Winter Hats

So, it is a little early for wearing winter hats, but since I have no other projects to work on while I wait for the baby to be born, I have been crocheting some for the kids.  I made this one for Caitlin last summer and she wore it last winter.  I had no idea what I was doing (and still don't), but I think it turned out really cute!  (The camera phone picture really doesn't do it justice.)

Here is a picture of it now, after several washings.

Here are some pictures of her wearing it last December.

Last summer while I was making Caitlin's hat, Aiden asked me to make him one.  Caitlin's winter hat was the last of several crochet projects I had been working on and I felt a little burnt out, so, since Aiden already had several winter hats, I told him that I would make one for him some other time.  Just the other day, while playing with the children in their room, Aiden pulled Caitlin's hat out of the closet and stretched it onto his almost 3 year old noggin.  He was so comical, prancing around the room, smiling and wiggling his head.  Suddenly, he stopped, as if he had just remembered something.  Aiden:  "Mommy, you make me a hat?  You make me a hat, too, like Tway-lin?" (Caitlin- he can't make the C sound yet.)  It tugged on my mommy heartstrings and I felt a bit ashamed that I had yet to fulfill my promise so I said, "Sure I will, Bud!"  Aiden:  "Yes?  Yay!  You make me a green one?"  I rifled through my stash of thrift store bargain buy yarn skeins and found one skein of dark green.  A few days later, (with my figure-it-out-as-I-go-self-taught-crochet-skills) this green hat emerged.

Aiden was as pleased as could be, and for the first few days, he only took it off when "his hat got sweaty" as he put it.  Partway through making his hat, I got a little tired of seeing green, so I took a little break and thought I would make a tiny hat for Caitlin's baby doll.  I had most of a skein of beautiful multi-colored yarn that I had purchased in February and used to accent Caitlin's birthday invitations.  I soon realized that I was making the hat too large for her tiny doll, so I decided to just make a full sized one for Caitlin.  I finished it last night, and, to my great disappointment, I made it too small!

I am too smitten with it to sell it and none of my close friends have little baby girls, so I guess I will just wait and see if this baby turns out to be a girl, or perhaps the next one.  I really am disappointed that it is too small for Caitlin, so perhaps, if I have enough yarn left, I will try again and make a bigger one that will actually fit her.  P.S.  I just discovered this ruffled edge technique while playing around with how to finish the edge, and I love it!  I am definately going to use it again in the future.  Another P.S.- To Mom (you know who you are).  Someday I will search out and find some more of that neat speckled purple yarn and finish your last-year's-birthday-gift mittens.  I promise!  If not, I might revamp the entire project and just use a different color.  I still have a month and a half until your next birthday! : )