1) Mum’s Red Hat

My mother asked for a red hat to go with her red coat and even though I heavily side-eyed this idea, she wouldn’t be persuaded otherwise. Since I live in another city, I couldn’t just go take her coat to the LYS to find a suitable shade of red, I decided on a whim to go all out with ALL THE SHADES OF RED. (To be honest, I just wanted a fun multicoloured yarn.) The pattern is a quick and easy knit; I really love the moss stitch brim and the huge button. (As a side note, I did discover my price limit regarding buttons. No, I will not pay 9,50€ for one button, however perfect it may be, thank you very much.) Surprisingly, the hat goes rather well with the coat, too – I’d never have thought, but I guess mother knows best, huh.

Pattern: Robin’s Egg Blue Hat by Rachel Iufer

Yarn: Rigato by Wolle Rödel (Bulky, 53% Wool, 47% Acrylic)

2) My Uncle’s Scarf

I’m not exactly sure why I decided I’d make my uncle a scarf for Christmas, considering that I haaaaaate knitting scarves (it takes too long and is monotonous work) and my uncle is perfectly happy with another pair of socks. I suppose I wanted to change things up, for what it’s worth; I had picked up the last skeins of this yarn before they discontinued it. (It’s a shame, too, because I love its texture, even though the project got very heavy after the fourth or fifth skein – no wonder, because it’s a bulky yarn instead of the aran yarn the pattern calls for!) But boy is scarf knitting BORING. The pattern is lovely, don’t get me wrong, but it does require more stamina than brains. The garter stitch inbetween the cables are a great design choice nevertheless, it elevates the piece from a run-of-the-mill cable knit to something more refined.

Pattern: J Squared Scarf by Kathy Owens

Yarn: Quick by Wolle Rödel (Bulky, 70% Polyester, 30% Wool)

3) Dominique’s Bolero

I teach my friends to distract me every time we pass a yarn or fabric store, but every once in a while one of them decides to ignore that rule and indulge me. (Result: a few more skeins shamefully added to my ever-growing stash.) Such was the case on a day in late September, when my best friend couldn’t take her eyes of a particular skein of yarn. Obviously I pretended to be completely uninterested and obviously I went there the next day and purchased two skeins. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t figured out the point of shrugs to this day. Are they supposed to keep you warm? Cover skin? Do they merely have ornamental purpose? Whatever their use, Dominique likes to wear them occasionally so I settled on this easy as pie pattern (you basically just knit a scarf and then sew it together at each end). It was tremendous fun, especially with the opalescent colour scheme.

Pattern: 127-24 Bolero with lace pattern in “Vienna” by DROPS Design

Yarn: Fashion Cosy Chunky by Rico Design (Bulky, 78% Acrylic, 15% Wool, 7% Polyester)