Hats off

The hat is finished!

Pictorial evidence will have to wait another day, but I assure you that it is done. I got the help I needed at the LYS, although I felt ashamed/guilty about going that route. I have no idea what the etiquette is in these situations. I did purchase the yarn there, and I bought some more during today's visit. I imagine that opinions on this vary quite a bit, but I'm curious what you all think is appropriate.

It took me longer than expected to knit the last few rounds. Decreasing on circular needles got tricky since I went all the way down to five stitches. An accidental yarn over picked up when sliding stitches around created a problem, and I drew the last stitches together in a way that didn't exactly thrill me.

Still, I like how it looks overall, even though I wish I had knit more. The pattern says to knit until it's six and a half inches long and then decrease. I knit until it was about eight, but it still won't quite pull all the way over my ears. I wouldn't want my ears being vulnerable to the cold. That's how you catch the creeping crud, right? I think my glasses are getting in the way, so next time I'll knit it nine inches long before decreasing. Whatever the case, the hat totally has me set for cat-burgling. Now all I need is a Grace Kelly lookalike to assist me with the jewel heists.

The yarn I bought today will be put to use for a Christmas gift hat. I got Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in pewter, which is on the pricier side of my yarn purchases. It got me to thinking how hand-knit items, which were once a necessity, are now a luxury. Factoring in the cost of yarn and labor, even at the piddly minimum wage, there's simply no way most people would pay what it would cost for me to make this hat. That's not even accounting for profit margin or a knitter's skills and tools. I suppose that makes gifts like this even more valuable.