A Wonderfully Soft . . . Swimming Cap

Remember my Blue Odessa Hat? Well, I bought some beads of a more appropriate size and made another, this time using Sirdar Luxury Soft Cotton DK in the colour Lychee. On first glance this yarn looks white, but it is actually a very light blue.

I had such high hopes for this hat. The pattern is wonderful, the fabric is so very soft, the beads are pretty. When I put it on though, DH said "it looks like a swimming cap". Unfortunately, his not-so-tactful observation is probably correct.

I made the hat a bit longer this time, so it can possibly be saved if I frog back to an inch before the decreases and reknit it a bit shorter. But maybe the colour just doesn't work on me in this style? Who knows. The ends are woven in, so this isn't going to be fun.

Having this yarn knitted up makes me see the attraction of the cotton washcloths that people knit. I never really understood why people make them, but this cotton yarn is just so soft and lovely that it would make a really luxurious face cloth.

In other news, I cashed out a £10 Waterstones voucher from an online survey site. I used this, plus the princely sum of 99p of my own money, to buy 'The Happy Hooker' by Debbie Stoller. I have crochet hooks that belonged to DH's late Nan, and I thought it would be nice to learn to use them. Crochet always looked like magic to me - I couldn't figure out how you could possibly keep track of all those lacy patterns and circles and whatnot. Two days worth of swatches later and I am a few steps closer to understanding this mystery. And crochet is so quick! Very good for an impatient sort like me (hey, why do you think I knit so many lacy patterns?).

This is a great book for absolute beginners - I haven't needed to go online to check videos to clarify anything. The instructions are very clear, and the tone stops you feeling like you're doing something terribly old-fashioned.