Crafternoon: The Perfect Family Hat

So, I decided after knitting and felting bowls for 6+ weeks now that I needed to branch out...to step it up...to try knitting something new.

A hat.

Okay, all you experienced knitters, stop laughing at me.

I decided to turn to Halcyon Yarn (a local favorite) for some inspiration. (If you haven't discovered Halcyon, you must check it out online, via catalog or in-person. They have beautiful fiber of all sorts and all the imaginable equipment for all-things-fiber-related.) Naturally, the hat pattern with the title "Family Favorite Hat" caught my eye.

 {photo from Halcyon Yarn}

Who wouldn't want to knit a favorite hat? A quick view of the instructions confirmed that I more or less had the skills needed. (I should point out that this hat would be my first purling experience...) The pattern recommended Debbie Bliss Como yarn (which I happen to know is super soft and wonderful), but I had on-hand some Wool Ease Chunky Yarn (Color: Indigo) from LionBrand that I was eager to use.

Truth is, I'm not much for practicing. I set out to knit this hat--my very first hat--as a gift. Bold, huh?

Well, I did it. I knit my hat. What do you think? (Lousy photos, I know!)

I must say it was really quick (one evening!) -- and fun. Purling? Well, it wasn't as scary as I thought.

Too many mistakes for a gift, so I'm going to follow my Mom's advice and knit in a variegated yarn ("it hides mistakes" she always advises) next time.