First finished project of the year

OK…. so I started this in 2009, but I finally got it finished last week, and it is on its way to a sweet baby boy in snowy England as I type.

This is the Aviatrix baby hat, designed by Justine Turner, and the pattern is available as a free download on Ravelry.

The pattern specifies DK yarn and 4.5 mm needles for the body of the hat (do hats have bodies? Maybe not…), and 3.25 mm needles for the ribbing and strap, but I had a ball of Rowan Cashsoft Aran lying around which I loved the colour of, so I thought I’d give it a go with that. I used 5 mm needles to get the gauge, and used 3.75 mm needles for the ribbing and strap. (I’m sure no one else will be interested in those details, but if I don’t write it down in fifteen different places I will forget for next time). I love how this came out. I hope it fits!

Clanger!

This is the first thing I’ve knitted since I was 10.

I looked on facebook one day, and saw my friend had written, “I wonder if Auntie Ce Ce can make a Clanger* for Iggy.”

Oh yes, I replied, of course I can, forgetting that I hate doing knitting. So, I looked on the internet to brush up my skills, and the gloriousness of continental knitting was revealed to me here. I love it! And short row shaping – who invented that? Genius. (This tutorial has a really clear depiction of how short row shaping works.)

And I love the Clanger. I don’t really want to send him off to England to live with my godson. I bet he hasn’t even heard of The Clangers.

Pattern here.

*The Clangers are a family of knitted pink aliens who featured in the eponymous British children’s television programme which debuted in 1969 and was shown throughout the 70s.