Hats, Hats, and More Hats

When I was a kid, I remember reading "Caps for Sale" in school. I think what I liked most about it was how the man in the story wore all of those hats on his head and they didn't fall off. It must have made an impression because last winter I was wearing three hats at once on any given day! (A wool beanie cap underneath, then an acrylic earflap hat, and finally, a bulky-weight acrylic beanie which has since found its way into my husband's hat collection - apparently, totally by accident, I knit a hat that fits his noggin perfectly and happened to be in a colour he really liked. I can't make these things happen on purpose, it seems.)

In getting ready for Fall/Winter 10/11, I am knitting hats like a fiend right now, hoping to have my Etsy store stocked with a little something for everyone. I'm trying some new stuff - stranded colourwork, which so far has been incredibly intimidating, but seems to be working out - and trying to perfect my beret ratios (increasing the stitches by half for the shaping seems to yield a nice result, but still kind of big; doubling the stitches makes for a gigantic hat that might be useful for holding a LOT of hair). After the one I'm knitting right now I'm going to try a cabled beanie, and I also have some ideas for a stylish cloche. I am so into hats! I just can't wait until it's cold enough to merit wearing them - waiting out the summer is going to be tough.

I'll be trying to round up some models soon, but for the time being I'll show the hats off on my styrofoam head. Note that the head is a bit smaller than the average human head - what looks gigantic on the model seems to actually fit real people just fine :)

Peacock coloured hearts on black background; beanie shape.


"Stained glass" (variegated yarn) hearts on black background, beanie shape.


Black kitty faces on "stained glass"/variegated yarn background, beanie shape.

My friend Carolyn modeling the kitty beanie :)

And I finished this one last night - I'm still settling on a name for the colours, probably something with "berry" in it, but it's a slouchy beret. The photo is quite blurry but my camera batteries just quit, so I'm waiting for them to recharge before I can take a new picture, I'll try to have it up by tonight!