hats

A,
A hat's pretty simple. It was the fourth thing I learned how to knit. The very first thing I knit were scraps of stockinette doll blankets which allowed me an easy project with which to learn on. I can remember my first doll blanket as being purple wool, and about two by three inches large. Then the first real pattern I ever followed was to make a pair of mittens. Then a pair of slippers. And finally, a hat. It should be a fairly basic project by now. After all, the only shaping that you do is at the very end. But when do you actually start to decrease? This is troublesome to me.

Below is the baby hat I knit last week while in Florida. Aren't those colors gorgeous? I have no idea if it will fit a baby's head. I had some help from my mother-in-law, who told me I needed to make it larger--which I did. I have no sense for these things.


Then, on Thursday, I was fiddling around, and I found an all-but-finished hat that I had made two years ago. I put it on, and couldn't figure out why I never wove in the ends. But five minutes later, it was half an inch too long, and then if I shortened it, I thought it would be too tight and it would slip up over my ears. I have no sense for these things.

I do have one hat that worked out. And maybe it's the way to go from now on, just to make slouchy hats and oversize everything. Or maybe I should just follow patterns. I sort of followed a pattern for this hat, only everything was different because I had the perfect yarn and refused to substitute.



But then again, this is the only way I can wear the hat without it falling off my head.


Here's my yarn source: little Valentino. This is before the shave.


And this is his fleece early last summer.


And this is a majestic bald eagle.


Anyway, I'm not going to make any hats for a while. Too complicated. I finished the sweater I was working on, and now I'm on a sweater kick. Sweater designs are dancing in my head.

K

PS. Happy new year.
PPS. I just realized I forgot Dutch and he's been outside the whole time I've been working on this post.