Since finishing the Shale Baby Blanket, I have been eager to knit something. Something to teach me new skills, but something a bit quicker than a blanket. So I embarked on my first ever in-the-round project: a birthday hat for Oli. There were many specifications from the prospective hat-wearer. It had to be fitted, not slouchy. With large stitches, and texture- but no bulky cabling. But with a bit of pattern. After several rejections, I just let him loose on Ravelry, and he chose A Tweed Hat for Jason by Melissa at Sweet Fibre Yarns. It’s a really simple, easy first time hat, so it was perfect. I used Drops Andes, a wool/alpaca mix, in Denim. Cosy. I think there might be enough yarn left over for a little one for Sol- he’s modelling Oli’s one in the photos below.
Now it’s no secret that I love baking. And eating the baking. And I like trying new cakes: what better opportunity than a birthday to break out the sandwich tins and piping bag. But today the little boys and I weren’t really in a Nigella-inspired, decadent cake-artistry sort of mood. So I made my mum’s Very Easy Chocolate cake, an old recipe that you ice in the pan, using a ridiculously sweet, evaporated milk-based chocolate icing. It may not be the prettiest cake, but the classics are the best.
Happy birthday Oli! Now onto that lovely gold yarn…
Love the hat,cake,daffs,sunshine…. but most of all my sweet Sol..adorable pic!x
Great job on the birthday hat. Look out or you’ll start getting knitting commissions!
Is that the same kind of cake that you made for Granny McMillan’s 80th? If so, i think of it often.
I am also ashamed of the speed that you are getting through knitting projects in comparison to me – I’m still on horseshoe number 39. Excellent hat – it looks very neat! x
[...] Time for a new hat as the beloved owl hat (knitted by Polly) finally stopped stretching enough! It has been passed down to Otis and I thought I’d try to make a similar one -minus the owl cable, which I haven’t got time to master! I used leftover Drops Andes, a fluffy, cosy yarn I used for Oli’s hat. [...]