Knit one, purl two

While visiting the grandchildren this fall, 5-year-old Rachel asked me for a favor. When she was 3, I knit a hat for her that has turned into a favorite. But, now that she is in kindergarten, it is a little on the small side. So, when I got back home, I ordered the yarn and just today finished her hat.

It is the cutest little hat and very easy to knit. I used the Norwegian Dale Freestyle yarn. It is machine washable and dryable and even though the yarn tends to split for me, it is a good yarn to use for a little girl's hat. If you have a little girl in your family or close to heart, you really might like to try the "Twist and Sprout" hat pattern.

I learned to knit from my grandmother as a child, but when I was in high school and took a Home Economics class, my teacher taught me continental knitting and since then I love knitting a lot more. It is not the "throwing" kind of knitting, but the "picking" kind and much easier for me to handle and quicker.

Some years ago, I saw a picture of some Norwegian hiking socks in a magazine. I love searching the Internet, and even though it took some time, I found a yarn shop that could help me. There is a Norwegian woman who owns a yarn shop in Ames, Iowa. I wrote to her and asked for help. She found a pattern, in Norwegian, and she actually spent the time translating the pattern into English for me, and then I let her choose the yarn for me. A cream-colored pair of socks for myself and a gray pair for the Trout. Though I now live in Florida and do not need these socks for hiking, you never know when I will be in a cold climate, hiking, and in need of these socks. I love them.