my wrists could use a little rest

Between shoveling snow for a solid 45 minutes Sunday morning (hardcore shoveling, at that, heavy snow over a crusty layer of ice) and knitting these hats in 3.5 days -



- I think my wrists could use a little rest.

Daniel has had such a wonderful experience at his preschool that I decided at the last minute to make hats for the director and the two afternoon teachers. I wasn't going to originally because I thought I would keep the holiday knitting simple and low-stress this year, but something about all the snow and plummeting temperatures kicked my Inner Knitter into overdrive. Last Friday I found myself at Lakeside Fibers looking for something I could knit up real quick as a thank you/holiday gift. Lo and behold, the small display of Mountain Colors Twizzle sang its siren song, and within 10 minutes I was walking out of there with three skeins and a copy of the pattern for the Toboggan Noggin (that's a Ravelry link to the free pattern). My goal was actually to get these finished by Friday, but once I started them, I knit so obsessively I couldn't stop.



The pattern couldn't be easier. You just knit a tube with a row of yarnovers at the top to pull a tie through. The yarn is so gorgeous (handpainted merino with a bit of silk, too), it calls for simple designs.



The Toboggan Noggin is an ingenius design, really. You can loosen the tie at the top to let in more air, or remove it entirely and wear it as a neckwarmer.



I'm not sure my rushed pictures, taken just minutes before we left the house to drop Daniel off at preschool, do the hats justice, but I really am pleased with them. I hope K, H, and L are pleased as well.

Pattern: Toboggan Noggin, by Amy Anderson (free download on Ravelry, or here's a link to the pdf from the Madison Knitters' Guild)
Yarn: Mountain Colors Twizzle. This is possibly one of the nicest yarns I've ever used. It's smooth and soft and the colors are brilliant. Most handpainted yarns are pretty in the skein but look like a mess when knitted up, but not this stuff. I wouldn't want a whole sweater out of it (the colors are too busy), but Twizzle is perfect for smaller projects like hats and mittens. It's more durable than you'd expect from a merino/silk blend, too. Before Anya was born, I made a set of hat and mittens for Daniel out of Twizzle in another colorway, and they have held up beautifully. I know. Gush gush gush...but this yarn is also fairly expensive, so I wouldn't buy it unless I really did like it!



Colorways from left to right: Clover, Red Willow, Lodgegrass

Comments

Unknown said…
What great presents!

I love the colors and the hat is pretty neat too. I think I may need one so I can wear a pony tail with a hat.

Dee Anna
Entre Nous said…
LOVE IT!
Caffeine Girl said…
Those are just beautiful! I've admired that yarn often, but haven't actually bought it. Now I'm inspired!
Suze said…
Caffeine Girl, you won't regret it. Seriously, it's worth every penny!

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