knitting school dropout

thanks so much for all the lovely comments regarding my bubble pullover. i guess i finished it just in time for the cold new england weather. it's been getting lots of use!

since casting off, i've been casting on like mad for lots of small projects. i've had a couple crappy weeks, nothing bad, just feeling generally overwhelmed by small, usually benign things. so, i pushed aside all my current sweater projects and made some damn hats!

hat 1: bonnet for a 32 year old
yarn: maisy day handspun in "spitfire", purchased from hello yarn and one ball of debbie bliss cashmerino aran in brown.
needles: 5mm 16" circs
pattern: i knit the bottom (ear covering) portion from the maltese fisherman's hat pattern in elizabeth zimmermann's knitter's almanac, except i doubled all the numbers. after i cast on the additional stitches for the front, i just went along and knit the top as i would any plain hat, instead of following the pattern. i only had 112yds of this yarn, so i knit it a little shorter than i normally would and added a garter stitch border and ties. i also added the most pathetic excuse for a pom-pom ever. which, incidentally, is the only kind i can seem to make.
the verdict: it's cute. i love the handspun. it covers my ears. i am happy.

hat 2: brown flop
pattern : none, but here's where i tell you my secret for making a floppy hat like mine (please skip this part if you dont care :))
take your standard formula for a plain close fitting hat in the yarn of your choosing. knit 1x1 rib for 1 inch, after this point continue in rib, but start adding short rows to the front 60% of the hat. your ribbed band will become wider in the front than it is in the back. add as many short rows as you wish. my front ribbing was about twice as long in the front as it was in the back. after the front rib was the length i wanted, at the beginning of the next round i began knitting in stockinette, but increasing every other stitch like this: k1, k1f/b, repeat until end of round. there, now you have lots more stitches and you can knit some easy stockinette for hours. i added a few more short rows to the front of the stockinette portion too. once it starts to get long, you can try it on as you knit and decide when you want to start decreasing to close up the top.
yarn: louisa harding grace 50/50 silk wool, a little less than 2 balls.
needles: 4mm 16: inch circular
thoughts: grace is a beautiful yarn. i forgot to take in to consideration the fact that this hat will stretch out with wear. i would make it a tad smaller next time, until then, i'll re-block it after a few wears.

hat 3: another maltese fisherman's hat from elizabeth zimmermann's knitter's almanac
yarn: berroco peruvia in a heathered pink.
needles: 5mm circulars
details: i wear this one all the time. it's longer than the first one and the yarn is nice and soft. i bought more of the peruvia in a dark blue to add trim and ties, but i haven't done it yet. this hat covers the ears PERFECTLY. i walk around, all smug and warm, every windy day. i did the same thing with this hat, doubling the numbers, doing my own hat thing at the top, etc.

hats have always been my favorite thing to knit. a simple one can be knit up in a day and they're a perfect way to test out a yarn for it's durability, or to get the chance to try a yarn that you couldn't afford in a sweater amount. long live the hat!

oh, and can i share with you the awesome tags that i ordered from namemaker? they're kind of motivating me to knit those gifts i keep putting off.