The hat

Okay it's done.  This little unassuming grey wool hat which could have been completed in a few hours, but was actually dragged across a few weeks, is finally done. It's the first piece of anything that I have knitted from start to finish so I guess I'm officially a knitter now.  The reason it took so long is because I was scared of it.  No it doesn't have sharp teeth or a loaded pistol under the rim, it's just knitted.  I approached this warily, knitting two or three rows at a time. I would tell myself, yes, those  three rows look great. Step away for a moment. Don't jinx it. Come back later.  Then I would sneak up on it again, do a few more rows.  All the while looking out for dropped stitches, snags, holes, bumps or anything thing else that might cause me to pitch a fit and run back toward the comforting, familiar arms of my crochet hook.
Yeah, so much drama over a little hat.  There's a relief of sorts, as now I have the confidence to move on towards something more complicated.  I'm not saying socks on DPNs here, maybe more like a pillow cover with a nice stitch pattern and color changes.
The most important thing I discovered..... I like it.  I get it now. Knitting is fun.  By the time I was half way through, I got into the zone, or rhythm that I hear knitters talk about.  I felt comfortable in the way I held the yarn (there was lots of practicing between Continental and English.  I am an English knitter, like my mother and grandmother, although I think Continental looks like it's faster), and picked up the pace. Yep, more knitting will be happening.  Less caution, more knitting.

Pattern: Simple slouch hat by Robyn Devine

In the meantime, There is some quilting that needs my attention......