2 skull caps are better than 1

I think I've started and completed more projects in the last couple weeks than I've done in the whole last year.  A woman possessed....obsessed.  Call it what you will, but I'm getting things accomplished!

Skull Cap 1 on the left and Skull Cap 2 on the right I managed to eek out of 2 skeins of Peace Fleece (aran weight) yarn.  I'd forgotten how much I liked this yarn until I pulled what I had left from 2 felted messenger bags I made a few years ago out of my stash for these hats.  Skull Hat is a free pattern available on the Knit Two Together blog (thanks Gina for being so generous!).  One aspect of this hat that I LOVE is this folded up ear flap:

which not only provides another layer of warmth, but hides almost all the stranded colorwork floats!  If you know me at all, you know how happy that makes me ;).

The hat on the left is made with recommended needle sizes and will fit a larger than average head, so the one on the right was made with 1 size smaller needles and fits an average size head.  I love this pattern and I'm positive I'll be making it again, since neither of these is for my husband and he thinks it's keen!  ~ Melissa

Houston, we have a problem

How I managed to get this much done as quickly as I did remains a mystery:

All that's left is the folded hem......which will have to wait until I knit another hat that will actually fit my husband.  I was so excited to find this yarn in my stash (it was meant to be ~ you know that feeling ~ the right colors, sport weight like the pattern calls for, exact yardage) that I neglected to double check my pattern notes from his last hat where I clearly noted that I used WORSTED weight yarn.  Needless to say, when he tried this on at 11:30 last night he couldn't hide his disappointment that it just doesn't fit.  At all.  He tried to convince me that after I blocked it everything would be okay but the fact that it doesn't fit me either speaks to the contrary.

So, a quick stop at Great Yarns! on my way home and lucky me, they had the EXACT same yarn I used on his last one, in Seahawks colors so I'm back in business.  GAME ON!!  Think I can whip out a second one before Sunday morning?  Wish me luck ;)   ~ Melissa

Cascade Yarns Pure Alpaca ~ ooo, lala!

Hats and Other Things

I'm making good progress on my Peerie Flooers hat.  The knitting is going a bit faster and I seem to be getting into a little rhythm which makes me relax, which is nice!  I got to this point yesterday and decided to stop and get started on a hat my husband asked me to make for him (you read that right!).  I was on complete lock down for 4 years ~ 'no thanks' was always the polite refusal when I offered to make him something.  Then last year, I got a 'I would wear that if you made it for me' as he was looking over my shoulder one day while I was on Ravelry.  Shocker!  The hat he asked for was done immediately!  Fast forward to a year later and he's nicely asked me for 2 of the same hats, one for Seahawks game days so he can wear it to the stadium and one in 'work colors' so he can wear it everyday and not worry about it getting dirty.

So, while he was at the football game yesterday, I started on his next hat & hopefully I'll have it done by Sunday so he can wear it to the game at the end of the week.

It's a fun pattern that you can find on Ravelry for free ~ 'We Call Them Pirates'.  It's going much quicker since it's only 2 colors instead of 7 like Peerie Flooers.

On a side note ~ if you haven't checked out America's Knitting, you should.  It's a really neat website with maps and locations of fiber shops and festivals across the USA.  I've been on Mary's site before and was surprised and a little tickled that she sent me a note over the weekend to ask if she could feature my Vitamin D sweater that I recently finished on her Fall 2011 projects page on the site.  I love unexpected things like that ~ makes life more fun!  If you want to take a peek, here's the link.  Dozer even managed to make it on the page ~ that's his bushy black tail in the photo.

Have a good week, everyone!  I've got lots of knitting to do so better get to it!   ~ Melissa