Mmmmm....Nooooo....

Inspired by all the slouchy hats---some of which I, myself, actually knit---I decided to try again to make one for myself. Sigh. I either need to just stick with a proper pattern, or give up. Or get a new head. Yes, it's not a good picture, overall, but still...I started out trying the "Sweet Honey Beret" from an old issue of Interweave Knits. The Yarn Harlot made it earlier in the fall, and it perked my interest. I thought if it were worn slouched to the back, instead of to the side, it would be "cool". I started the ribbing, and launched into the set up rows. I think there were THREE set up rounds. I barely made it through those. Then, I headed into the pattern rows. It just wasn't worth it!! It says it's a "brioche" stitch, but it's quite different from the brioche rib that I did those super cute baby bootees in. I ripped it back to the ribbing, and scanned my stitch dictionaries for a different "brioche" stitch. I found one that's super easy, two rows, one of which is a knit on the wrong side (or, since I was knitting in the round, I did a purl row). The hat moved along quite quickly, although I had to break into the second ball of the yarn ("Bonnie", 95%wool, 5% silk). I wasn't sure if I liked the rings of colours. I used this yarn before, to knit Rob a "Thorpe" earflap hat. That version was orange, with red. Yes, I could see that this one was different--with long lengths of different colours, but I just wasn't sure how it would knit up. I think it's a little too colourful for me :( Of course, it looks adorable on Lucy (although a little big...I've just lost another hat to Meg last week, LOL. Why do my hats look better on the girls than on me?!).

So, I started ripping it out. It's too full around the face, instead of hanging behind the head. I'm not sure I'll make another hat out of this yarn, I'm not 100% sure I'd like it on my forehead, and I'm just not keen on the colour rings. I was briefly thinking about just making another sideways, garter st, short row hat. Or, there was a funky one on Knitty.com, I think it was Vortex? Too funky for me with the top point, but I think there's a rounded version. I think a cowl would be awesome. I did start some mittens, but they're on hold while I clean up some other things.

Any suggestions for this yarn? It's great on 6mm-6.5mm needles, down to 5mm I suppose, even 4.5mm for a dense fabric (it's a very lofty yarn).