This Winter's Happy Hat

I plied the needles pretty hard on this in the last couple of days and finally finished it.

Earthly Beret

For: Me
Begun: November 19, 2008
Completed: November 26, 2008

Yarn: Rabbit Ridge Designs Sock Yarn, 425 yds = 100g, .5 skein “Earth”.
Needles: 2.75 mm bamboo dpns (centre), 2.75 mm 25” Aero circ (body), 2 mm 24” Aero circ (ribbing)
Pattern: Springtime In Philadelphia by Kate Gagnon. (Free pattern PDF available here. Ravelry link here.)
Mods: None except yarn choice.

Comments: I used my Birthday Yarn from T’s mom. Turned out very nice after I inadvertently used the wrong needle size the first time and got halfway into it without realizing it was too small. I started over with a crochet (Emily Ocker) beginning and bamboo dpns and when it got big enough, moving to an old Aero aluminum circ in a modified magic loop method. When it got large enough I didn’t need to use the magic loop thing at all. I even found another vintage Aero aluminum needle in size 2mm to finish the ribbing.

I blocked the finished and wet beret on a 10” dinner plate suspended on a jar. The colours of the yarn are not totally me but I like this bright and cheery addition to my winter! There’s enough yarn left for coordinating fingerless gloves which I will get to shortly.

Next I’m casting on the yucky and extremely knotty ball of On Your Toes sock yarn for a couple of pairs of Frankensocks for Stargazer. If I can get 2 fraternal pairs out of this his mom won’t worry about having to match them up. I had the chance to measure the slippery little guy’s feet yesterday so I’ve got a pretty good idea how big to make them this time. He didn’t want me to take off his shoe for some reason and then he curled up his toes so it was no easy task! He’s usually pretty easygoing but yesterday he was somewhat grouchy. He missed his nap because he was woken up by the noisy garbage truck as he was being carried into the house. There’s no way he’ll go back to sleep when he could be playing with his Granny & Grampa. We, on the other hand, would prefer to play with a happy little guy who’s caught up on his sleep!