Friendship hats

As of late, I am sensing a trend in the projects I've been working on. A number of my friends have been asking me for hats and other knitwear, and I am more than happy to oblige provided that they buy the yarn (and sometimes the pattern if I don't already have one). For me there is no joy like seeing a handmade item well-received and gladly worn by the recipient. The first one started with Scott and his request for an Antarctic beanie. I made a similar one for a friend of a friend at VIMS. Next came the hat I made for Chris, and in short order there were commissions from Joel and Chiho as well.

I met Chiho while I was in Victoria as we shared a hostel room, and we quickly became friends. Right before I left, I started the Turkish patterned hat. When Chiho came to visit me here in the States, she asked to see it. It was a classic case of love at first sight, and since I hadn't made the hat for anyone in particular, it found a home with her. That's her on the left, madly working a Su Doku puzzle and wearing her new hat. She was also quite taken with my DaveSpun (TM) tasseled hat and my Lopi earflap hat and commissioned me to make her one of each. I took her to the Knitting Sisters and let her pick out some yarn for a tasseled hat, and she found some lovely shades of Foliage in the 25% off bargain bin. Amazingly enough, I had my size 10 16" circulars available, so I cast on and got to knitting right away. I knew there was no way that I would have time to finish it before she left, but since I plan to visit her in Japan sometime in the foreseeable future, I'll just bring all the finished hats along with me then. Time to get knitting on all these projects... too many WIPs is a dangerous thing!