A Couple of Knitty Hats

I have really enjoyed the current issue of Knitty. I have finished 2 hats, pictured here, and purchased a skein of Malabrigo in "Velvet Grapes" to make a Foliage hat out of. (Out of which to make a Foliage hat...never end a sentence with a preposition!)

First, I made a "Jackyll and Hide" balaclava for my son. But, with our origins in Tennessee, and being new to a cold climate, we thought it was called a "ski mask."


I used a ball of Paton's Classic Merino which I had in the stash. It took exactly one ball. I had about 10 yards left after I finished. The mouth is a little bit of black Encore, also from the stash.

Next, I made an Urchin beret. This was a wonderful fun and quick pattern. I bought this yarn on Sunday afternoon, and had the whole hat finished by Monday evening.










That's the profile, underside, and top view of the hat. It was hard to photograph, but it is a pretty cool hat! I used Cascade Yarns "Lana Grande", and Brittany Size 11's. This pattern taught me how to wrap and turn, and that I have tremendous difficulty with a provisional crochet cast on. I modified it by just casting on normally, and binding off normally, and mattress stitching the first and last wedge together. I don't think you can tell unless you hold the hat in your hand and feel for the seam.

Please bear in mind, that this was Urchin, take 2. The first one, I tried to knit from some thick-and-thin yarn which I bought on clearance at JoAnn's. It is neat looking yarn, but I had some gauge problems, and it came out about half-size and very ugly. I'm pretty embarrassed to post it, but here it is, in all its badly photographed and gauge-impaired glory...


The first picture is from the top, not too bad, only it's not even large enough to fit a toddler. I had much difficulty seeing my wraps, and determining the right side from the wrong side, so you should not be surprised to note that the head hole is off center in the second picture, from underneath. I apparently had the right and wrong sides reversed for some of the wedges, so the entire thing is misshapen.In the non-knitting part of my world, I'm loving my new job, the kids are liking their new school, we've started a couple of activities at church which are allowing us to meet more people. Took the kiddos to Elitch Gardens for a Fall Break celebration, and enjoyed Halloween a great deal. I even won the parents' dance contest at the school Monster Ball. Life is Good!