warm neck, warm head

About three years ago I knit Daniel an orange hat with kitty ears for Halloween. I doubled worsted weight yarn so that I could get it done in one afternoon in time for trick-or-treating that night. The hat was too big for him then, but he eventually grew into it...and now he's grown out of it. I've made him other hats since then, but the orange kitty hat, for whatever reason, was his favorite. It's still in pretty good shape, too, after three years, all things considered, just a little fuzzy around the edges, but seeing Daniel's ears stick out the bottom before Christmas convinced me that this boy needs a new hat.

When I stumbled upon Windschief by Stephen West, I knew I had a winner. It's simple enough that a sophisticated kindergartener such as Daniel would like it, yet the tilted twisted ribbing section makes it interesting. Also, it would go fast, and after the sock knitting binge of the last few weeks, I wanted something fast.

Fast, indeed! In less than 24 hours, I completed both the hat and matching neck warmer. Daniel is pleased:



He wore his new duds on an excursion to a nearby park this afternoon, where we chanced upon the beginnings of a crude lean-to structure someone else must have started building over the holidays.



We added some sticks.




And then we went exploring, where Daniel found an old log to crawl on. Notice the lack of snow? The fact that we weren't even wearing heavy coats? Some people are happy about the mild weather we're experiencing, but I for one am ready for winter to arrive!



Pattern: Windschief, by Stephen West.
Yarn: Cascade 128 Superwash, about 1.5 skeins (leftover from a sweater I made for Stuart last year)
Mods: I used thicker yarn than the pattern called for, so I cast on fewer stitches and crossed my fingers that the gauge would work out. It did.