Drew's Hat

At long last, Drew surprised me by glancing at a hat pattern in a magazine and actually exclaiming that he liked what he saw. His choice was not what I expected, but as I have wanted to make him a hat for quite a while, I went with it. The pattern is from the fall/winter 05 issue of Knitscene magazine. The Earflap Hat is a great, super-easy and quick, versatile pattern worked from the top down. Drew even said he wanted the 4 pom-poms, though I've told him since that I can always remove them (they do tend to knock around quite a bit when he moves). Since I really wanted him to like the finished product, I insisted that he pick out the yarn. That Saturday, we headed to my fabulous local yarn store, Churchmouse Yarns & Teas, and he selected his yarn. Unfortunately, the brand escapes me, and I've already lost the tag, but it is a soft wool and the green matches his eyes perfectly. That night, I knit the hat, and he was wearing it the very next day! A success! Maybe some day I'll be brave enough to make him a sweater.

I have been neglecting my blog, but not my knitting for the past month. I am mostly finished with the work for the Master Knitting Level I course. I had intended to finish over winter break, but decided it wasn't worth stressing out over. The knitting assignments went fast, but the written work has been dragging by. Every answer given must be referenced, which is as it should be, but it has slowed me down. At the same time, I've been learning a lot more than I thought I would. Particularly, I've learned how much I don't know. Because I'm self-taught and lazy, I tend to stick with learning one particular cast on, one increasing technique, etc., instead of branching out and learning which techniques are the best for particular situations. I have a feeling that this fact will result in the instructors asking me to redo a few swatches. It makes me a little nervous at the thought of them closely scrutinizing my work, but it's certainly what I need to truly improve.

Over the past month, I've also completed a couple additional projects, besides the 16 swatches for Level I and Drew's hat: A baby sweater and hat, two hats for my niece and nephew, a ribbon scarf, and a sweater for myself, knit in the round from bottom up with a yoke (my first attempt at creating my own sweater pattern as I knit it and my first time knitting a yoke).

Last month marked my 3 year "knitting anniversary." More on that in my next entry... Coming soon!