It looks like Spring with the flowers blooming on schedule, but it sure as heck hasn't felt much like it! We're still in our woolies. Which is good since it took me a bit longer than expected to finish the hat my dd requested.

I'm naming it the Crazy Cap. It looks kind of crazy with a healthy mix of novelty and traditional yarns. But what's really crazy is the construction.

My friend Allison described to me a hat that had a band made of different yarns. In our back and forth, I got it in my head that the stripes were knit up and down. It was only after I'd invested several hours in to the hat that she sent a picture and I realized my folly. (On the hat she described, the stripes go around the head) A sane person might have quit then realizing the enormity of the endeavor I had launched. But it was pretty and I'd already gone so far and when it comes to knitting, I don't always have such a clear head. The problem is mutli-fold: first there are a whole bunch of ends to knit in. Then, half of them are novelty yarns that either unravel or don't like to stay tucked in and there's the potential for a whole lot of bulk on the side where the ends are being knit in! One might try knitting four or six rows with a color to reduce the trouble. This one is strictly two rows per color. The band took two weeks. The top was completed in a single night (albeit a long one). I can't say that I'd climb this mountain again, but I am happy to have reached the top. The hat FITS!