I’ve been itching to write this post for weeks now! Over reading week, I spent a lot of time learning how to knit. In the span of a few days, I learned how to properly cast-on (I’d been doing it in an unnecessarily difficult manner), knit on circular needles, knit on double-pointed needles (that one was a mind-bender), and change colours properly. I unravelled things, a lot. I started over, a lot. I had a ton of help from my mom and my knitting-whiz of a Grandma – I realized that it’s much easier to learn from real people than it is from videos. (Duh.) I also got to borrow my Grandma’s entire collection of bamboo knitting needles and some hot pink double-pointed needles. Sexy.
I was originally planning to gift the hat above to my best friend for her birthday (which is today! Happy Birthday S! xo) but, at the risk of sounding like a fashion snob, they just weren’t her colours. So I vowed to knit her another one, and started wearing this one myself (because they were my colours). Luckily, the second hat I made was a lot cleaner, less mistakes. Plus, I not-so-inconspicuously asked her which colours of yarn she liked best and knit those into the hat. Problem solved! Here she is in her hat:
Altogether now: d’aww.
To make the hats, I used this pattern for His + Her Knit Hats from the purl bee. I love that website. It’s like knitting, for young hipsters. Like me. Kind of. The pink yarn was a no-name brand on sale at Michael’s, it was really soft and fuzzy. The orange was Softee Chunky by Bernat. The cream was from a giant skein I found in the basement at my mom’s house, label long since lost.
I gifted the hat yesterday, on one of the warmest days of the year so far. Today, too, has been incredibly beautiful. I even went running, if you can believe it. So maybe it’s practically Spring…but it’s the thought that counts! Worst case scenario, we can save these hats til next winter and wear them like twins. My plan all along, of course.
And thus wraps up 4 of 10 DIY projects for 2012! (I’m counting both hats as one, because they were virtually identical, using the same skills.) See the rest of the DIY projects here.
