end of the year projects

Here's my final two projects of 2009...I wasn't able to finish any of my WIPs for Jacquie's Joy in the New Year challenge, but we were able to finish up our basement and I've been devouring lots of great books lately.

My first project is this hat pattern that I knit up from { a-black-pepper }. I had some leftover yarn from my red scarf project scarf and was debating about making another Koolhaas with it when Lucy published this pattern. I love the bubbly cables on this hat and it was really fun to knit.

I made the medium size for the hat...either I'm a looser knitter than I thought or my head is smaller than I thought, but this hat turned out a little bit too big for me. (note: I actually think my head is smaller than I think it is, so for all future knitting projects, I'm going to go with the smaller size option).

The crown instructions were really confusing to me and I ended up knitting and frogging the top three different times before it finally made sense. My adjustments to the top are included in my ravelry project notes if you're interested.

This is such a lovely pattern, the crown is striking and I think it looks so great in red, so my little problems with the hat are completely minor in the long run. Lucy is so good at designing with cables and I always love seeing what new patterns she publishes.

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After seeing Amy's Lonely Dollop, I had to buy the materials to make one for my sister for this year's Christmas gift exchange. We're always getting each other random and off the wall gifts, so I think this was perfect for her.

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And finally, Audrie asked me to be a part of her new quilting bee, Bee Beautiful, a few months ago. We're starting the year with my month and I just mailed the fabric to my other group members today. You can click on the link in my sidebar to see what the group creates this year.