Never-ending winter

I've just had it. Are you done yet, winter? Can I show my legs again? Will my toes ever see the light of day?

The current answer appears to be no.

Yet another day of dreary rain and wind and everything is damp and miserable and terrible and why won't the sun come out?!

In the meantime, I made an awesome knit hat. As I don't believe in umbrellas (I find them dangerous and unwieldy) so this comes in handy when the rain is coming down and it's still cold out.

Martha had a super simple pattern to knit a beanie. I bought some fairly cheap yarn at Joann's and got to work. I cast on 40 stitches and knit two rows. I then worked in stockinette, knitting one row and pearling one row. One every knit row, I decreased one stitch by knitting two stitches together at once. When it looked like it was the right size, I cast off and wove the end into the existing work.

I then folded the project in half and sewed up the side with yarn to close it up and make a hat form. Simple, fast, and it works as a basic hat. As it is going to rain for the next few days, I'm sure I'll have plenty of use for this.

Pattern: (from Martha Stewart @ marthastewart.com)
 
Finished size: 20-inch circumference (adult medium); gauge: 8 stitches and 12 rows in stockinette = 4 inches.
You will need: U.S. size 15 needles, 1 skein chunky wool in red, 1 skein mohair in beige.
To knit hat: Cast on 40 stitches, working with both yarns together. Knit 2 rows. Work in stockinette (knit 1 row, purl the next; repeat) for 6 inches. Next row: Knit 3, knit 2 together (see "Decreasing" below). Next row: Purl. Next row: Knit 2, knit 2 together. Next row: Purl. Next row: Knit 1, knit 2 together. Next row: Purl. Bind off. Snip yarn, leaving 8-inch tail. Thread tail through yarn needle, and pass needle through bind-off stitches and tighten; sew up seam as shown below. We used contrasting yarn to make the seaming visible, but you should use the same yarn you knit with. Begin at the top, using a yarn needle to pick up the horizontal bar between the first and second stitches. Cross to the other side and pick up corresponding bar. Continue from side to side until finished.

Decreasing

There are many ways to decrease, but this is the easiest. The method is the same as the knit stitch, except two stitches are knit at the same time.
1. Insert right needle upward and into two stitches on left needle, entering lower stitch first, then upper one.
2. Wrap yarn behind right needle and then forward between the needles, as when knitting.
3. Tip right needle downward, catching wrapped piece and drawing it down through the two loops on left needle. Use right needle to slide this loop upward and off left needle. You have now decreased one stitch.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Knit Hat - Martha Stewart Crafts