My aunt's hat

Last January, my aunt asked me whether I could knit her a hat to go with her new coat, which proved to me an impossible-to-match shade of - mushroom? Not a bad colour, but not a mainstream one either. We eventually found a bulky acrylic that came close enough, and I sat down to sort out the bigger problem of design.

For one thing, it had to not crush her hair. And she doesn't like anything on her face, either - no brim over her forehead. But she didn't want a beret, or at least not the readily available style in felted wool.

I did make the hat, and she wears it - my mum says it's the only hat she's ever seen her wear consistently - but it bugged me that the match wasn't right and that it's acrylic. Wool is just warmer, you know?

So last February, I was thrilled to discover the perfect wool yarn in variegated shades that included the elusive mushroom. And I bought it for her for her birthday, promising her a second hat.

Which I never knit.

So I spent this past weekend on my aunt's hat, which had to be an entirely different design owing to the entirely different nature of the yarn, and the math had me so stumped I've had to rip back twice.

Then - last night - fuelled by chocolate of course - I had the big breakthrough!

And today, I hope to be able to finish My Aunt's Hat. Which she doesn't want, because she loves the one she has.

(you don't think I'm procrastinating on Carol's shawl, do you?)