The Christmas Hat

I haven't bothered to write in a few weeks, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. I was preparing for my trip and doing non-crafting things. Now I'm stuck at the KY/TN border for aprox. 2 months. This means a lot of knitting, and 'tis the season! I have Christmas presents to produce en mass.

This year will be the year of hats. Last year, my friend Sheila knit me this fabulous hat (see blue hat in previous post). It is so awesome and warm and snugly that I slept in it the first night she gave it to me. Really. I love it so much. I love it enough that I want to churn out 10 clones of it to give away, so that others may love it.

The thing about this hat is that it uses super chunky yarn and is an easy pattern. That means even a simpleton like me can produce one pretty quick. Sheila gave me the pattern a couple weeks ago, and after tracking down the right knitting needles (a story in itself) I've been hard at work.

Here's the pattern if you're interested - it's available for purchase on etsy.com.

An aside on knitting needles - I ended up buying 3 different needles for this project, because I am dumb. I've never knitted in the round before. I needed a size 11 (8mm) needle. First I bought a size 8 because I forgot the difference. Then, I bought a size 11, 29" circular needle - not knowing (or thinking) that you have to use a needle shorter then the piece you're working on if you intend to connect the ends. So I had to go buy another.
The only size 11 I could find that was the proper length was bamboo, which is of course twice as expensive as the cheapo metal ones I typically buy. So I begrudgingly made my purchase and grumbled to the cashier about how I was getting reamed (he ignored me).

I LOVE THIS NEEDLE. Bamboo is so much nicer to work with. Lighter, no awful clacking sound, warm, soft.. I feel like I'm knitting with air. So, if you really want the knitting experience of a lifetime, go with the expensive needle.

I won't mention the fact that I still have to go buy another needle because I didn't notice the pattern requires two different sizes.

So anyway, here's my progress on the first hat - this is after about 45 minutes. I had to stop because I don't have the right needle to continue.

In other news, I've made progress on my top secret present. I'll probably finish this piece today, since I can't finish the hat.

I guess its not so secret anymore.