I made another Inka hat – and this one fits me! It only took two days of knitting like a mad fiend…knitting through gnawing hunger pangs, knitting through the mind-wobbling ripples of sleep deprivation, knitting while walking the dog, knitting instead of going to work. Okay I’m kidding, I wasn’t quite that bad. But I did knit a LOT.
Now the dilemma: do I keep it or give it to my mother for Christmas? See, here’s the deal. I’ve knit three hats for my mom this Christmas, not counting this one.
Mom’s Christmas Hat #1: simple little roll brim in a variegated blue/purple Paton’s Canadiana worsted. It’s okay. But I didn’t realize it wouldn’t be very warm until I had knit about 8 of them, including one for myself, which I wore on a cold day and discovered I had knit 8 cold hats. Besides, it was starting to look kind of ordinary…it just wasn’t special. So naturally I decided to knit my mom a different hat, a warmer, more special hat.
Mom’s Christmas Hat #2: Last year I knit her a scarf out of Estelle’s chenille L’il Mama, and I decided I would knit her a matching hat this year. Estelle provides a hat pattern on the yarn ball. So I bought a skein and knit the hat. I swear I followed the pattern, but this hat turned out weird. It’s so…shallow. Seriously, my mom would have to balance this thing on top of her head like a pancake, and the first stiff breeze would send it flying. It has no depth at all. It’s cute, but useless as a hat. As you can see, it looks ridiculous on me, but not bad on Genevieve, even though we both have 22″ heads.
Mind you, Genevieve doesn’t have to go outside or move or anything, so she can just perch that thing on her head at a jaunty angle and not have to worry about anything worse than a parakeet mistaking it for a nest.
Ok. So that’s Mom’s Christmas Hat #1 and Mom’s Christmas Hat #2.
Mom’s Christmas Hat #3:
I bought the yarn and pattern at a lovely little yarn shop in Perth, about an hour from here. One ball of jazz and one ball of mohair, knit together on size 6 needles, just like the pattern says. Only the pattern neglected to mention that I’d run out of jazz yarn about a third of the way through the hat. It’s gorgeous, really it is. But my mom would probably have to dig pretty deep to pretend to be gracious when she unwraps a third of a hat. (I don’t have a car, and I am unlikely to get back to Perth for months…I’ve checked all the yarn shops in Ottawa, and nobody carries Jazz.) The sad reality of this hat too is that it’s too small. I tried to convince myself it was just an illusion, but once I ran out of yarn I was able to face the facts: Even if I go out to Perth and buy two more balls of wool, this hat will never fit my mother. Damn her and her normal-sized head!
So….that’s the dilemma. Do I give her the Inka hat? It would fit her. It’s special. It’s warm. I could always make myself another one, right?
Well, I guess you can solve this dilemma pretty simple. Just ask yourself these questions:
– Do I want to give my mother a warm hat or a not so warm one? Depending on the answer you can choose either the inka or hat #1
– Do I want to give my mother an exercise hat? If the answer is yes, go for hat #2. And I call this one the exercise hat, because she would have to run after it when the first stiff breeze is blowing.
– Do I want to give my mother an unfinished hat? If the answer is yes, go for hat #3.
I have to say it: This inka hat is fabulous too. I love the tassels
You’re absolutely right Dakota. This hat mistakenly thought it was mine, but really it’s my mom’s. Goodbye Inka hat!
Either way, great hat! It does make the others look kinda boring..
Thanks Emily – and I was happy I gave it to my mom because she was thrilled with it. Now I’m knitting one for ME.
WOW I love your inka hat it looks amazing the best i have seen, any chance you could make and sell me one that looks exactly like it?