Knitting ahead

It's crazy to even think about right now since our February is apparently going to be mostly in the mid-70s, but we'll be going back to South Africa this summer and it'll be chilly there. You may remember that I knitted hats for our trip last year. They were pretty but not so warm. . . This year, I'd like to be toasty on the bitterly cold morning drives. (I'll also knit another hat for Scott but I think that might be the extent of my trip knitting.)

I loved this hat from the moment I laid eyes on it. I debated about what yarn to use and finally settled on Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter in Homemade Jam and Hayloft. On my monitor it reads more purple and chartreuse. I was a bit disappointed with the colors when they arrived. Scott tried to make me feel better by saying that they looked very Gryffindor - which oddly didn't make it any better. I hate when you have an expectation about something and it doesn't live up to that expectation. Anyway, I wasn't so disappointed that I didn't dive right into the project. My other beef with this yarn is that it is harboring lots of vegetation. That might be a selling point to some but also not my jam. I spent lots of time while winding the skeins into balls picking out sticks and twigs and grass. Let me say though that my complaining ends there. This yarn is a dream. It's stretchy, warm, fab. I'd definitely use it again. In fact, I think I may order some of the fingering weight for Scott's hat.

I'm pleased at the way this hat turned out. I wish that I'd followed the instructions and gone up a needle size on the body of the hat. The hat on the pattern is slouchier and I like that better, but I didn't have size 8 16" circulars so I made do. Now if the months will zoom by so that I can wear it I'll look like this -

South Africa, I can't wait to see you again.

xoxoxoxox