I L L - I N I !

That was the inspiration for the first hat I knitted. I made it for his father's day gift (and yes, he's an alum of Illinois). A bit early for cool weather, but he loved it...and so did Noah! He promptly asked me for one of his own. So, right away I started Noah's hat. And then it was put down. And then I prepared for a baby. And then I had a baby. And so the hat sat longer.

But it was time to finish the hat - and I finally did! On our drive home from my in-laws this past weekend, I put the finishing touches on the hat - I really only had the crown to finish at that point.
For both hats I used this ribbed beanie pattern from Wooly Wormhead (I had originally found it on ravelry), and made a few adjustments. I wanted to knit on circular needles, so I did - and only switched to DPN's at the crown. For Noah's had I also made it a bit smaller than the pattern indicated - making the appropriate reduction in multiples of 8. The yarn I used was Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes in Midnight Blue and Nectarine. They really were the closest "Illinois" colors my yarn shop had.

Only problem? Well, the hat on Noah wasn't quite as large as I would have liked. So, we tried Derrick's on him and it fits pretty great. So, looks like we're going to hand Noah's down to Lilah, daddy's down to Noah, and I better get knitting on a new hat for daddy! (and maybe one for myself while I'm at it!)