The hat that ate my brains.

Stayed home from work today because of being just generally headachy and body achy. Was able to finish up the knitting on a small project that I started at Saturday's SNB though.

I've been lusting after this particular piece of headgear since I got the book it appears in over two years ago. And then, earlier this year, I happened upon a fabulous sale at Fine Points in Cleveland, so I got the required yarn at a great discount.

This is a super fast knit, and at this gauge, I would definitely recommend this as a beginner fair isle project, especially since it will be felted, which will cover up a lot of issues with tension. After having been working on such tiny needles and doing such an awful lot of intarsia lately (argyle socks! argh!) working in what felt like super-loose gauge was a welcome change for me. For once, I found myself liking large needles.

When I first took it off the needle, my initial thought was, "Oh, maybe I don't have to felt it -- it fits like a normal hat!"



Or perhaps not.



Here's a closeup of the inside:



I'm really thrilled with how my floats look. I am definitely improving. And having that extra layer back there when it felts will make this a super warm cuddly hat.

The details:



Pattern: Classic Cloche from Knit One, Felt Two
Yarn: Brown Sheep Prairie Silks in Krona Coffee and Peruvian Blue. The pattern called for a third color, but it was such a subtle shade, that I went with just the two, and used almost 2 balls of the Krona (yes, that's how they spell it) and about half a ball of the blue.
Needles: US 11.

Now, for the moment of truth. Felting in a foreign washing machine. Time to do the laundry.

Also, you may have noticed some template changes here. I'm not as comfortable as I'd like to be with shorthand CSS, so if you notice anything strange (especially with that top banner) or have any tips, please pass them along to me.