Swirls in Wool

Once I finished up these little bootees, I knew I wanted to make something to go with them using my leftover yarn. I used the (free!) Swirl Hat pattern by Mandie Harrington, which I found on Ravelry. I restarted several times, once because I didn't think I was doing it right when I actually was... oops. But I'm finding that taking it slow is good, and because I really want to do it "right," I'd rather restart a project a few times and get some good practice, rather than churn out projects full of mistakes.

I actually blocked it, too! I'm not a patient person, so blocking is rather torturous. I kept checking on it to see if it was dry yet. Oh, and I blocked the bootees while I was at it -- they didn't change much, but do seem a bit tidier in appearance.

The swirl pattern is still a mystery to me. I have absolutely no idea how it comes out looking like this, because I can't figure out how the pattern (which is quite simple) would produce such an effect. I don't mind a mystery, though, especially when the results are so satisfying!

A small hat was the perfect second project, and got me used to the whole knitting-in-the-round-with-double-pointed-needles concept. I did make a few mistakes in the top rows, but fortunately they're virtually undetectable. Oh, and I knitted this up in the newborn size, to match the bootees. I won't let myself make oodles of newborn things in hopes that we'll be blessed with a rainbow baby soon, but it does feel good to have just a few little things. A little bit of hope does a body good, you know?