FO Friday: Hats, Part I

I'm on my way to Columbus, OH for the TNNA trade show today! I can't wait to share all of the cool stuff I see at the show next when I get back next week. In the mean time, I have been amassing a lovely selection of hats to send to my Aunt who is about to begin chemo soon (and I have a few more hats-in-progress which I'll be sharing as they're completed).

The first new hat I've finished was one I worked on during my trip to Minneapolis using a super-special skein of yarn I'd been saving from the Sweet Georgia sock club, a tencel/merino blend in the Bubble Bath colorway:

The pattern is Allyson Dykhuizen's Lake Ontario hat from the Summer issue of Knitscene, and I think the business of the colorway doesn't do justice to the chevron knit-and-purl patterning of the hat, though hopefully this closeup at least gives you a hint of what's going on, pattern-wise:

The next hat I cast on was an old favorite - the Topiary Beanie from Weekend Hats using two skeins of Canopy Fingering. Of all the hat patterns I have knit myself over the years, this is the one I wear the most throughout the year (I used TML for mine), and though the lace chart is a little fussy, it was worth knitting again for someone who I imagine will love it as much as I do.

I think why I like this so much is the ruching on the back, which makes it easy to wear, slouchy-style:

Though this isn't one of my projects, I wanted to give a shout-out to my upstairs neighbor Lauren, who thoughtfully donated this hat to the cause (click here for yarn and pattern info on Ravelry):

I think my Aunt should be set for fashionable headwear by the time I am ready to send all of my completed hats her way. That pretty much does it for this week - thanks for joining me! I have a special post planned for this coming Monday, and I'll also be sharing some TNNA highlights next week. Hope to see you then!

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