Handknit Hats
I guess it's never too late to share Christmas knitting, is it? As I promised before (this long silence), I'd show a few quick little knits that were distributed under the tree this year and now live far far away. Today's hats both reside in Portland, Oregon where wool's water-resistant qualities are highly appreciated.
![Jo's Hat (by b r o o k l y n t w e e d) Jo's Hat (by b r o o k l y n t w e e d)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2100/2143148106_1ac52210e7.jpg)
The first is an adaptation of the Thorpe pattern [PDF]. I really liked this pattern (it's knit from the top down, and you know I love that) but knew that handspun was in order so I decided to merge the two. The yarn I had on hand was DK weight so I just tweaked the numbers a bit to work - very easy to do when knitting hats from the top down. It turned out lightweight, fluffy and rather nice for a milder climate. Stripey too.
![Jo's Hat (by b r o o k l y n t w e e d) Jo's Hat (by b r o o k l y n t w e e d)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2015/2143148232_97e82269f9.jpg)
The yarn is a 2-ply merino that I spun last fall with this particular recipient in mind. The fiber was handdyed in sunny California at Pigeonroof Studios and turned out to be a lovely little skein. I actually have enough of it leftover to knit another hat, so you may see this one pop up again in the future. Here's the unknit yarn hanging in the window.
![Lazy Daisy Drying](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2028/1711208743_8b0d17e4bb.jpg)
Hat number two was a little stashbusting creation. I had about half a skein of both Silk Garden and Cascade 220, both in neutral shades, both begging to be married. So I put them together and got this.
![Ryan's Hat](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2224/2142350267_74e54fb0f7.jpg)
The hat is just about as basic as can be, aside from maybe the crown. I really love how raglan-style decreases create a square-top on hats. I got to thinking of the stripes as circles and thought it might be interesting to throw some squares into the mix. I started thinking of this hat as squares-within-circles and really liked how it turned out.
![Ryan's Hat (by b r o o k l y n t w e e d) Ryan's Hat (by b r o o k l y n t w e e d)](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2315/2142350443_b10ebe1657.jpg)
The photos were taken on Puget Sound at Dash Point in Washington State. While we were walking the beach we saw a whole herd (school?) pod of Orcas (thanks everyone!) jumping off the coast - something I've never seen in all my life. And I grew up there. It was pretty great - and you can't beat that Puget Sound light!
![Ryan's Hat](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2109/2143141368_2abaea9419.jpg)
Knitting has been regretfully slow around here lately, but a few projects can pull you through almost any stress-ridden period (thank heaven for Baby Surprise Jackets!)... and when did February sneak up on us?
Okay, here's one more picture of canoodling handknits for the road.
![Ryan and Jo](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2389/2143153326_6bf21be2cf.jpg)
Until next time - happy knitting!