If She's a Conehead, She'll Be All Set

In the absence of any baby to model my latest finished project, I had to make do with what I could find around the house, so I hope you'll forgive my choice of Elmer the Elephant. His head was too small to fill it out properly, but he was a good sport about it.

Pattern: Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap by Gro
Yarn: my handspun, Navajo-plied wool top from Lorna's Laces
Needles: 32" US 1 (2.5 mm) Knit Picks circular, magic looped
Started/Completed: August 12/August 14
Mods: omitted the straps and knit the whole thing on the same size needles

The pattern calls for using two colors of yarn to stripe, but I thought it was the perfect opportunity to use some of my self-striping yarn. It's amazing how watching one color progress to another never seems to get old.

This knit was a bit tough on the hands, as the yarn is really heavier than fingering and I was knitting it at a pretty bulletproof gauge. The fiber (and the resulting yarn) also weren't particularly soft, so I'm thinking about fulling the hat a bit to make it a bit softer and fit for a baby's head. Still, it was worth it, and I can't wait to see little Rainbow in this aptly named sweet baby cap.

The best part of all? There was plenty of yarn leftover to make a matching pair of booties (still in progress, but every bit as adorable).