Fridays at the Purl: Hat Exchange

Tonight was the big night at the Purl for the hat exchange. I believe there were 11 hats exchanged. We all brought one, Amy put them into bags, and we pulled numbers to see who got which hat. As often happens when things are randomly distributed, it was amazing how many people got the perfect hat for them. (Ok, one person did a "second round" trade a little later but that all worked for the best, too.)

Since I had been keeping my hat top secret, I will now reveal that I did a Vortex from the latest issue of knitty in Malabrigo worsted in Blue Surf and Simply Taupe.

It was a fun knit with lots of short rows, but the top came out very pointy. I got most of that blocked out by arranging the wet hat onto a large pickle jar with a flat top (well, usually it's the bottom but I had the jar upside-down)

and it came out pretty long too. However I thought it looked good on the recipient and she seemed to like it. The pattern would be much more dramatic in colours that contrasted more, or if one were a self-striping yarn, but that is not for everyone either.

I, myself, got a lovely fair-isle hat in dream-a-licious alpaca. I believe I heard that this was the first fair-isle done by its maker, and if that is true, she really did a great job. (Well, it's a good job either way, but especially for a first time.) The hat will look great with my black coat, and is a really nice combinations of colours.

Here is the whole gang after we have all gotten our new hats:
In addition to all the hat exchange fun, and the fantastic treats you can see laid out on the table, I also got in about two and a half hours of knitting so all in all, a very good night.

And that is what I wish you: a very good night,

christina