Elf Cap
How about those GIGANTOID sun glasses, though? I use them as a replacement for sunscreen since they manage to cover my entire face.
Next weekend is our annual trip to Lake Tahoe to celebrate my mom's birthday. I realized that I'm not equipped to handle the cold weather given that I usually spend the weekend mooching off my mom and sisters for hats and gloves and such. Not this year, though. No Sir-y, Bob.
This year, I'm going equipped, with my own, handmade Elf Cap!
Everything about this project was super cool, in my opinion. The yarn was soft & chunky at a cool 2 stitches/inch. The mauve and gold colors were interesting to see knit up in their unassumingly jovial combination. The hat was done is just one short evening of PBS documentaries.
Pattern: Elf Caps from Handknit Holidays by Melanie Falick
Needles:Size 15 bamboo (short length) circulars. This project would have been much easier using Addi Turbos because the yarn is loosely spun & got caught on the connectors a lot. The bamboo, however, worked fine & I wasn't about to spring $15 for some needles that I would seldom use.
Yarn: The GOLD is from Blue Sky Alpacas - Bulky Hand Dyes line, (50% Alpaca, %50 wool). The color is uneven giving it a home-made, organic, rustic look with a lot of depth and variance. This yarn would definitely be considered "luxury" due to it's high price tag (approx. $16) and very low yardage (45 yards). As much as it killed me to spend that kind of money on such a small amount of yarn, I would say that it's worth it (for a small project). It adds a lot to the hat and will prove to be quite warm and soft on my forehead. I used about 15-20 yards of the total 45 that came in the skien.
Yarn, continued: The mauve (color 9424) is Cascade Magnum. It's the recommended yarn for this project, and is also very chunky at 2 sts/inch. It's also quite soft and made up of 100% Pure Wool. This yarn was nice, but I'm not going to rant on and on about the depth of the color. It's flat in comparison to the gold. It's serves it's purpose, though, it's more utilitarian in it's make-up and didn't have the same luxurious look n' feel that the Blue Sky's stuff did. Rightfully so, it was much cheaper (not cheap! but cheaper - $20 for 123 yards).
Time to Knit: Approx. 2 hours. (not including the first time I knit it (huge) - the night before!)
All in all this hat was super fun to make, the swirly pattern of the decreases makes it interesting to look at from above and I love the endless embellishing possibilities of the finished hat. It's sure to serve me well in Lake Tahoe.
Love the hat! And the sunglasses are Fab!
Posted by: Allegra | February 10, 2007 at 04:49 PM
Ooh I love it! The price isn't so bad since it seems you could get another hat out of the yarns.
Posted by: Lauren | February 10, 2007 at 04:54 PM
I love the chunky knit look...looks warm and comfy.
Posted by: Liane | February 10, 2007 at 05:01 PM
I've been meaning to knit this hat, and yours makes me want to start NOW! It is adorable! The colors work very well together.
Posted by: mandy | February 11, 2007 at 04:18 AM
So cute! Love the color combination - its really funky cool.
Posted by: Claire | February 11, 2007 at 06:58 AM
Fantastic! You will be a hit on the slopes and I think your mom & sis's will be looking for an elf of their own for next year :) As for the sunglasses, I am totally diggin' the oversized shades...currently I am wearing some Oakley Scripts
http://oakley.com/o/c520s
Posted by: Beth | February 11, 2007 at 07:10 AM
Great hat! You would totally be the most happenin' elf in the village.
Posted by: bethro | February 11, 2007 at 10:02 AM
So cute! I love the gold color...
Posted by: Ellen | February 11, 2007 at 11:23 AM
That is adorable - I think I'm gonna need to put that book on my Amazon wish list just for that pattern alone!
Posted by: jennifer | February 11, 2007 at 04:51 PM
hmmm...alpaca...
it's definitely worth the splurge, warmth and softness IMO.
Posted by: Anne | February 12, 2007 at 12:51 PM
What a wonderful hat! Love it! The colors are such a great combo.
Posted by: Maritza | February 12, 2007 at 06:41 PM
i think it looks great i'm going to send the pattern to my friend so that she can try it out. she's a new knitter, but afraid to follow pattern directions.
Posted by: jen | February 13, 2007 at 08:52 PM
That cap is fantastic! Reminds me of rainbow sherbert...yummmmmm;)
Posted by: Susan | February 13, 2007 at 10:41 PM
ok - so your hat is perfecto. I'm knitting my own (in super boring, but more "me" taupe color)...But I'm totally stuck on the directions at the initial joining round - and wondering if I could bug you for help? I know - total blog dorkage...
Posted by: kate | March 06, 2007 at 09:21 PM