What is a knitter to do?

Imagine this if you will: a certain knitter is getting ready to go on a wintry, outdoor adventure for the afternoon. She's gathering the clothes that will keep her warm and dry. Wool socks? Check. Long underwear? Check. Hat? Hat?? No check!

After digging a little more into the recesses of her drawers, she unearths a creamy, cabled hat. Old, store-bought, acrylic and snagged. Yikes. She recalls wearing that in, what? Junior high? (The fact that it is still in her possession is rather shocking, frankly. She doesn't put it back in the drawer but instead adds it to the Goodwill pile in the corner.) That will not do. She digs more, but to no avail, which brings us to this important question: How is it that someone who has knit umpteen hats does not actually have a hat of her own to wear when she needs one? That is a rather ironic conundrum, don't you think? The knitter's version of the shoemaker's children going barefoot, or whatever that saying is.

This was my story yesterday, as I prepared to head out for an afternoon of snowshoeing with my friend Myrna. So, what is a knitter to do in this circumstance?

The knitter asks her friend if she minds driving, hits the stash and finds what she needs to knit a hat in the car on the hour-long drive to their snowshoeing destination, of course! LOL

As it turned out, even choosing the bulkiest wool I could had on hand for a hat (Ellyn Cooper Woolly Bear -- which, by the way? Never, EVER have I had a hank of Ellyn Cooper yarn that did not tangle profusely when trying to wind it into a ball. Never. No matter what care I take with it, it tangles. And the fact that I was in a hurry yesterday only assured that there would be sufficient tangles to add frustration to the task.), using US 10.5 needles, I only managed to get the hat about 2/3 knit on the way there. Oh well. I tried!

The thing is...I really hate wearing hats anyway, which explains why I don't have any hats of my own. I knit them for others. But me? No thanks. The tight fit of the standard winter cap on my head is So. Not. Attractive. I keep meaning to knit myself a slouchy hat or beret, because I think I could like one of those, but I have yet to do so.

As it turned out, it wasn't a particularly cold day yesterday. Snowy, yes...

but I had a long scarf that I wrapped around my head and neck, and a hood on my jacket, and that served to keep me quite warm and dry.

Me and Myrna, waiting to get started!

It was such a beautiful day in the Laurel Mountains. We'd gotten a good five inches of snow overnight at our house, but there was at least a fresh foot of powdery goodness on the ground at Koozer State Park where we were. Absolutely stunning.


I'd never snowshoed before, but it turns out it was a lot of fun! And I much prefer it to skiing at this point in life. This was a short trip just for beginners, so we didn't go far, but it was good to get the feel of it. It really is little more than walking, just easier in the deep snow with the snowshoes on. And about those shoes...who knew that snowshoes no longer resemble over sized tennis rackets? Srsly!
Anyway, I did end up finishing the hat in short order on the drive home, and while it is pretty (totally love the colors), I know I'll never wear it, so it becomes my January charity hat.

(I have enough yarn left over to probably make myself a pair of mitts from it, so I'll still get to enjoy this colorway again!)

And while I know that knitting this hat technically violates January-is-for-finishing mandate, since I cast on and finished it in the same day, it had no long-lasting effect on the WIP number, so it's all good. Right? LOL

PS - Lest I be remiss, let me just add: YES!!! The Steelers are going to the Super Bowl! That was one freakin' excellent game last night, except for that horrible McGahee-Clark head-to-head clash near the end. That hurt just hearing it. But Polamalu? How fabulous is he? OMG! That interception and ensuing touchdown? Even my husband yelled on that one, and he's usually the quiet one when we watch games. So...yeah! :)