A shared hat

I've had the Norby hat pattern in my Ravelry library for a while now; two years in fact.

Last year, in this post I talked about how I'd spun two braids of fibre that were dyed in the same way, to make them different.  I also said then that I was planning on making a Norby hat with one of the skeins.

A couple of weekends ago, I wound the yarn into a ball, got out my needles and off I went.

Two days later, I cast off.  I know.  Two days and there it was, a hat.  I also had a very messy downstairs, because this was one of those patterns that really grab your attention meaning that "just one more round" turns into a complete pattern repeat, dinner is late and a hastily-put-together affair and the carpet still hasn't been vacuumed.

The photo doesn't do the yarn justice - it's a bit brighter than that.  A lobstery/coral pinky orange semi-solid yarn.

The only problem I've got now is that DD2 rather likes it, so I might have to look through my yarn stash and make another one.

We had a flurry of snow yesterday afternoon.  It was more like hailstones/sleet when DD2 got home from school, but by the time her sister sent a message to say which train she was getting, it had turned into proper snowflakes which were settling on the paths, lawn and road so, as we live up a hill, I dislike driving in snowy/icy conditions (I only have a small car - a Fiesta - which is a bit pants in such conditions), I decided to walk to the station to meet DD1 rather than driving down.  So, out came DD2's wellington boots, we got into our coats, I picked up my Norby to put it on my head --- and then DD2 insisted that she was going to wear it (so I wore my Sheep Heid hat instead).  It looks like this is going to be a shared hat, at least until I knit myself another one.

It was when we got home from the station that the benefit of wearing wool struck me.  Once our coats had had the snow shaken off them, they were still a bit damp.  After I'd shaken the snow off our hats though, they were practically dry and just needed ten or so minutes on a radiator to finish them off.

So there you go - a quick hat from a pattern I'd recommend.

Next time, I'll be showing off something that means I'll have to work out how to change the title line of my blog....

Catching Up

Gosh - I don't know where the last six weeks have gone.

Well, I do, because there was the run-up to Christmas, then the festivities, then the getting ready for the start of the new school term, the start of DD1's new term at music school, plus a school trip for DD2 (her class went to see the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory musical in London yesterday) and, well, with all the other mundane day-to-day 'things' that go on round here, it's nearly February already and I realised that I never got round to doing an FO post for my Relax sweater.

So,  here it is:

One of the reasons I haven't got round to showing this off is because I've been wearing it a lot.

I love it and it ticks so many boxes:

- it's made from Regia sock yarn, so is easy care as it goes in the washing machine on a 40C, lowish spin cycle and then into the tumble dryer on the low-heat setting.

- it's light, so gives an extra bit of warmth, but not too much;

- the shape; it's easy-fitting so doesn't restrict movement.

The only thing I'd change if (probably when) I make another one is to make sure I've got enough yarn to make the sleeves longer (oh, and I might do more increases below the arms, but I think that's because I used a tighter tension/gauge than the pattern stated).  As they are, they reach just below my elbows.  But even that's fine because I've got a couple of long-sleeved t-shirts I can wear it with (and I might buy a couple more if I can find some that are long enough in the body - I really dislike t-shirts that ride up at the back leaving a gaps where drafts can get in).

All in all, a success, especially as I know I bought this yarn from Kemps when they were having a clearance sale.  I can't remember how much I paid per ball, but it wasn't a great deal (I don't think it was more than £1.50 a ball).  This means the sweater cost me a maximum of £12 for the yarn.

I have other things to show you, so I'll be back soon --- I promise!