One More 'Gain*

It's still January right? For a few more days anyway. Although I don't think the temperature on the prairie has any intentions of rising much. This week we've seen mornings dipping below zero, so I believe another January Hat is in order! Actually, this one is going to hang out at our LYS, Twist, so it's going to be pampered a bit, unlike it's much worn first-cousin.

This one is an adult-small, knitted on US 3 and 5's using Cascade220 wool. The only thing to watch for in knitting this hat is making sure your tension is not too tight between snowflakes. Because they are spaced a bit, it could be easy to pull too much between each, which, on circulars, can be hard to gauge. If I find that my my yarn between flakes is straight, or stretched, I know I need to loosen up a bit, allowing for a bit of "droop." Tension with stranded colorwork can sometimes be tricky, especially if you tend to be a tight knitter (like me). There's nothing worse than finishing a great hat to discover that it won't fit on your head. Even with blocking!

And speaking of blocking, here we are before...

 
and after...

Ravelers queue it up here.

Now I'm thinking the only thing left to do for the January Hat is to come up with a pair of January Mittens. I'm not usually so matchy-matchy (like Miss Priss), but this hat just seems lonely without a matching pair. So we'll see if I have enough time before winter's over to come up with something! A little lagniappe!**
*one more 'gain is New Orleans speak for "one more time..."
**a lagniappe is New Orleans for "a little something extra..." ;-)

----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: sue DATE: 01/26/2008 05:50:49 PM The January hat looks beautiful and I love the colors too.
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: julie  DATE: 01/27/2008 02:30:04 PM great hat! amazing how much difference the blocking makes (I must do more of it!)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Ulla  DATE: 01/27/2008 04:38:08 PM Lovely colour combination...Did you knit it for a shop? Or did I just misunderstand the flickr picture. Ulla :0)
----- COMMENT: AUTHOR: Jennifer  DATE: 01/27/2008 05:47:17 PM Thanks guys! I did knit it for our local yarn shop, Twist. They are giving copies of the pattern away with yarn purchases. Yeah! :-)