I ♥ Hats.

I love knitting hats. They're fun and quick, instantly gratifying and always useful. I think this pattern, from the Fall 2008 issue of Interweave Knits is my new favorite. Working on the lacy ribs is like reading a good book you just can't put down. "One more page and then I'll go to sleep, one more page..." until you stay up all night reading to the end, only to miss the characters and long for more when you wake up in the morning. But in this case I could quickly knit up another!

The hat has a really great decrease. Instead of decreasing down to just a few sts, you end with close to 30 on your needles, resulting in a loose fitting crown and a quick finish!



I used Blue Sky Alpaca's Melange paired with Madil's Kid Seta, a silk/mohair blend, for the fuzzy look. The dark colors make it hard to really show off the lace-like stitch, but I like them best on my head. And despite being a hat with holes in it, the kid mohair and baby alpaca blend make it suuuuper warm and soft.



Now that I have more than enough hats to keep my head warm, I am starting to think of others' heads who may be catching a chill this winter. Blogger Jean aka The Scottish Lamb is collecting Hats for the Homeless. I am getting started on a few and hope that you will take the time and that extra skein of yarn you have lying around and knit some too! She has info somewhere on her blog for where to send them, or you could donate them to a shelter or winter coat drive in your community. Its cold everywhere this time of year... even here in the southwest.