Friday, March 6, 2015

March Knit ~ The Two-Night Hat, or, The Hat That Never Was

A few weeks ago I got an invitation to my cousin's baby shower. My cousin lives in Colorado, as do most of my relatives, so going to the shower was out of the question. But I set the invitation aside, planning to send something in the mail. Fast-forward two weeks, to this past Sunday. I was talking to my mom on the phone and she mentioned the shower. Oh, crap. I had forgotten about it and it was less than a week away. I thought briefly of knitting a hat, but decided there was no way I'd get it done in time. I considered just sending the hat later, since I wouldn't be at the shower anyway. And then I thought, f*ck it, I'll make the hat and I'll get it there in time for the shower. 

I cast on and knitted the first 2 1/2 inches that night during Downton Abbey (speaking of which, wasn't this season awful? I found myself wishing those horrible servants in Brancaster would stage a mass murder-suicide and put us all out our misery). The next night I watched four episodes of Lark Rise to Candleford after the kids went to bed and finished weaving in the last end at nearly 1 a.m.



The baby shower invitation had requested that guests bring a book with an inscription inside, rather than a card, so I popped into the bookstore and picked up three of our favorites (who can stop at one in a book store??). I think this is such a great idea. I never know what to write in a baby shower card (Congratulations? Good luck? Say goodbye to sleep?), but I can always find something to say about books, and each of these has a special memory or experience associated with it. In the morning, I scrambled to find something to wrap it all up in, other than Christmas paper, and came up with some tissue paper to match the hat and a bit of leftover yarn, and stuffed it all in a flat rate envelope, ensuring it will be in Colorado in time for the shower.

Now, I happened to have the yarn, pattern, and needles for that sweet little pumpkin hat on hand because I had intended to make it when I found out I was pregnant with twins.

Why, yes, this boy existed before digital photography.

I'd already knitted a sweet little purple eggplant hat for M when he was a baby, and I needed a matching one so each twin would have a toasty warm head. Only I never got around to making it. I feel kind of stupid about that now that I was able to make the self-same hat in only six hours. In my defense, being pregnant with twins left me so tired that when I wasn't at work or transporting M back and forth to preschool or sitting in a hospital bed getting non-stress tests and ultrasounds, I spent all my time lying on the couch, semi-comatose. 


So one twin went with a cold head. Just kidding. I'm sure there were plenty of hats, gifted and hand-me-downed and store-bought. Neither of them seems traumatized by the lack of a pumpkin hat, although I really, really wish I had a picture of the two of them together in hats made of veggies they both refuse to eat!

Pattern and yarn info on my Ravelry page.

20 comments:

  1. I love the little hat and I love giving books for baby shower gifts.

    Too funny that you never got around to knitting the second hat, but totally understandable :)

    Have a great weekend.

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    1. Thanks, Kim. Hope you have a great weekend, too!

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  2. Love the little veggie hats--it's funny how fast you can really knit once you get determined about it.

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    1. Thanks, Meryl. Yes, it is funny. I wish I would get determined more often (though maybe not one-o'clock-in-the-morning determined).

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  3. Love both hats - I made a pumpkin had as a gift last year, super easy knit.
    Funny things baby showers - they don't seem to have caught on here in Europe, well France or the UK anyway.

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    1. Leave it to Americans to turn every occasion into a reason to shop!

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    1. Oh, I would teach you LSM if you lived nearby!

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  5. I love the idea of giving books to a new born who will treasure and read them later in life. The wee hat is lovely, I am not suprised you only knit one......pregnant with twins I cannot begin to imagine.......

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    1. We have some favorite books that came to use when our boys were tiny.

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  6. The hat is so cute - she will love it! Three of my favourite books too. I agree, I'm pretty sure I will still collect kids books after they are all grown! Well, I'll need them for the grandkids!

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    1. It's getting so sad now that my boys aren't much interested in picture books. But fun to buy them for new little ones on the way!

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  7. The hat is so cute - she will love it! Three of my favourite books too. I agree, I'm pretty sure I will still collect kids books after they are all grown! Well, I'll need them for the grandkids!

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  8. lovely hat and how sweet to send books instead of cards.

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    1. Thanks, Karen, and thanks for stopping by!

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  9. I love these hats, and you are amazing!

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  10. Love the hat and the book idea is lovely, much nicer than a card.

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  11. I think it's quite pssible that we all do that when we are pregnant...make big plans (or little ones) that we fully intend to carry out and are just too darn tired to accomplish. Especially if you already have a little one at home. I tell myself they can appreciate it much more when they are older than when they are babies.

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