This past November I started thinking about Christmas presents. I haven’t had time or space to spin any of my own yarn, so I tried to design a hat that would block wind. Most knit caps fail this test. My “fake beard,” made from a blend of alpaca and silk, passes…but as previously stated, I wasn’t going to both spin and knit in a timely manner. So I dove into the stash and came up with sock yarn.

I received this skein as a present to make socks. Turns out it is too delicate for the abuse of sock wear, so it got relegated to the stash. The speckles are alpaca fleece.

The fleece pieces were hooked over the yarn on the reverse side. The hat started to look like a caterpillar after a while.

It turned out to fit an adult head, while I intended it for a toddler. This is the danger of making things without a pattern. Note to self: making patterns isn’t easy!

The hat doubles as a wig…for a good time. It is very warm and does keep the wind off of ears, but the fleece tends to wander out to wave hello if one isn’t careful to tuck it in.

Another wig hat! The one on the left was my second effort…which was infant, not toddler sized. Oops.

As my idea of pairing fleece with hats was less than ideal (Michael begs to differ, as he loves his wig hat), I reverted to following someone else’s patterns. I had more hat people, more yarn inappropriate for socks, and more need for evening relaxation.

I made the gold colored hats first, ran out of those colors, so made the next hat with gold stripes. I think I like the striped version best.

My son in law found a new way to model his hat.

The Grand Girl fell in love with her hat. She wears it everywhere.

Rumors that I had a need to make hats spread, and I received a request for a hat to be worn in Alabama, a place not known for cold weather.

I made this beret with the leftovers from my prior hat efforts.

My Alabama recipient was thrilled with her hat, but complained that her daughter was equally thrilled, which meant that blood might be spilled. I didn’t wish to be the source of familial strife, so….

This one went out in the mail today. The original pattern didn’t have any bobbles on the top, but I couldn’t resist adding some extra little flourish.

I have a pair of socks I need to finish now that I have hats out of my system…at least for the time being. I long to be spinning my own yarn again. I hope to have space…soonish.