If it is cold, wear a hat! DUH!

As I awoke this morning dreaming of a beautiful 85 degree day at the beach I found my illusion fading as I prepared to walk my dog Beau. It is a toasty 18 degrees here in New Hampshire today and I was in need of a hat! So away I went to dig through the piles and piles of winter gear looking for a certain cap of warmth. I found it.

UVM Hat

Once again my Alma mater(I seriously dislike that term, I don't know why) has made its way onto the blog spot. I love when I am in need of a certain piece of knitted material to keep my noggin warm and I know exactly which hat I want to wear. It's just fun when you actually find that one silly hat that you haven't worn in forever (I will explain why I rarely wear it later, OK I'll explain it now). I tend not to wear this fabulous piece of UVM pride too often for the simple fact that it is too little. Once again I made a knitted project for a tiny person (when will I learn?) Regardless of size, the design is the coolest thing ever. I had never used two different colored yarns to make a pattern before so this was my first go around (in the round, hardy har har). I made this hat during my senior year (probably during finals week knowing me) so my materials for sketching out the pattern ended up being my graph paper chemistry notebook.

The hat in action!

 I used each square to represent a stitch and set about making a pattern that was big enough to make the letters look sweet. Then I had the issue of carrying the other colored yarn around the entire hat (I was unaware that I did not need to add this step at the time) So I added snowflakes around the back to finish out the pattern. I have since then used graph paper to mark out patterns for other knitting projects and have found it the simplest way to visualise your pattern as well as an easy way to follow along! 

Snowflakes on back of hat

If it happens to be a chilly day where you are and you are in need of a crafty project for the day, go ahead and make yourself an ear flapping, pompom waving, patterned hat! I don't remember what the actual pattern was for the hat, but it was just a simple stockinette stitch in the round. I made the ear flaps first in just straight stitching and placed them on holders. Once I was ready to start the hat in the round, I then joined the flaps on. Ta-Da! The tricky part was the duel yarn!

Eat, Craft, and Stay Warm! :-)