Beret. Hooray!

Last night I finished my second to last Christmas present. A lovely beret for my friend Katie!

I found the pattern through Ravelry but you can view it here.

I caution against having your tension too tight with this project. I think the hat came out a bit small. The instructions call for a size 7 hook (4.5 mm). Were I to make this again, I would go ahead and use an H hook (5.00 mm).

The green button at the top is not called for in the directions. I took a scrap of green yarn and a darning needle and did a satin stitch over the first round of crochet stitches. Keep the starting loose on the reverse side of the hat, and tie it to the final end to secure. Thread both ends through the needle and tuck them under the back side of the satin stitches. Cut away the excess and you're done!

Happy New Year!

2010 was an interesting year, to say the least.

After all, it was my first year to hand-make all of my Christmas gifts to my family and friends.

This year, I gave:
3 pairs of fingerless gloves
3 scarfs
4 hats

Out of that adventure, which turned into several late nights right around Dec. 25th, I invented two scarf patterns. I am very proud of both, but especially the argyle scarf I crocheted for my sister. (Pictures and a pattern to eventually follow.)

In new news, I found an interesting concept on Ravelry today. It's called free form crochet. They did a crochet along (CAL) last April here. You may have to register with Ravelry to see it.

I think it's a really cool idea, possibly a great way to commemorate a years worth of projects. We'll see how far I get with that once classes start on the 10th. Haha.