good. Being in Prague means that I can officially unveil my next-to-last 2007 FO:

Ta dah! If you remember, this was the hat that I started just before Christmas. I finished it "easily" before I left the US. If, by easily, you mean "reknit the top three times." Yep. Three times. The first time I knit the pattern "as written" (if, by "as written", you mean "adjusted for a different gauge). And upon finishing it I thought that it was much too short. It didn't reach my ears.

Okaaaaay, so I needed to frog back and add about an inch. Frog, frog, knit (is this now too long?), knit. And guess what? It was too long. Way too long. Grrrr. So, frog, frog, knit, knit. And, guess what? The second time that I knit the pattern the way I was directed to knit the pattern it fit pretty well. [Don't ask why, I don't know.] I admit that the photo makes the hat look a wee too long, but I think that my scarf was pushing it up from the back and pushing the brim slightly too far down.

The Details:

Pattern: The beret pattern was free from The Point, when I purchased yarn.

Yarn: Twinkle, Soft Chunky, colorway Urchin. One hank.

Needles: US15s, DPNs.

What I changed: I adjusted the pattern for a different gauge. Other than that, nothing.

Would I knit this again: Yes. I like the chunky appearance and easy shaping of this beret. It avoids the "hat head" I so dread this time of year.

Moving on to 2008, here's the latest on Marie's socks.

Not only am I perfecting my magic loop, I'm also learning a great new way to knit short-row heels. Or, rather, I'm learning this technique again, and this time the correct way. I thought I knew how to do this, but apparently I did not. This might explain why I found this technique fiddly the first time that I used it, and overall I saw it as only a slight improvement on the backwards-YO method.

But if you use this technique correctly (as I now am) it's a HUGE improvement over what I was doing before.

Lovin' this pattern! Whoo!

Today, I can safely unveil the project I was racing to complete last week:

It's a baby hat! I feel like a baby-hat machine these days. This is not exactly a bad thing, as baby hats have the two qualities that provide almost instant gratification to knitters everywhere: 1) they're cute 2) they work up quickly.

Hey, as long as a project can deliver that time and time again, who am I to complain?

The details:

Pink Stripes Baby Hat

Pattern: I grabbed the basic pattern from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns and to it I added a simple horizontal stripe pattern, and a simple picot row above the rolled hem. I slipped threaded a ribbon through the picot row and tied a bow.

Yarn: GGH Goa that I picked up at Seaport Yarns.

Needles: US8s circulars, and finished with DPNs. I knit the hat in the round.

Time to complete: Two days, with lots of subway knitting time.

Would I knit this again: Sure! This knit kept me happy.

Notions: About a half yard of 1/4-inch grosgrain ribbon.

Now, I know that we're working on mid January here, but I haven't had time to share much with you about Christmas, or my after-Christmas European jaunt. Because I think that post after post of just me blabbing on and on about things that happened weeks ago would get boooooring, I'll tack on these posts after current information about the knitting project du jour. So, without further ado:

This was the Christmas that Kate discovered yarn. She first discovered that it's a lot of fun to run across the room carrying my ball of working yarn. I guess that it wasn't so smart to leave my knitting bag withing Kate's reach. This was quickly substituted with some spare Claudia Handpainted that I had with me. Can you see it there in her hand? Even all decked out in her Christmas finery (white cardigan hand-knit by none other than KG--that's Knitting Grandma to new blog readers), she had to carry some yarn with her. I hear that this yarn also went to bed with her.

Hey, what can I say? It's probably in her blood.

But what the heck? It's a few hours until I pick up the rental car, I'm up early, and I have things to say. Besides, I'm already packed. Really and truly I am! I'm so proud of myself. A couple of hours of diligent work last night and I have a full, and well-planned suitcase to show for it.

As a reward for all of my good work, why not knit a bit? Kate isn't the only one getting a new beret around here.

It's the Parachute Beret pattern by John Brinegar, which is a house pattern at The Point. I had been eying it for weeks, and I finally decided to jump. I'm knitting it in some Twinkle Handknits Soft Chunky. To call this stuff "yarn" is a bit of a stretch; it's more like lightly spun roving. Still, I like it. And because the fabric made from the yarn is rather stiff in structure (but still feels soft) I think that it'll hold the shape of this beret just fine.

Lucky for me I "thought" to pick up an extra set of US15 DPNs when I was at the Spiders. For "thought" read "bought a set because she couldn't remember if she had any at home". Since I'm leaving town today, I'll have limited access to yarn stores for a couple of weeks (although Allegra did point out Maschenkunst in Cologne) and I knew that I couldn't get home only to find that I lacked a set. I would be screwed! Well, turns out that I now have two sets. [Of course, at the time I knew that if I purchased the needles, that would guarantee finding a set at home....]

But with all the increased necessary for this beret, it's not such a bad thing to have a few extra needles. I appreciate having these bulky stitches spread out among eight DPNs.

So, will I be able to wear this hat through airport security on Tuesday? Only time will tell.

This was the scene that greeted me:

Kate's hat, and it's nowhere near completed. Christmas is slightly more than a week away, but I think that the hat needs to be done, blocked, and wrapped before I leave for my parents' house this weekend. It's just bad form to be knitting Kate's gift in front of her.

And if you recall, there's not just a hat to be knit, but a pair of mittens, too. A pair of mittens! I had better get cracking.

Were you in Boston this weekend? I don't know about you, but the only "bonnet" that I was wearing was a thick layer of wool in the form of my Birdwatcher's Beret from Morehouse Farm. It was freezing. I'm not the first person to say that we had Easter weather at Christmas, and Christmas weather at Easter. Weather equilibrium has been restored! May we have spring now, please?

Anyway, I've been waiting for an appropriate day to unveil this finished hat. It's been either too cold or two warm. We haven't had that day of cool, blustery weather when this type of hat would be perfect. Therefore, I officially give up.

The Details:

Pattern: Santa Cruz Hat (free pattern from the February 2007 MagKnits by Sarah-Hope Parmeter.

Yarn: Cascade 220 (what else?)

Needles: US8s

What I changed: I made the hat bigger (in circumference) by adding one more repeat.

What would I change next time? I fluctuate between thinking that this hat needs to be longer and thinking that this hat needs to be more like a beret to fit differently on my head. Or maybe I just need to relax and get used to my head a snug-fitting hat. Everyone who sees this knit loves it.

Would I knit this again? You bet! I really, really enjoyed this pattern. Because it's written for different yarn weights, the pattern is a great stash buster, and a good one to keep in mind for the all-important Christmas Gift Knitting. Plus, I just thought that it was fun to knit. The above mentioned alterations would be very easy to make without changing the spirit of the design. In addition to wool, this hat would would knit up very well in an elasticized cotton yarn (Don't ask me which one. Do I know any elasticized cottons off the top of my head? I do not.)