Mad hatting

Ja, it's more hats.  I'm queueing them faster than I can cast on and there's no end in sight.  I started another this morning after finishing one late last night.  It's kind of like that summer I went on an accidental Twizzler diet: for 2 1/2 days I craved twizzlers like nobody's business.  At breakfast with coffee, during the day while sitting at the information desk directing people's calls, and in the evenings with beer.  Nothing else appealed to me.  Then, in the middle of day 3 I hit a serious wall, had a serious stomach ache and the shakes.  The next day, I returned to my normal dietary habits and I was none the worse for wear.  Sometimes you just have to let yourself scratch that itch (unless the itch is to freebase or drunk dial something else absurd, in which someone close needs to slap you and tell you to get it together).

So, here we have the second in my Prince themed hats: When Doves Cry.

Details:

Pattern: Rose Red, by Ysolda Teague

Yarn: Shadyside Farm Studio Angora with Lambswool

Needles: 3.75mm, 4.0mm

Started: July 22

Finished: July 23

The second time around with this hat, I decided to make the size small.  It turned out small, alright.  Tomo (my gracious model) is petite with a small head and it's snug at the brim on her.  This throws a bit of wrench into my intended gifting plans, but I remain optimistic.  If nothing else, I know an adorable three year old who's sure to grow in to it eventually. 

The yarn is some that I received during my knitting group's great yarn swap last spring.  It is so soft and so fuzzy and so incredibly awesome, like the plumes of little, tiny weeping doves (there's your thematic tie in, ladies and germs).

On the same day that I finished the beret, I started on a pair of hats for my friends Felix and Rasmus.  To call  them friends might be a stretch, as they are only 9 months old, but I am awfully fond of them.  Felix and Rasmus (or FeRas, as their mum calls them) aren't identical twins, but they look enough alike that I have a hard time telling them apart.  Consequently, I have been known to refer to them as "This one" and "that one."  It would be pretty great if it turned out I were always calling the same twin "this one" and the other twin "that one", so that when I'm old and dotty and they called me on the phone I could ask "who is it," and when the man on the other end answered "This one," I would know who he was.

As that day is approx. 40 years in the future, for now our relationship is limited to me making them things and them smiling at me, which is more than payment enough.

Details:

Pattern: Elvish, by Melanie Hoffman

Yarn: Nashua Handknits Creative Focus Worsted

Needles: 4.0mm & 4.5mm

Started: July 23

Finished: July 26

This pattern is an adaptation (for worsted weight yarn) of the Sweet Baby Norwegian Cap that is so popular (and deservedly so).  In a departure from my usual m.o., I knit these using DPNs rather than the Magic Loop method and I had fun with those pointy little sticks!  The yarn is pretty woolly which I thought was appropriate for children who are half Swedish.  One of the things I like about Scandinavian knitting, both traditional and contemporary, is that it doesn't shy away from woolly, textured wools.  Shit gets cold up there, and some bamboo cotton blend is more appropriate for L.A. than Malmo!  I popped these in the mail today, which may not have been the smartest move since it's still too warm in Sweden for wool hats and the family will be back in New York before the weather turns seriously cold, but I really, really wanted to surprise  their parents.

Speaking of parents, I also knit a hat for This One and That One's father, or Far, as they say in his homeland.

Details:

Pattern: 70s Ski Hat, by Whitney Van Nes for The Purl Bee

Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash, Patons Classic Wool Merino, Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool

Needles: 4.5mm

Started: July 27

Finished: July 28

I'd made this hat twice before, the year after I started knitting, but didn't remember much about the construction, so the project was fun and felt new.  It's got a neat cashmere band on the inside (yes, I actually used cashmere this time) that you work beginning with a provisional cast on.  Then, when it's time to join the main color for the hat, you knit one row with the new yarn, purl one row with the new yarn, and then knit all remaining rows.  This creates a neat little ridge in the fabric that makes it easy to fold the cashmere lining portion under. 

Now, my friend said her husband's head is "gigantic" and I truly hope that it is, because this hat if h-u-g-e.  It's even big on me, and I have a head the Sputnik could orbit. This, too, went off in the mail today, so I guess I'll find out soon enough. 

Speaking of huge heads, I'll leave you with a favorite clip from one of my favorite movies of the early 1990s: