Have you ever found a yarn and knew who to knit it for but not what to knit it into? That was my trouble. This lovely kettled dyed yarn is half mohair, which I love, but suspect many others find it itchy. I tried a few times to knit a cowl that is a short scarf with a ribbon threaded through it that ties in front. But it was complicated. I was ripping back a lot, and had to refer to the directions for every row. Not mom-of-a-15-month-old type knitting. Then I started thinking that she might not want to tie mohair around her neck, and became discouraged. What else to do with one skein? I thought of mittens – but really didn’t want to knit something doomed to wear out. Then I thought of hats. I just received EZ’s Knitters Almanac — love it! I tried the three corner tam first.
But the fabric came out too tight and when I asked my husband if he thought she’d like it, was it cool enough, he replied it might be too cool. That’s code for: it’s too unique for anyone to enjoy wearing. It needed to be something different, yet again. My husband (let’s call him Walt, shall we?) exclaimed, “but you already have a whole hat!” “Yes but it only took me a day to finish, I’ll have then next one in a day or two no problem.” Truly both hats were about two hours of knitting apiece. I love a fast project. So I started on the Maltese Fisherman’s hat and finished it the following evening.
This hat is awesome. Everyone should have one. Maybe I’ll knit one for everyone. The ear-muffs part is very warm. I like the way it sits on my head and frames my face. My husband asked if I was sure I wanted to give it away! Perfect. So this is the second Xmas gift I’ve started and the first I’ve finished. Not sure yet how many gifts I’m going to make. I only did scarves for my brothers last year, so I think I’ll just knit for the rest of the close family this year. That’s six gifts, not including the husband and son.
How about you guys?? Started the holiday gift knitting yet? Do you like to start with the complicated stuff or the easy two-hour hats?