My kind of Easter bonnet

I belong to this website called Ravelry that's basically like social networking for people who are into knitting, crocheting, and the like. Sounds kind of dorky but it's actually pretty cool because it provides a forum to share finished work, get free patterns or sell them for profit, and find help if you're in the midst of a project hat just won't work out.

Anyway, last week I happened upon a project idea of making a baby hat but not really just any baby hat because it's one that had horns and braids attached to it - it was a VIKING helmet for a BABY!!! *swoooooon!* I became completely obsessed with it and became bound and determined to make one for Baby A. Unfortunately, the pattern for the one that everyone has made is a knit pattern and I don't/can't knit. So, I figured that since I was able to make that Thomas train recently without a pattern, why not just swing one for a viking hat too? It's not so hard, right?

WRONG.

Here was my first attempt:

I don't even know why I'm sharing this as it's completely terrible and humilitating. Does it look like a viking helmet? Ummm... not really. But it sure does look like a Hershey's kiss, doesn't it? So weird! And how did I manage to make it instead of what I was aiming for??? I have no idea.

Just the same, I'm not one to give up without a fight. And I'm proud to say that I DID IT!!!! I totally was able to figure it out and make it happen AND be really happy with the final product! It's exactly how I envisioned it if not better.


And, of course, Baby A was more than happy (NOT!) to oblige me and model it.

Do blondes have more fun? Baby A sure seems to think so!

She's finally at the age (10 months) where she really won't tolerate stuff that she just plain doesn't like and hats sometimes fall in that category. She was okay with wearing it but when the braids started to distract her, she just automatically grabbed for the hat and pulled it right off of her head. I wish I would have discovered this sooner! Maybe then we could have gotten some more wear out of it!

In any case, I'm very pleased with how this worked out. I mean, it took a lot (and I mean A LOT!) of trial and error but I really feel like I persevered and it was definitely worth it. And now that I know I can make hats, I'm all excited about other ideas for baby hats that I have come across!!!