How many days til...

Would you think Christmas is just around the corner, if that hat were the only thing I've cast off in a week? Well, it is, and it is.

Life has been so hectic lately and I feel I haven't had any time to knit.

Our good friend Justin visited us for the weekend. When my husband picked him up from the airport, Justin asked to be taken to a place to get his haircut and to buy a hat. Rob said, "Oh, let Tracy make you a hat!" I was thrilled to make Justin something, even if he did insist on black and nothing but black. And it made me feel so great that Rob thought of my knitting as a superior option to a store-bought hat (I am quite confidant that this was the case, rather than he was trying to save Justin a few bucks.)

The hat was knit with Rowan's kid class, a blend of 70% lambswool, 26% kid mohair, and 4% nylon. It has a nice fuzz to it. I invented my own pattern by making a gauge swatch and measuring Justin's head - a wopping 23.5"! I wanted the hat to be a bit smaller than his head, so 22.5" is what I was going for. My gauge gave me 3.5 stitches=1" on a size US10 needle holding both strands together. Here's the pattern that I made up:

Using a US10 (16") circular needle and holding both strands together, cast on 76 stitches. Work k2, p2 rib for 4.5 inches. Knit 1 row, increasing 1 stitch every 19, for a total of 80 stitches (I did this to avoid using a smaller size needle, as I did not have a size 9 handy. If you do, you could cast all 80 onto a sz 9 and skip the increasing).

Work stockinette stitch (knit every round) until piece measures 9" (less if you want a hat that fits closer to the head, like a skull cap. I prefer mine a bit taller so it can be really pulled down on cold days, or worn a bit higher up, as the wearer prefers.)

Begin decreasing:
Round 1: (k5, k2tog), repeat to end of round, k 3 remaining stitches.
Round 2: knit round
Round 3: (k4, k2tog), repeat to end of round, k 3 remaining stitches.
Round 4: knit round
Round 5: (k3, k2tog), repeat to end of round, k 3 remaining stitches.
Round 6: knit round
Round 7: (k2, k2tog), repeat to end of round, k 3 remaining stitches.
Round 8: knit round
Round 9: (k1, k2tog), repeat to end of round.
Round 10: knit round
Round 11: (k2tog), repeat to end of round.

Cut yarn, leaving and 8" tail. Weave tail through remaining live stitches and then weave tail end into wrong side of hat. Presto!