Yet more hats

This week has been all about hats again - some of which are destined to be Christmas gifts. I was lucky enough to get plenty of knitting time at work so these have been flying off the needles. I finished my second version of Ela's Favorite Hat from One Skein Wonders. This time it is knitted from a skein of Debbie Bliss Maya that I have had stashed for ages. There was enough yarn to make the tassels this time. I have worn the hat several times and love it. This is a simple pattern which works well in a variety of yarns. I can see myself making this again.

I also knitted a second version of Woolly Wormhead's Urchin Cap. I used a couple of balls of Wendy Moiselle from my stash. I love the shape of this hat. This version worked out a little larger than the Debbie Bliss Soho version. Clare the Bear has claimed it and it really suits her.

While the Bear was around, I got her to model my Chicken Viking Hat. This is a wonderful free pattern available on the web. I plan to give it as a Christmas gift. The original pattern is for a baby hat but I wanted an adult sized one. I used a cheap acrylic dk doubled and 6mm needles and just followed the pattern as written. The result was a delightful adult sized hat. This is just so much fun!

This little hat is the Edge of Lace hat from Designer One Skein Wonders. I plan to make the matching cuffs this week . It's another simple pattern that looks just great when it's made up. I absolutely love both of the One Skein Wonders books. They are full of brilliant projects, many of which are ideal for gifts. The one skein concept is also very appealing to me - my stash is full of odd skeins that I have bought from sales and bargain bins over the years.

Next up is another Iris earflap hat in Colinette Prism, Fiorentina colourway, to match the Iris mittens that I finished last week. This was a very quick knit. Love the pattern and love the yarn.

Last week I bought a copy of a new knitting magazine that I spotted in W H Smiths called Let's Knit . It came with a free pair of wooden 20mm needles and contained a selection of patterns that used them. I noticed one was a beret made from a single skein of Rowan Little Big Wool. There just happened to be a couple of these in my stash in need of a suitable project. I whipped up a beret in a couple of hours last night whilst watching a double bill of NCIS on the telly. I just got it out of one ball. After sewing up there was about 1 inch of yarn left - very close thing ! It's not a bad little hat. Not sure whether to use the other ball to make another hat or some matching handwarmers.