Beehive hat, and a variation on a theme

I recently made two hats for a friend of mine (both his daughters, who are about my age, are expecting). I wanted to knit hats for those babies, and I settled on the Beehive Beanie from TwoAndSix. Although joining in the round can be frustrating with such a small circumference, it’s an easy pattern to make, and I do like hats knit in the round! I made a white one with Madelinetosh Tosh Merino DK Yarn in Antler, and a slightly smaller one (skipping 8 rows at the base) with leftover green yarn.


I like that this hat is stretchy, and can be worn all hipster-chic with bangs sticking out in front, or pulled all the way down to the eyebrows for colder days. (Also, can we take a moment to appreciate the awesome onesie?)


I’ve also discovered I’m pretty clueless when it comes to knitting patterns, still. I know that I can use different yarn than suggested (I usually do), but it amazes me how many times lately I’ve failed to recognize a garment made from a pattern I know just because the colors are different! I seem to have a better eye for sewing patterns, even though I’ve made way fewer… Anyway, enter this beautiful piece that I really wanted to make. It’s based on this lovely garter yoke baby cardi that I knit once already, but for some reason I was really surprised when I realized that. Colors really do make a difference! I started by making it with similar colors, a variegated turquoise and a white, but I was unhappy with the effect. So I started over with the same yarns as the model: Canadian company Tanis Fiber Arts’ Yellow Label DK Weight in Deep Sea and Frost. I used the Yellow Label for both colors, as there was no handspun yarn with which to make the garter stitch, but I love the result! The Engineer agrees that it’s one of the nicest cardigans I’ve made. I didn’t bother crocheting a line of Frost at the edges. I found the blue buttons on Etsy. I also threw in a stretchy rib-stitch hat with leftover yarn. This is for the Legal Chef’s and E.’s baby, due in two months.