Giftmas, Greg & Britini

My brother is not affectionate; it's how I've always remembered him being.  He hugs our mom and his girlfriend, but not me.  Maybe I can weasel one out of him at my wedding, but probably not.  Still, it's good to dream.  Am I giving up?  No!  I am relishing the small victories.  Example:

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Thanksgiving 2011
Greg: Your pasta's actually pretty tasty, Liz.
Me: YES! (arms in the air in victory)
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So when Greg actually asked for something specific for Giftmas, I jumped on it.

bearded toque by v. vine

Knit with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in Mink Heather and Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in Black
and
Official Kittyville Hat by Kitty Schmidt
Knit with Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in White and Cascade Yards Ultra Pima Cotton in 3775 Red

My brother's girlfriend Britini is adorable (clearly).  What to make for a girl who loves Hello Kitty and already has several Hello Kitty hats?  A Hello Kitty hat of course!  Of all the people to whom I've given hats with earflaps like this, she's the only one to rock the hat tied under her chin.  Adorable.

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Knitting modifications

bearded toque

My original plan was to knit the whole hat in WOTA and get a ball of black for the beard.  Because the beard will rest against his face, I went with a softer (albeit less cozy) yarn -- Comfy Worsted.  It's so soft!  Only I goofed and ordered on ball of Comfy Worsted instead of two, so I had to make some modifications to make it work.

• The ribbing is worked in WOTA (as opposed to Comfy for the beard)
• There is ribbing at all (the pattern is written for seed stitch)
• The beard is worked in stockinette rather than seed stitch

Hello Kitty Hat

• I used size 8s because I lost my 7s.  Boo.
• Instead of the decreases in the pattern, I did *K10, SSK* for one round, then *K9, SSK* etc until a round of SSKs
• I knit the ears in the round and attached them after rather than picking up stitches
• I lightly stuffed the ears with fiberfill
• The I-Cords are a massive 13 inches long.