fo: Haines Hampton Hat

I LIIIIIIVE!  Aha it's been a crazy few weeks, but the final exams for the course I'm teaching has been submitted and I'm finally having a relaxing night off!  This post is going to be short because as soon as it's done, I'm putting on a girly movie and grabbing some knitting for a chill me-night!

So this toque has been done for a while, but I put off blocking it for ages.  Then winter arrived last Saturday and I needed a hat, so huzzah warm head!

Here's my Ravelry project page, if you want to take a peak.

Pattern: Hampton, from Granite: Four Hats for Any Adventure by Kat Riddell.  I actually won a copy of the ebook from her website.
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Alpaca Lana D'Ore, bought at the Dalton City Yarn Emporium in Haines, AK
Mods: NONE.  Although I did use the chart instead of the written instructions for the lace because of a mistake in the instructions.  I think they've been corrected though, so woo!

I have a habit of buying yarn and making myself a souvenir when I go places, and I had this planned out for my trip to Haines, Alaska last month...or uh actually, in September.  Oops, where did October go?!  Anyways, I love the little yarn shop in Haines, so of course I went down for a visit, and did approximately 1200 laps around the store and stared at the worsted weight yarn until I decided on this lovely grey.

Which is ridiculous because I knew going in that I wanted a light grey for this hat.  On top of the rock theme of the patterns, Haines has a bunch of pretty sculptures all over town carved out of local granite.  I knew they'd be my inspiration behind this project.  Never mind the foggy weather along the coast, which pushed me more toward a light grey over a medium or dark shade.

And then there were these beautiful old graves in a hidden little early 1900s graveyard I stumbled across on a walk along the shore.  There was less than 20 of them, but it was such a lovely, peaceful area, and I had a nice chat with them as I wandered through.  I love graveyards, especially old ones.  It was a lovely place, and I'm glad I came across it.

Anyways, the pattern was a fun knit.  The lace was enough of a challenge to keep my attention, but not too challenging that I was antisocial while hanging hanging out with friends.

I really liked how Kat designed the decreases at the top.  I wasn't sure about it at first, but the finished result looks awesome.  And I like how the top isn't smoothly rounded but a bit...gathered?  Not sure of the word, but I like it. 

Like the background here?  We stopped somewhere between Haines, Alaska and Haines Junction, Yukon, in the Haines range above the treeline.  I didn't even see the rainbow, but Darryl did and arranged me here for the photo.  There are times when I think he's completely oblivious, and then there are times like this when he proves me wrong.  :) 

It was really windy up there.  And probably a lot snowier now since Whitehorse is buried in a few inches already.


I'll definitely be knitting up more of Kat's hats (haha that rhymes!) in her ebook.  While I don't need more hats, our community knitting group is collecting hats, scarves, mitts, etc for a big donation thing next month, so it's a good opportunity.

Oh and the dreaded C word too.  ACK!

Are you guys all geared up and ready for winter?  Or uh, summer for those of you in the southern hemisphere?  Also, any idea where October went?  I think I misplaced it.