The Purple Blob

A few months ago, I signed up for a Christmas-themed swap on Ravelry.  I enjoy swaps, probably because I love getting stuff in the mail, and also because I've been fortunate to have never been burned, participating in one.**

One of the rules is that you must knit something for your swap partner, and there was a questionnaire to give you info, hints on favorite colors, etc.  My swap partner said that her favorite color was purple, that she liked bulky knits, and texture.  I decided to knit a hat.  Of course, then every single pattern I looked at called for two skeins of bulky yarn, but seemed to only use a small bit of the second skein.  I couldn't really afford two skeins, so I decided to try my hand at knitting a hat using one skein, and got started.

At first, I was just going to do a knit three rows/purl three rows pattern, but as I started, I decided to change it a little.  After a little more than a week, I had a completed hat, that I thought looked very acceptable.  

In the beginning, it was just The Purple Blob, but it turned out to be the 3-5-7 Hat:

Knit three rows/purl three rows; then knit five rows/purl five rows; then knit seven rows/purl seven rows; repeat until you are afraid you are going to run out of yarn, and then decrease, and bind off.

Add a jaunty tassel on the top, and voila!

I think it turned out pretty well, though it doesn't completely cover the wearer's ears (well, it doesn't cover my ears anyway).  But it is purple, it is bulky, and the knit/purl combs give it texture.  That's what she asked for, if you recall.

Details:

Project:  3-5-7 Hat aka The Purple Blob
Source:  My brain
Yarn:  O-Wool Legacy Bulky; colorway, Cabbage
Needles:  US9
Comments:  As I mentioned, it probably could have been a little bit longer, but I didn't want to run out of yarn.  The Legacy Bulky is a nice yarn, and the pattern I made up was easy enough to do while watching TV and still required attention to remember when to go from knits to purls.  I think I may try a version - maybe in another weight yarn - and keep notes while I knit, so that I can share the information with anyone who is interested (and now I'm sure you'll all be waiting with bated breath, right???).  I am pleased that I was able to translate something from my brain to the needles, which is something that I wouldn't have had a clue how to do even as recently as a few years ago.

Now I need only to mail the package, and hope she likes it.  But even if she doesn't for some reason, I tried, right?

**There was the time I participated in a swap, where one of the things we were supposed to send was some tea.  My partner was in England, so imagine my surprise/dismay when I opened up the package and there was a box of LIPTON tea!