FO: Owlie hat

Well here's my first FO of the year.And its probably as much a surprise for you as it was for me.

I did not plan to make a hat. This all happened because an old friend made a facebook post of this link at just the right time. I was home, it was snowing, and I had no desire to work on any of my current WIPs.

Now, as cute as the finished hat is, I don't really recommend the pattern. This one isn't in Ravelry, but you can probably find a better one there.

There's nothing really wrong with how this pattern is written, but I found it a little on the small size. While the hat is knit in worsted, the designer recommends a 3.75 mm needle. So either she has a really loose gauge, or she just likes really tight knitting. I went up to a 4.5mm and it still turned out a little small. It could easily be remedied by adding in another owl repeat, but if you're not the type to want to wing an upsize, try another pattern (there are several similar ones available)

I knit this in some leftover Mad Tosh Heritage Wool (Colour is "Antique"). It's a nice, thick, sheepy yarn, perfect for a winter toque.

The buttons (you need 14) came from my button stash (which was inherited from Mom). I'm pretty sure these are buttons off old Canada Post uniform shirts (both Mom & Dad are posties in real life). Wherever they came from, they did the job. But can I just say... while I love buttons... I hate sewing them. Give me seams, give me grafting, icord... whatever.. I'd rather do any of it than sew on buttons.  But these little owlies just wouldn't be the same without them.

As we speak, this little hat is winging it's way to the inspiring Facebook friend. She just recently moved to Sudbury, ON from California* so she's going to need it.

Now.. lets get back to that cardigan

*She's originally from Canada, so it's not as much of a shock as it could be. But still you'd get use to that California sunshine...