hat-o-rama part two

i can now reveal the hats in their full glory with details, as the blue one has been gifted away to the rightful (blog reading) owner.

this will also give you some idea why i am tired of making hats right now. we can bring our count up to four for the month of october with these two darlings.

a sicko part of me wants to stay up tonight and finish number 5 so i can set some sort of silly personal goal. i'm not going to--too much other art must be finished before tomorrow evening.

the details....

Birthday Blues Hat
designed by kittything
pattern available soon (i hope.)

knit in Frog Tree Merino (1 skein #910, 1 skein #916, 100% merino wool) purchased at K+S=B on size US 7 Plymouth bamboo needles.

started: october 27, 2007
finished: october 29, 2007

i knit this for someone who is officially going to be old on saturday. (i am allowed to say it because he said it first. ha. and, you know.... my time will come soon enough.) that along with the color gave the design its name. but how can you be sad when you have such a delightful hat?!

when i wanted to start this project, i was a little annoyed. i bought the yarn because i fell in love with the dark blue and i had to knit something from it. i don't really wear blue. perfect for something one is to gift. okay... now tell me when it became a law of knitting that all men's hat patterns must be knit in chunky yarn?

i searched high and low, and finally in disgust i made my own pattern. remember how i questioned why anyone would ever knit a hat flat instead of in the round? yeah, well i knit it flat.

two reasons. 1. i would rather sew a seam than do fancy pants stuff to eliminate the "jog" in the color of the stripes. 2. my circular US7 was too big (24") and my double points were too small (5"). it was an hour of night well after any sort of purveyor of knitting needles would be open, so i bit the bullet and knit flat. i think it turned out pretty darn well.

ps- i am in love with my decreases.


on to friend number 2....

Tasteful Sports Themed Beanie
designed by kittything

crocheted in Frog Tree Merino (1 skein #905, 1 skein... um... brown, 100% merino wool) purchased at K+S=B on size "J" palm wood crochet hook.

started: october 11, 2007
finished: october 14, 2007

first, i apologize for the Freaky Anime Eyes picture. i have freaky eyes, and i try to minimize their strangeness in photos, but after taking 10 pictures of myself in this hat, i gave up. but this is an excellent illustration of why my ID says i have grey eyes and not blue. i don't like to fight at the DMV.

this is a husband-of-a-friend (he is also my friend) holiday gift. he likes sports. i like things that are tasteful, hence the tasteful sports themed hat. no loud and garish stadium colors here, folks! class and sophistication all the way, baby!

as you can see from the fact that i have now made three hats in the Frog Tree Merino.... i think it is spectacular! everyone should rush out and get some right now. i. love. it.

it is great for both knitting and crochet. it is soft, but it doesn't get too fuzzy. zero itch here, people. i also hear a nasty rumour that it felts well. i would never do such a thing to this lovely yarn, but i thought i should put it out there. oh, yeah... and have i mentioned that the colors rock?

alright, one more hat and then the holiday hat season will be done. i tend to make hats when i am home with my folks during the holidays--not this year. this year i think i will be back on my socks!