Finished: North Wind Hat

I mentioned in this post that I had knit myself a hat. Well voila! Here it is! This hat was such a quick knit that I didn't even have the time to call it a WIP. I absolutely love this hat. I love it so much that I'm already planning on knitting a few more. I'll definitely be keeping my head warm this winter season, that's for sure! I love this hat so much that I have yet to block it. I'm feeling too impatient to wait for it to dry in order for me to wear it, so I just haven't bothered yet. I know, bad.ass.

This pattern is one of two new patterns released by Felicia Lo (the owner/creator/dyer of my favourite yarn, SweetGeorgia Yarns). Her other design, for those of you with inquiring minds, is Creekside Cables. I like Creekside but think I have a weird shaped head and don't think it would look good on me. I find that form-fitting hats make my large head look even more enormous and I would like to try to avoid looking like a lollipop (y'know, massive head, small body...not a good look). Anyhoo, I digress. North Wind is designed to be used with SweetGeorgia Superwash Worsted or with any of Felicia's sock yarns held doubled. Since I don't have any Superwash Worsted in my stash that isn't already designated to a project, I decided to use a skein of Tough Love Sock...which was perfect since I wanted a grey hat that wasn't too charcoal-y or too light that it could be mistaken for a dirty white. The Slate colourway is the perfect grey that I was looking for.

The pattern is super easy to follow and to knit. I especially love the double brim and the fact that there was no sewing involved! That feature scored major brownie points in my book. The zig zag lace pattern is really easy to memorize and I have to say is quite addicting to knit. There were a few times that I had to tink back, but those times were due to me getting distracted by the Munchkin and then resuming knitting absentmindedly without any concern of where I was in the pattern until it was too late. This is a great pattern to have on file for when you need to make a quick last minute gift (um, the holidays are seriously just around the corner), or need a hat to match an outfit.

A bonus to knitting this hat: I can enter it into the SGY sponsored SweetGeorgia Winter KAL that's happening right now! Definitely head on over there to check it out (FYI - that's a Ravelry link). The KAL ends January 31, 2012 (ok, that was weird to type out...it's going to be 2012 already?!?) and since I always have a project on the needles using a SweetGeorgia yarn, you better believe that I'm going to have a few entries to submit!

Hat Details:

Pattern: North Wind Hat by Felicia Lo

Yarn: SweetGeorgia Yarns Tough Love Sock, held doubled

Colour: Slate

Needles: Denise Interchangeable in 5.0mm (US 8)

Ravelry Link: MisoCraftyKnits' North Wind Hat