Hat season #2

November was a rather quiet time. At first I thought I would have a very busy and stressful month because of exams and students as well as two papers to be finished and that there would be no time spent silently at home. In fact I stayed at home for more than two weeks, finished one paper and almost did another one, managed to complete some home works and start a new knitting project.

It was not planned, but just happened because of nasty viruses and illnesses of almost everyone in the family. So after all this time spent at home with no prospects of leaving, I was a bit tired. Staying in one place and doing one thing is usually more difficult for me than being involved in many different activities. But not this time.

Finally I had a chance to be a more prolific knitter. I wanted to destash a bit one of my yarn baskets, which is always full, and prepare a package of small gifts before winter.

Thanks to that a red hat was done and a shawl for my mother-in-law, two other sweaters for my boys (but only one of them is published on Ravelry) and a bigger one for myself:

This year I’ve decided to knit something for my mother-in-law for her birthday. When I knit for someone not from my closest family I try to choose a pattern from my library.
I decided also to combine my own hand-dyed yarn with thicker sock wool, which are both super-wash, because my mother-in-law suffers from a kind of rheumatic disorder and cannot hand-wash. I’ve knitted a small version of a shawl, as it is more comfortable to wear it under the jacket. My mother-in-law wears her shawls putting them on her back and crossing at the front under the coat or under the jacket.

I must say that I didn't print the pattern at first, but started knitting from the paper copy of the book. After a day or so I’ve realized that there was an error and checked the e-book version to make sure and there it was. I’m disappointed that there was no erratum, but happy about the FO anyway.

At last I've arranged for my hat pattern to be tested (here's a slightly different color version).

It was important for me for various reasons. And one of them is explained in the foreword to the pattern:

“When I got married and was thinking about changing my surname, I was not very happy with staying just with one. The name of my beloved husband had not any deep meaning for me, apart from rather common connotation with a popular wild flower known in Polish as “chaber bławatek” (Centaurea cyanus, eng. pop. bluebottle, cornflower or bachelor's button, in vernacular Eng. loggerheads). The species is beautiful and the flower shape as well as its intense blue colour has a long and deep folk tradition. However, it should be added that in its native, rural habitat it is endangered.

I’ve finally decided to keep both my old and my husband’s name, but was not entirely happy with that either. And there came a moment when I’ve noticed that in some parts of Poland the wife is given a nickname after her husband’s name. And so I’ve decided to be “haberkula”. I really like it and I feel very proud of being called like this and I wanted to celebrate it with something for everyday life. Here is where my “Haberkula’s hat” comes from.

It is a hat with a stranded pattern of “chaberki”, or cornflowers, with centred double decreases for the crown shaping, designed in two sizes.”

I've tested the pattern (with the beautiful work by #gosik). Now I can think ahead about cold winter coming!