My sweet Emily…she’s absolutely attached to her pumpkin hat. I knit two of them, one for her and one for Charlotte,  nearly three years ago.   This year, Emily began wearing hers sometime in September and has hardly taken it off since. Think “security blanket.” Emily, like her mommy, likes to “hide” and what more comforting place than behind a knit hat? Alas, the pumpkin hat was hardly appropriate throughout Advent, and since we’re exiting Christmastide, it seems time to retire this particular “lovey.”

Which called for a little creativity and a slightly altered knitting pattern…

So mommy knit her a new hat today…something decidedly “springy” and very, very Emily-ish.  A daffodil.  Should you decide to make this adorable hat, note that the above pattern has more than a couple errors and you should start every petal with four stitches, not two!   The result is still quite sweet and definitely worth the few hours of knitting it took:

Simply perfect for a little girl who just loves daffodils!  One of my favorite photos, taken by Clementine:

Isn’t she cute? Rather like a flower fairy, don’t you think?  She quickly shed the pumpkin hat and even Charlotte has asked for one…perhaps something in pink for the fairy princess…

On the subject of knitting…I’ve been more productive than ever before! I owe it to an extended Christmas break and my new Verilux lamp , a surprising gift from a very generous Elf.  I can’t begin to tell you the difference this lamp has made in my knitting. No eye strain…I actually feel better after having knit for extended periods. Could it be the benefits of full spectrum light? I don’t know…it just works for me, and that’s good enough. Check out the projects I’ve completed in the last two weeks:

These are for a sweet little boy I know:

Shhh…don’t tell Sandra…these are for her!  Uh, oh…Sandra!!  Scroll to the bottom of the page!  No peeking!  Just kidding…I had to show you.  None of us are ever going to be well enough to celebrate Christmas together!  Do I sound a bit pessimistic?  Gareth is feeling quite ill, as I type…

Look, mom…your socks!  In your very favorite color.  There toasty warm and knit in a lovely merino wool:

I have a few other projects in the works:  cable knit mittens (an original design), a hooded scarf, leg warmers…and yes, Dad! I’m still working on your socks, too!

Hand Knit Blessings,