Adventures in handspun hat knitting

On Friday night, I checked the weather report and saw that Saturday night was going to be superincredibly cold.  And since I was going to be out on Saturday night, that was all the motivation I needed to push aside the gift knitting and finish the current handspun hat. 

(Because you know I am so terribly short of warm hats here.)

(ssshhhh.)

Here we are early on Saturday morning, having progressing through the crown.

This hat is knit with very bulky Polwarth yarn I spun from Briar Rose roving, on proportionally small needles, such that its fabric is extremely stiff.  You can see the folds where it's rising up in peaks instead of flopping to the side - that's because I had an idea about making a sort of beret this time with lots of increases pretty close together near the bottom border.

Done with the knitting. Whew!

Lots of ends to run in, because I never seem to manage very long runs of handspun and have to keep adding in a new ball of it.

... and now that that's done, it looks like a Yorkshire Pudding, all puffed up with air and not falling flat at all.  Oh dear.

After steam blocking it's flatter, but still...

and also, it really needs something on top if only to hide that hole where I drew the stitches together.

A simple thread bow looks better - plus, bonus! I've put one of those snipped-off tails to use.

And - oh, how lucky!  It looks all right with the winter driving gloves I bought myself in Italy.

How it looks on my head is a different story, but that Yorkshire Pudding image should give you a hint.  On the upside it really is incredibly warm and after all what price beauty, or in this case, comfort? 

Meanwhile: should I knit up the rest of the yarn for a matching cowl?

(that's rhetorical of course - you know I'm going to, and probably while I should be knitting somebody's gift.  I am so not cut out for knit-related generosity.)