Monday, February 16, 2009

Double Warm Hat


This FO is all about me. It's no secret that this winter has hit me hard. I've complained about to everyone I know and complete strangers alike. But in case you missed the memo: I. Hate. Winter.

I don't mind a little cold. Heck, I even like snow. But the kind of bitter cold we've been having this winter just saps my will to live, or, on less melodramatic days, my will to leave the house. 

So I made myself a hat. An extra warm hat. Double warm, if you will. I call it that because it's actually two hats, one inside the other. The pattern comes from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears, and like all her patterns, it's delightfully simple.

I made the brown hat first, just a simple roll-brim number  in the size I would normally make it. The only difference was that I used the provisional cast-on instead of my usual long-tail start. Once the brown hat was done, I removed the waste yarn, joined in the blue-gray color and commenced to make the other hat in the opposite direction.

When done, just push one hat inside the other and voila: a doubly warm, fully reversible, awfully cunning hat.

Okay, so there's one thing I like about winter. My new hat.

Monday, February 09, 2009

Zoe's Baby Hat

Another long time between posts. January's finished objects seemed to all be gifts that needed to be kept under wraps until after given. I know, I know. Most people do their gift knitting and giving in December. But, as usual, I'm just a little bit off the beam.

One of the things I made in January was a baby hat for Zoe, a friend's first grandbaby. 

I don't know Zoe, but I'm acquainted with her Big Mama, so something classic but classy seemed in order. Basic with a little bit of flair. So a simple hat with a flourish of cables was settled upon.

I'm a little addicted to cables now that I've practiced them more. Ordinarily I'm all about the flashy colors, but I like the way the texture of the cables looks on a solid color.

So, inspired by Zoe, I am now learning to read charts and making a cabled scarf for myself.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

Knit One, Save One Hats

Have been neglecting my FO blog during the holidays, but I wanted to start the new year off right.

During my time off, I made a few of these little hats for Save the Children's Knit One, Save One Campaign. Save the Children distributes hats like this in developing countries, where something as simple as a baby hat is beyond the means of many new mothers and could make the difference between life and death for a low-birthweight baby.

These little hats are easy to make, easy to take along as a portable project, and awfully cute when done.